The Tuning Slide 3.15- Etiquette for Real Musicians

Weekly Reflections on Life and Music

You should play with real musicians;
the best music comes from real people
interacting with each other.
-John Fogerty

I thought about calling this month’s topic How to Be a Real Trumpet Player. We all know that trumpet players have certain reputations that we tend to dislike but perpetuate because, well, we are trumpet players. I have a hunch, though, that we don’t have a lock on those reputations. They are human traits. So, if we learn a better way to do it, we may also end up being better people. Just a thought.

In time honored tradition then, I will call this month’s topic:

Being the Compleat Musician.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You will never get a second chance to make a good first impression.
-Will Rogers

I am going to start somewhere other than where we might expect. Let me call this week's post: Etiquette. In other words, it's about how we behave when we interact with other musicians in rehearsal, on stage, or just about anywhere. As I looked at the list of items in the summary from this year’s workshop, I found these six could apply to this topic:

◆ First impressions mean a lot
◆ Never put out someone else’s light to make your light shine brighter
◆ Just have fun! It will happen faster
◆ Hear it, study it, make it become natural
◆ Be efficient
◆ Be on time

So I Googled “musician etiquette” and came up with two interesting websites. The first was from an oboe player and was titled Oboe Insight (http://www.oboeinsight.com/instruction/musicians-etiquette/). The second was on the website of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Orchestra and their page on rehearsal etiquette (http://www.gocmo.org/rehearsal-etiquette/). All of the thoughts and insights in italics come from these two websites. My thoughts are added in normal type.

Let me begin with one of the sayings from Trumpet Workshop that will get us started on etiquette:
• If you are on time- you’re late.

◆ Be on time

That gets us off on the right foot according to those in the know:

• Arrive early—at least 15 minutes early, or with enough time to both get your instrument out and warm up….If you are late (it happens), try to avoid taking your seat while the musicians are playing; if you can, wait for an appropriate break in the action to slip in.

Okay, we all can be late at one time or another. We get stuck in traffic, at work, or just plain lost track of time. But there are those who think when the schedule says the rehearsal starts at 1:00, that's the time you should get there. Again, it doesn’t always work out, but we need to do our best. For those of us who are not paid musicians- we do have jobs that can get in the way. We need to figure out how to work through these things so the other musicians are not being put out.

• Come prepared. This means two things:
⁃ Come having thoroughly practiced your music. Nothing is more frustrating to conductors than to waste time rehearsing passages that the orchestra members didn’t practice ahead of time.
⁃ Before you head to rehearsal, double check that you have your music, instrument, and any necessary accessories. Be sure to note whether or not you need to bring your own stand to rehearsal. You might consider keeping a wire stand in your car (like a spare tire) just in case!

• Bring a pencil. This one gets its own paragraph. Attending rehearsal without a pencil is like sitting through a university lecture without a taking notes. Even if you think you’ll be able to remember every direction the conductor gives, every dynamic change, every cut, and every ritardando, really, you probably won’t. Keep a couple pencils in your instrument case so they’re always on hand.

Practice, have everything you need, bring a pencil. Pretty much sums up what you do before you leave home for the rehearsal. I would also add have your music handy and ready to play. Again, circumstances happen, but not on a every-rehearsal-basis. The therapist in me wants to call that "passive-aggressive" behavior. It doesn't feel good to those around us when we do it.

• TURN OFF YOUR PHONE. Enough said.
That includes looking at text messages or the latest football scores on your phone in a concert. I have seen it happen! IN A CONCERT, when a musician pulled out their phone when it buzzed with a text. I want to make an exception for rehearsals when the conductor is working with another section, but that may be because I regularly do that myself. Hmmmm. Have to think more about that one.

Several issues on being polite came up, although they weren’t listed that way. They were called “rude.”

• If you are sitting second, never play the principal’s solos while warming up! It’s just not done. Even at the rehearsals. Don’t play other instruments’ solos either. Rude.

• Leave your arrogance at home. Members of the orchestra are all equal; everyone is contributing. Don’t gloat if you have a solo, and don’t bust out personal solo concertos and performances pieces just to show off. Everyone will be more annoyed than impressed.

◆ First impressions mean a lot

I found this on Pinterest- not so comic relief?

