No one can succeed as a trumpet player without help from others. No matter how accomplished you have become, or how great you anticipate your future accomplishments, you will not become successful without the help of others.
You may be spending countless hours in a small practice room practicing every etude known to man, yet you may be spending energy and time on the wrong exercises. Without help from others, your ability to play triple high “C’s” at tempi far beyond the speed of sound means nothing without help and guidance from others.
I have listed below some of the people who can help you achieve your goals which you have set for yourself. I have also listed them in the order which I feel you will be needing their advice.
In The Beginning
• Private instructor- The amount of help this person will be able to give you will depend on how good a teacher he/she is. Your private teacher will be responsible for your technical and musical development. With their help, you will establish your technical ability as a player.
• Ensemble director- whether a high school director, college director, service band director or symphony conductor, these people will be responsible for your education in ensemble literature and the basic ability to perform with others.
• Personal contacts and friends- After you have established your technique and experience playing with others; it is now time to start getting the word spread that you are a player and are available. Usually this begins with a garage band or combo just starting out.
Breaking Into the Profession As A Professional Musician
• Professional Level Contacts- If you are in high school or college, you will have to find out who is working full time as a player in your area. If you don’t know who these people are, ask around the area, i.e. Music stores, churches, clubs, check newspapers, check the internet. Once you have established the real players (not the talkers, but the doers) ask to take lessons from them. If they don’t teach, ask if you could go to where they are playing to watch them. They should be impressed with your offer for most trumpet players flatter very easily.
• If your area has a Musicians Union (and there are much less than when I started) visit with one of the union people and share with them your interest in getting into playing professionally. Chances are very slim that they will actually help you get a job but the contact will be helpful later on.
• Become friends with the most performing musicians and frequent there performances and by all means, let them know that you are very interested in getting started. Be sure that you give them your name and phone number as well as your Email address for when every other trumpet player has been called to sub for them, they will be very happy to call you as a last resort.
• If you get a call to sub for someone, be sure to get the following information. How much does it pay, where are you to be for the gig, what should you wear, is it a reading job (play written charts) or a head chart gig (no music, everything is played from memory) and what is the instrumentation. In our next Blog I will give you some ideas as to how to prepare for the first call to sub for someone.
• Meeting the leader of the band you are to sub with- More information will be given on this in our next Blog but for now remember to get to the job about 30 minutes early and introduce yourself to the leader of the ensemble. Tell him/her who you are subbing for and ask where you are to sit and also ask him/her if you can help set up the band. At the end of the job, if it went well, ask if they need help to tear down the bandstand at the end.
Climbing the Professional Ladder
• Now that you have made contacts and started to build a list of bands you have successfully performed with, it is time to raise your sites towards bigger and better bands. If this can be done in your area, fine. If you have a limited market in your area, you will have to consider moving. Before you pack up and leave you will have to establish the area where you want to, and are able to work. Here is where your contacts really come in handy. People you have worked with know people who have become successful in the music business. These are the people you will have to make contacts with through the help of your local contacts and friends.
• Colleges such as the University of North Texas as well as many other fine schools have a network of contacts which is very helpful to an aspiring musician. Without actually being a tuition paying student at these schools, your chances of working this area are very slim but if you happen to have a good friend attending one of these schools, be sure to be in constant contact with him/her so that when something comes up and no one else can or wants to fill a chair, you need to be contacted.
One point of information you should know is this- “the farther up the trumpet ladder you climb, the more competitive each job becomes”.
In our next Blog we will give some advice as to what you should expect when that first subbing job call comes in.
Hi Bruce; I will be 64 on Aug 30 (in twenty days). currently a come back trumpet player (about eighteen months into). Played trumpet in sixth grade through freshman year high school, being very serious about my playing, and really enjoying performing with the band in concerts. Very aggressively working my way from last chair to second chair in the band section by challenging the player in the next chair torwards first, and practicing diligently to out play him and win move up. Ended up in second chair by end of that school year.
Practiced hard all summer for the play-off against 1st chair player bu gave up the trumpet after loosing all my upper teeth to gum disease about two weeks before the begining of my sopmore year of high school. That would be about 1965 I think. Like most, graduated from high school (’67), joined the Navy for one term; got married, and over the years kept taking out my trumpet (out of the closet), playing for awhile, then becoming distracted again with family and life, putting it back.
Went social security in 2010, and part time on my job. Within a couple months, decided it was time to get back to being serious of trumet playing. Have since connected with a local concert band (community) and church orchestra. Have had three trumpet lessons since taking back up the trumpet; first one was with a local trumpet professional (U.S. Navy); next two were by another professinal trumpet player from Michigan (met online via webcam). All three were most useful, and want to take more lessons and more frequently (1st was Feb, 2011; last two were in July same year), but on fixed income and difficult to find resources to pay for lessons.