Be part of the group, not above it. All members of the group are equal (We are all "friggin' gods!) is one of those simple profound statements that we easily forget. Trumpet players have the reputation of being the arrogant ones and sadly it is deserved sometimes. From my observations we do tend to talk, joke, interact, and react more than many other band members. (Guilty as charged!) Rude? Yep. I keep working on it and I am getting better. It continues in the next two items as well.

• When the concertmaster tunes the orchestra, stop playing and be quiet. (Unless, of course, you’re playing first — then tune the orchestra!)

Being quiet is mentioned twice- and it says it all…

• Be quiet. (I can’t tell you how many times I hear orchestra members yakking … sometimes even during performances!)

The next three are things that many of us do in one way or another. These usually happen in rehearsals more so than performances. They are ways that we sometimes use to learn how our parts fit in the bigger picture. Yet, these etiquette concerns do make sense:

• Don’t conduct from your seat. That’s not your job!

Many times I do that in order to keep my own spot in the music, note where in the count we are, etc. In concert or performance I try to keep it to a minimum and subtle. But even then I realize that it can be distracting.

• Don’t count out loud … and I would even suggest don’t mouth the numbers

• Don’t tap your feet. The conductor is there to keep you in rhythm, and the tapping creates unnecessary noise. Please tap toes. I’ve attended concerts where a number of feet are tapping away — and they aren’t even in unison! Go figure!

We forget- or never paid attention to how we are viewed from the audience. If by the time we get to the performance we still have to be counting aloud, we have probably missed a rehearsal or two. I watched a performance on You Tube once and noticed the same thing about how the musicians were not tapping their feet in unison. As I watched I couldn’t figure out what timing some of them were tapping to- it wasn’t the time signature or a specific rhythm of the music. This is when I realized how distracting it would be for the audience to watch this. I remember my college band director forbidding!! us to tap our feet or toes so it could be seen. Tapping toes inside the shoe is the best alternative. I still fail regularly.

Another rudeness that is difficult to keep from doing in one way or another:

• DON’T ever look over at someone after he or she has made a mistake! That is so incredibly rude it’s inexcusable. We feel bad enough when we make mistakes. We don’t need to know you know! Don’t grimace, laugh, shake your head, or anything else either. In other words: DON’T REACT!

This “Don’t React!” advice is not just when someone else makes a mistake. It includes when you make a mistake. After a church performance one morning years ago one of the congregation came up to me and mentioned the mistake I made- not because they heard it, they didn't, but they saw my face when I made it. In other words, no matter who makes the mistake in performance (or rehearsal when it isn’t you): Don’t react!

Which flows into the next one that needs no explanation.

• If you don’t say anything negative about a colleague you will never be caught saying anything negative about a colleague. Think about it. Musicians are notorious gossipers .

◆ Never put out someone else’s light to make your light shine brighter

A lot of what I have talked about here on the Tuning Slide fits into the last three etiquette concerns.

• Having a good attitude can get you through a lot of rough times.
• Remember that while we strive to be “perfect” our true goal should be to make great music. No one is going to shoot you if you make a mistake! (Aside from maybe being shot with “anger daggers” from the conductor!)

Remember why you play music in the first place. That is the attitude piece.

Remember why you practice music- so you can get closer and closer to the goal of making great music. Take that into the rehearsal and on stage for the performance. One of my joys is to be sitting in the group when a great passage is coming from another section and I’m not playing. The chills up the spine, the joy of music becomes real. That’s why I practice and play and why I am still striving at age 69 to improve.

◆ Hear it, study it, make it become natural
◆ Be efficient

• Lastly, enjoy the music! Don’t take rehearsal so seriously that you lose your connection with the piece or with your instrument. Playing music in an ensemble is a real treat; don’t forget that you’re taking part in a meaningful cultural tradition that will edify your audience.

◆ Just have fun! It will happen faster

The Tuning Slide: 3.7- Arrogant- or Confident?

Weekly Reflections on Life and Music

Arrogance requires advertising.
Confidence speaks for itself.
-The Good Vibe Company

I know I have talked before about the very unfair reputation trumpet players have. We are often portrayed as arrogant and self-absorbed. We are told that in spite of what we seem to think it is not all about us. Here’s a good example of the stereotype from the website The Band Advocate’s Resource: (http://insanerandomhobbit.tripod.com/thebandadvocatesresource/index.html)

Trumpets-They are the leaders of the band, the melody, to quote "Drumline", "The trumpets are the voice of the band!" This constant focus and attention has made them egocentric and fairly arrogant, but mainly to those within the section. They are in love with themselves, and they hate associating with the bottom or the top of the section, depending upon where they are. They're loud and their proud. Typical trumpet conversation with the band director; "I could have played that solo better than that." "Do you want it then." "No thanks." This laid back attitude carries throughout the section. Trumpets tend to be odd and offbeat with perverted senses of humor. They are the comic masterminds of the band. Trumpet sections are about half girls, half guys. You won't see many waltzing off to choir, and if you do, chances are they sit bottom of the section. Straight from a trumpet player to you, though, we're not really as bad as we sound (Ha ha, note our section is longer than yours. Yeah, thought so!).

It’s hard living up to that stereotype, but we’ll keep on trying!

Seriously I have met very few trumpet players that fit that image. In reality most of us are far shyer than we appear. When one plays one of the loudest and most aurally notable of instruments, it’s hard to hide, so we just go for it. If we stand out by virtue of the instrument, we better live up to that instrument’s place in the band.

Which often does look like arrogance. That and the fact that we find it hard to be serious for too long. If there is a disruption somewhere in the band, it is more often than not in the trumpet section. Then we yell at each other, put each other down, ignore the director and then have to ask “Where are we starting?” [Sidenote: This is why I admire Bob Baca’s patience with a room FULL of trumpet players at Shell Lake Trumpet Workshop! Scary, but he keeps doing it!]

Having finished with some “true confessions” let’s go back to reality and what this post is all about- the difference between arrogance and confidence. Any one of us can have either without the other. Or we can even have both. Those are the truly obnoxious one’s among us.

What then IS the difference between the two? Well, for one, if you were offended by that paragraph above, you may need to work on your sense of humor; if you believed it to be true… read on…

First, I found the following on the Womanitely website:

• Arrogance is usually the result of a defense mechanism used by subconscious mind in order to prevent further criticism. Confidence comes from positivity, optimism and mental steadiness.

• Superiority is the main quality of an arrogant person. Arrogant people are single-minded; … On the contrary, confident people are high-minded, because they can feel good without having a desire to offend others. They usually see people’s potential and can help them succeed in something.

• An arrogant person thinks they are better than others, while a confident person knows they are just as good as others. Confident people will rarely be found lecturing or preaching to others or how they are wrong. Furthermore, they usually show respect while listening to somebody. Arrogant people have difficulty listening to others.

• An arrogant person will always try to one-up everything you say. They mind only their own position and make others accept their ideas. Confident people don’t try to impose their vision of the situation on others. Their accomplishments do it for them.

Lots of good thoughts in those quotes. We can know confident people because they tend to be open to other people’s ideas and abilities without needing to put them down. They listen to others and don’t impose their vision on others, rather seeking to learn new things and new perspectives from others. You don’t get that type of vibe from arrogant people

Cody Brown at Medium.com adds the following two differences:

• Arrogance makes your world smaller and
• The difference between the two has a lot to do with empathy.

It is a small world if what you think is right is the only thing that is right. It is just as small if you think you are either so superior to others or so afraid of failing that you can’t enjoy what you are doing. And the difference really boils down to that wonderful word, empathy. Empathy simply means that in some ways you can understand or feel another person’s emotions and reactions from their perspective. It means caring about them and seeking what’s good for them and for you. It is not sympathy- feeling sorry- but being open to them and what they experience.

In spite of all those things we trumpet players may have been accused of, I have met far more empathetic musicians than arrogant ones. Sure, some may come across as arrogant. They have such great confidence in their skills that they don’t seem to need or want comments or advice. That is often more a product of the gap between their skill and mine. If Trumpet John Smith picks up the horn and just blows away- that can seem arrogant because I want so badly to be able to do that. But when he leans over to the me and gives me a helpful hint, we can begin to see the empathy.

So how can we combat the image of being arrogant musicians? Here are some suggestions I found helpful.

Seek humility. That does not mean striving for it so we can boast of how humble we are, but learning to live it. One way to describe humility is to be teachable. Always look to learn from whoever you are with. There is wisdom abounding in our world. We often miss it because we think we already know it.