Sorry about the long story, but wanted you to know my background and to help you understand that what I’m faced with is a real passion for trumpet playing and music in general, a passion that I really wasn’t aware of until a couple years ago. I’m to the point of seriously regretting giving up on the trumpet like I did, and not pursuing a career as professional trumpet, only because I believe now that I would have been much happier. Money really doesn’t matter as much as making a career out of a passion as opposed of just drifting through life from one job to another, not really being that happy with any, and not talking about pay level.
I’m interested in what you think about a 64 year old comeback trumpet player finding a way to eventually get full time work as a trumpet player. Is it a foolish pipe dream, or have you known some who have succeeded this late in life?
I grew up in a small town with not much going on, but for past five years, am living in a metropolan area (Norfolk Va) that has more to offer in opportunities in just about anything.
Am in communication with a bunch of professional trumpet musicians via TPIN, and always looking to learn about trumpet playing and other related subjects on daily basis.
Looking forward to your response, and your thinking on this subject.
Thank you for your attention and time.
Sincerely,
Clarence G Griffin
come back trumpeter
Sorry it took so long to get back to you on your questions but we have had family in for the past two weeks and today the last wonderful group left.
I found your questions very interesting it sounds like you are the typle of student every tewacher hopes to get. Your interest and drive is a very good sign that you will succeed in your goals.
Some of your questions have been rased before and for that reason, I would like to ask for your permission to share your thoughts and my views on this topic with our readers.
Before I would do that, I would like to have your permission to do so. No names are included in the post and to make sure you understand what I will post, I have included a copy of the entire post below.
Thanks for checking out out site and please come back often.
Bruce Chidester
Branson Trumpet Ensemble
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I received this message this past week and because of the house full of family I am a little behind on my posts.
I would like to thank this gentleman for his questions and due to the fact that many have indicated that they were also “comeback” players, I thought I would share with you my thoughts on this big move.
As always, my comments are in BOLD type and our reader’s comments are in regular type.
Went social security in 2010, and part time on my job. Within a couple months, decided it was time to get back to being serious of trumet playing. Have since connected with a local concert band (community) and church orchestra. Have had three trumpet lessons since taking back up the trumpet; first one was with a local trumpet professional (U.S. Navy); next two were by another professinal trumpet player from Michigan (met online via webcam). All three were most useful, and want to take more lessons and more frequently (1st was Feb, 2011; last two were in July same year), but on fixed income and difficult to find resources to pay for lessons.
Sounds as if you are very interested in getting back at it. Good for you. If during your recent lessons, did either of your teachers mention any drastic problems, such as extreme left or right or up or down mouthpiece placement?
If there is no issue there, we can assume you have a good foundation to be working with.
Sorry about the long story, but wanted you to know my background and to help you understand that what I’m faced with is a real passion for trumpet playing and music in general, a passion that I really wasn’t aware of until a couple years ago. I’m to the point of seriously regretting giving up on the trumpet like I did, and not pursuing a career as professional trumpet, only because I believe now that I would have been much happier.
We all can wonder what would have happened if we had done things different but for now, you are focused on playing better on the horn and that is what we will look at.
I’m interested in what you think about a 64 year old comeback trumpet player finding a way to eventually get full time work as a trumpet player. Is it a foolish pipe dream, or have you known some who have succeeded this late in life?
Your first issue I can address from personal experience. We are seeing increased numbers of “comeback” players all the time. Music is something that is in all of us and to some it is entertainment, to others it is as important as the blood flowing through out veins. You obviously are one of us.
To address your second question I can again discuss from personal experience. When I moved to Branson 12 years ago, there were 12 to 15 trumpet players working full time in the shows. Today there is only 1 and the future of his job depends on health issues of the headliner.
Obviously the availability of an opening for any trumpet player will affect you chances. At this time, living in Branson are at least 6 high level trumpet players who have played with every one you could name. There are high level studio players who are not employed at this time in the business. Even without hearing you play, it would be surprising if you would be able to get work here. On the other hand your area could be able to support more musicians and that would be a great determinant as to how much work you could get. If it were only determined by will power, I think you could do well but there are other issues which have to be faced.
I grew up in a small town with not much going on, but for past five years, am living in a metropolan area (Norfolk Va) that has more to offer in opportunities in just about anything.
I know of a good friend and student of mine from your area and he was able to do very well fronting his own big band and had a lot of work. The area will be your first hurdle to overcome or benefit from.
Thank you for visiting our site and I’m sure you will do well as a player. At this time in this economy, I would suggest that you continue your playing and as you get more experience and technique; when the economy changes, you will be ready to make the jump.
Best of luck to you and yours.