Listen with an open mind. That goes along with the being teachable. None of us knows it all. None of us can ever know it all. Someone else’s experiences may give a whole new perspective to how we see ourselves and our world. Keep that inquisitiveness fresh and open.

Be rigorously honest with yourself. One way of describing this is to not thing either to highly OR too lowly of yourself. Know you strengths and your weaknesses and be willing to admit the weaknesses to yourself. That’s how we know where we are still needing to work and learn. Confidence comes from doing what you do well and working to improve what isn’t there yet. All os who have attended the Shell Lake Trumpet Workshop have heard story after story of the way some of the great trumpet players keep working on the early pages of Arban’s. They know they have to keep working on the basics and practice every day just to maintain where they are. That’s rigorous honesty with oneself.

Pay attention to Self Two. This comes from the Inner Game ideas which we will delve into again more deeply later this fall. But for now, just remember that Self One is logical and wants perfection. When Self One wants to criticize you let Self Two pick up the slack and give Self One what it wants, a plan to get better. Then do it.

Believe in yourself! That’s part of that honesty. Believe you can do what you can do and are willing and able to learn how to do what you are not yet able to do. This also means don’t put yourself down in negative language or negative attitudes. Admit where you need to grow, but don’t make it seem like it is a personal flaw. You just haven’t gotten there yet.

Look like you believe in yourself. How you dress, how you stand, how you smile (or don’t smile), goes a long way in how others perceive you.

Find a group of musicians to play with who are better than you. If you are the best player in your band, get yourself a group to be with where you aren’t a star and listen to them. Get into a group that is more advanced than you are and work with them. Find a teacher who will push you. Take new ideas as ways to grow and not as criticism.

Keep a Beginner's Mind! Don't lose your inquisitiveness or joy at discovering new things about your world or your instrument. That is a surefire way to keep from becoming arrogant. The more you learn while keeping a beginner's mind, the more you will realize how little you truly know.

In the end your music will tell your story. You don’t have to do it. If you are confident, it will show. If you aren’t, no amount of arrogant behavior will make a difference.

The Tuning Slide: 2.10- Building on Basics-Being Deliberate

Weekly Reflections on Life and Music

Last week I started looking at some of the research information published by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool in the book, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise. They present three levels of practice: naive, purposeful and deliberate. It is only through that last level that we move beyond just being okay or even good to new levels of “expertise.” This goes beyond the supposed “10,000 Hour Rule” that was intuited by Malcolm Gladwell and others from Ericsson’s research, as a key to making that level of success. Ericsson points out first that 10,000 hours was an “average” - meaning there were those who had more and those who had less. Beyond that it wasn’t just any practice that allowed them to get that far. It was very clear, deliberate and quite intensive practice.

What is deliberate practice then? Well, combining several of Ericsson’s and Pool’s explanations, here is a summary of the elements of “deliberate” practice.

• Deliberate practice is focused. Students must give it their full attention.
• Deliberate practice involves feedback. Immediate, specific feedback on where students are falling short is vital.
• Deliberate practice requires a teacher
• Deliberate practice requires leaving one’s comfort zone. If students aren’t pushing themselves beyond what is comfortable and familiar, they will not advance.
• Deliberate practice requires specific goals aimed at target performances
• Deliberate practice builds on mental representations.

I note that in the list there are no suggestions. These are all required. No “electives” on the list. Deliberate practice is not for those just in it for simple fun. It is not for those who want to be casual players. It is for those who want to reach significant levels of expertise in their chosen field. I would say that from my observations over the years in my career fields (ministry and counseling) that these elements hold true for those who end up excelling in those fields. They work at it; they don’t take any of it for granted; they are never complacent about what they can do or can accomplish. They will almost always look for new ways to step out of their comfort zones to experience, to learn, to grow, and often to share their expertise. I have no research data to support this- it is what I have seen often. It may be that what many of those have done is just very effective purposeful-type practice, although I would argue that the expanding elements of deliberate practice are also at work- with or without the research data.

Ericsson points out that the research data is rich in certain fields- sports being one; music being another. That is because there are very specific skills and methods of teaching that can be employed in those fields. They can show that taking those extra steps and actions do have real and measurable impacts on the development of expertise.

An important element of why this works is what we now call “brain plasticity.” This is the ability of the human brain to grow and change throughout our lifetime. The brain will “rewire” itself with enough practice and exercise. Many of us used to call this “muscle memory” when we would work over and over on a particular passage until it fell just right beneath our fingers. That’s part of the brain plasticity. The memory is in the whole interconnection of brain, nerves, and muscles.

Building on basics, one on top of the previous, next on top of what we already know. That’s the stretching out of our comfort, the need for feedback, the place of a teacher. But it is also why even the top trumpet players still practice their scales on a daily basis. Many also do a series of routines that keep their skills sharp. Yes, they have played them for years; yes, they do them from memory; no, they are never satisfied that they know them cold. Those basics, whether they are from Arban, Clarke, Schlossberg, or Charlier, are still the basics. These do not change.

What I have discovered, since I am not planning on reaching that very high level of expertise that would require 3-6 hours of practice daily, is that these routines keep me grounded in my trumpet playing AND in how my abilities are improving. It is these basics that are truly never “just” basic. What Doc or Wynton does is based on those. Everything is built on them. Every time I play those I need to remember to stay focused. Even the famous Clarke #2. Pay attention. What do I hear differently this time? Why am I having trouble with that particular key today? Why do I forget that particular sharp or flat note? Focus. Give it my full attention. I wish I could say I can do that regularly. I can say I am better today that I was six months ago. If I stay focused, I will continue to improve.

(Bob Reeves published Jerry Hey-Larry Hall Extended William Adam Practice Routine. That is how one becomes an expert!)

Paying attention is, in and of itself, a source of discomfort- moving out of my easy box. When I pay attention I don’t just go through the exercise and say, “Got it for today. Time to move on.” If I am focused I will notice the tone is off, the breathing isn’t falling into place, rhythm skips, or all those missed or sloppy notes. They better get fixed or I will never get it right. That brain plasticity works for the mistakes, too. Mistakes get ingrained if we don’t do something to correct them immediately. The single best way to do that is simply to slow down. Still not right? Slower. Remember a few weeks ago when I looked at the three elements of a great trumpet player?
• Great Sound
• Great rhythm
• Great ear.
If tone or sound is off, you need to hear it. If you can’t get the rhythm, you need to hear it. If you can’t hear it, assume you are playing it too fast. So slow down. In a different context I often quote comedian Lily Tomlin: “For fast relief- try slowing down.” It works on trumpet as well as it works in daily life. That is the whole idea of mindfulness, one of those ideas that flow in and out of these posts. More on that again in three weeks. Right now, simply slowing down is the basic. That, in and of itself, can be a stretch for most of us. We want to play at speed, we want to be Dizzy playing a Charlie Parker bebop lick at full speed. Resist that temptation. Learn it first. If the sound and rhythm are off, slow down and get them right. Speed will come- often one beat/minute faster each day.

As I was working on this post, the lead trumpet in the quintet emailed me about having a “trumpet sectional” i.e. the two of us. My first thought was to think back on the quintet’s rehearsal the day before. I know that on one of the numbers I was less than good. It is a section of the piece in a style that I have trouble with. My response back was “Good idea.” It is for the very reasons I have been talking about. I will not get better if I am doing something wrong and not getting feedback- even when I know I haven’t done it right. There are the times and places, more than we realize, when we must move to that deliberate practice of getting personal feedback and then working with a colleague on improving it. The email came at the right time. Maybe I should do that more often if I want my practice to be deliberate.

What will be your deliberate practice movement this week? Maybe it will be an extra ten minutes with improving Clarke #2 or working that second section of Charlier at a slower speed in order to get the tone and rhythm right? Maybe you have a piece coming up in a way-too-soon gig that needs your attention. Don’t put it off. Work on it. Be deliberate- and slow- until the brain picks it up. Listen. Hear the good and the not-as-good. Work on fixing it. Get feedback from a colleague or a teacher.

Above all- be deliberate. It’s what gets you to your next level.

Next week we will look at more of the elements of deliberate practice and add one more thing: Grit- the thing that keeps us deliberate in our practice.

The Tuning Slide: 2.9- The Best Practice

Weekly Reflections on Life and Music

Let me start this week with a quote from the book, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool.

The best among us do not occupy that perch because they were born with some innate talent but rather because they have developed their abilities through years of practice, taking advantage of the adaptability of the human body and brain. (Ericsson, p. 256)

“Heresy,” you say. “What about the Mozarts of the world; child prodigies who just seem to be able to do whatever they do naturally?”

Ericsson tears that myth to pieces, as does Angela Duckworth in Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Research indicates that innate talent seems to be a lot scarcer than we want to admit. The reasons? We all can have a good excuse why we aren’t THAT good at whatever we do. “I wasn’t born with that talent.” While there may be predisposed for certain kinds of activities, the determining factor of the highly expert in many fields has nothing to do with that. It has to do with practice.

Oh, that again!

Yep. Even with something as seemingly mysterious as extremely advanced ability, the answer is not mysterious at all. In fact, as has often been quoted, the simplest answer is usually the most likely to be true. The incredible secret to becoming an expert is good old practice, practice, practice. Doc and Maynard and Miles got to their heights through practice. Being in the right place at the right time can help you get discovered, but there may very well be people who are as good as any of these icons who never had the opportunity to “make it.” One of the reasons is, of course, that it takes a lot of work (!!) to reach those levels. It also is because we are often satisfied to live in the “comfortable rut of homeostasis and never do the work that is required to get out of it. [We] live in the world of ‘good enough.’ “ (P. 47)

With this introduction in mind, here is a summary from a book review:

Not all practicing is equal. Ericsson identifies three different types of practicing. The most basic type of practicing is naïve practice, the generic rather mediocre practicing that children muddle through as they go from piano lesson to piano lesson. They will not become star performers, nor do they intend to.

A much more effective type of practice is what Ericsson calls purposeful practice. Purposeful practice is not simply repetition. Instead, it is characterized by well-defined, specific goals. Instead of just playing a piece over and over, purposeful practice would require the piano student to play the entire piece three times in a row with no mistakes. The guiding principle of purposeful practice is to take baby steps –– a bunch of them that, little by little, helps you reach the goal.
There are other characteristics that separate purposeful practice from naïve practice:

• Purposeful practice is focused. Students must give it their full attention.
• Purposeful practice involves feedback. Immediate, specific feedback on where students are falling short is vital.
• Purposeful practice requires leaving one’s comfort zone. If students aren’t pushing themselves beyond what is comfortable and familiar, they will not advance.

Purposeful practice is more effective than naïve practice. (Link)

Ericsson makes it clear that there are good things about “purposeful practice.” It is possible to improve one’s abilities with it. But he points out clearly that trying hard or pushing yourself to the limits is not enough. (P. 25) Back to the summary:

But to truly become an expert requires an even higher level of practice: Deliberate practice. Deliberate practice also pushes people out of their comfort zone and involves feedback and focus. However, deliberate practice is different from purposeful practice because it is based on proven techniques developed by past experts. “Deliberate practice is purposeful practice that knows where it is going and how to get there,” Ericsson writes. (Link)

What makes “deliberate practice” better than “purposeful practice”? One is that it benefits from a history of well established and well developed strategies and standards that produce high levels of performance. (Music training, by the way, is one of the prime examples of this!) Second is that it requires a teacher who can push and provide significant feedback. Ericsson calls it “purposeful” and “informed.” (P. 98)

Ericsson then goes on to list the traits that characterize “deliberate practice.”

• It develops skills that others have already figured out how to do and for which effective training techniques have been established.
• It takes place outside of one’s comfort zone and requires the student to try things that are just beyond current abilities.
• It involves well-defined, specific goals, not some vague overall improvement.
• It is deliberate- it requires a person’s full attention and conscious actions.
• It involves feedback and modification of efforts in response to the feedback.
• It produces and depends on effective mental representations.
• It almost always involves building or modifying previously acquired skills by focusing on particular aspects ad working to improve them specifically.

Deliberate practice works thanks to one very special attribute of the human brain- plasticity. It harnesses the adaptability of the human brain in response to mental and physical training.

There’s a lot of information in this one post. I will spend the next couple posts expanding on these and adding some hopefully helpful examples of how this can work. I will also look at the ideas of grit as talked about in Angela Duckworth’s book mentioned earlier. This whole concept I have been discovering over the past six months is nothing short of remarkable. It makes me excited to read it and think about what it means for me. It is also quite simple. Far, far from easy. But simple and straightforward. It has worked for many, and can have an impact on any of us.

Keys to effective practice are the same as the keys to effective living. That I will also explore. But for the next week, think about these ideas and reflect some on how your practice brings some of these ideas together and what needs to be improved.

Be serious, but, in the end I think we should also be careful that we don’t take ourselves too seriously. That can result in being too hard on ourselves. Being serious about our music- taking it seriously- is essential. But if it’s a drudgery, we won’t get to where we can go.

Have fun. That is one of the keys to the success of the work ahead. We have to enjoy it. So look at that this week, too.

The Tuning Slide: Crazy Great! Preparing for Tomorrow

Weekly Reflections on Life and Music

Learning isn’t a way of reaching one’s potential 

but rather a way of developing it.”

― Anders Ericsson,  

A recently published book has been making some waves. In Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson (psychologist) and Robert Pool (science writer)...

skillfully examine the eternal debate of nature vs. nurture with this thoughtful treatise supporting the latter. The authors posit that deliberate, focused practice is the key to learning and mastering any new skill, whether or not an underlying natural talent is present. “Generally the solution is not ‘try harder,’ but ‘try differently,’”
-Publishers Weekly

Success in today's world, expertise, requires a focus on practical performance, not just the accumulation of information.

 I thought this would be an appropriate way to end this first year of the Tuning Slide. It gets back to the general themes we have looked at in these posts since last September. It deals with intention, practice, passion, having mentors, paying attention. Anders and Pool comment that they

..can report with confidence that I have never found a convincing case for anyone developing extraordinary abilities without intense, extended practice.

The students of Bill Adam's instruction (and their students!) who have so influenced me this past year would agree. They have challenged me, and through me, you to look more closely at what we do in practice. Take it seriously. Find the time if you want to find the skills. Over this past year, as I have shared with you my journey at age 67 to become a much more proficient trumpet player this has been my constant awareness.  Each month I found myself practicing more days- because I wanted to and made it happen. Each month I also practiced longer each day- again because I wanted to and had the increased ability to do so. There are now days when I finish my routine and practice and can't believe what I have managed. Old dogs- new tricks. Yep!

But, as Anders and Pool tell us:

Doing the same thing over and over again in exactly the same way is not a recipe for improvement; it is a recipe for stagnation and gradual decline.

If I keep doing what I have always done I will keep getting what I have always gotten. Sure, I may have more endurance, but I won't have gained much else. One thing I know I want to work on, for example, is my high-note ability. I have a hunch I have been working on that the way I have always worked on it. Yes, I am more able to hit the high "C" than I used to be, but it is not solid or clear. My experience tells me I am not finding new ways to work on it to get me past my plateau. One of my goals this summer at adult Big Band Camp is to find one of the instructors who can help me figure that out.

Well, fleshing all this out will be one of the themes for next year. Which brings me to answer the question

• What's coming on The Tuning Slide?

First, I'm not posting anything for the next two weeks. I will be at the adult Big Band Camp at Shell Lake taking my next step into jazz and improv. I will be taking notes and developing the next series of 8 posts here on the Tuning Slide- all about jazz and improv and how they apply to life and what we can learn from Jazz about living. I will try to keep it broadly about jazz and not narrow it down to trumpets. This has been a passion of mine for many, many years and now I will take some time to write about it. Watch for that beginning Wednesday, July 6.

I will also be at the Trumpet Camp at Shell Lake the first week of August, taking notes and talking to people, including you, Mr. Baca. My goal will be to develop and expand the thoughts and ideas for year 2. Year 2 posts will begin on Wednesday, August 31.

Let me know if you have any topics you want me to research or riff on. Much of what I do here is my own written version of improvising, which is not, as some people think, simply flying by the seat of one's pants. Send me thoughts, quotes, or questions. Add them to the comments on the blog and I will work on them.

So, have a good two weeks while I regroup and move this blog into the next phase. Hope to have you back in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, don't stop practicing and growing. It is easy in the summer to become distracted. If you want to continue to grow toward your expertise, keep at it.

Let me conclude with two paragraphs from the website, Create Yourself Today about the Anders and Pool book. This is her takeaway from it

It’s not what you are born with or not, that makes you great at anything, makes your performance peak. And it’s not your environment either, at least not the one you were born into.

Your performance at any given field is all about your intent, your readiness, your desire to get great. Exceptionally great.
-Link

Maybe even

Crazy great!