1 | a 4 Endurance Drills : for Performance Skills ob ~~ a) a Scale & chord studies intended for the development of the most basic skills: 4 Asmooth, relaxed air flow, a ‘A compact, efficient tongue stroke and 4 A responsive aperture frames by a strong, stable embouchure - plus x é a ~ FIVE BACH TRANSCRIPTIONS ~ Mn a A a TRANSITION PUBLICATIONS A. A DistrisuTeD By TP3 CHARLES COLIN PUBLICATIONS, New York $18 = wy A a A Bs - -af | Chris Gekker is Professor of Trumpet at the University of Maryland. He has been featured as soloist at Camegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. After performances of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 and the Christmas Oratorio at Camegie Hall, the New York Times praised his “bright virtuosity” and described his playing as “clear toned and pitch perfect.” Chris appears as soloist on more than twenty recordings and on more than a hundred chamber music, orchestra, and jazz recordings. CD Review called his recording of Copland’s Quiet City “a model of quiet perfection” and in an overview of several solo recordings Gramophone Magazine described his performances as “astonishingly poised.” Of his recording of Eric Ewazen’s Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, American Record Guide states “Ewazen writes that he had Gekker’s sound in his mind when he wrote the Sonata, and I can understand why. It is round, soft edged, and gorgeous at soft dynamic levels, and always full and well controlled at fortissimo.” Chris was a member of the American Brass Quintet for eighteen years, and on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and Columbia University. He was principal trumpet with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and remains in demand with groups such as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Chris has performed and recorded with many jazz and commercial artists, and often for television and movies. Many of his former students occupy orchestral positions in major symphonies throughout the world, as well being prominent in jazz, chamber, and commercial music. His Articulation Studies and 44 Duos are available from Colin Publications and are sold worldwide. Chris is a native of Washington D.C., and a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Maryland. His teachers include Emerson Head, Sidney Mear, Adel Sanchez, and Gerard Schwarz.Ss Fee SSSSTSSCLC OHH VS COTES TE TVTF GERBER REREESSEED The building of skill begins wit 3 il gins with consci icati Mee ee ree application and through repetition evolves infallible but to gana sense of relaxed Beedove Autor falvstoe soc dese cnt ig Fastest caSENG ox om Aston aii ‘once described his Fora long, successful career, physi ieee olan lene tec and psychological tolerance for repetition is Ae elie renaine tan let. Or rae, ot ‘Yolerance but he abit coms wih he mening AN coms aot The joy of fulfilling performances \so very important is a thick skin- ev ' P : see monaal ine cveryone will experience negative criticism and al trumpeter can afford to be fragile, physically or Successful practi réforall tee ee omg alee and long term goals: what we have to emer oe Fimprovements we need that will require a etn was ee Sennen Store to be ready for the same situation in he fire wig Seen eee ee iting is useful because it helps to avoid a ee really hard, I've just got to practice more.” Instead, we cote mene need to be able to articulate softly in the low register when my There is a real contrast i i eo Between the way diferent ramps practi, and itis not the asia Dene Waco i Cone tudes For ths test players, at i each scale, each phrase is like a little mirror. where tl i . we they receive feedback that makes every practi session ke a lesson they are ed See ee both subconsciously and consciously. Less accomplished tumeters at themselves down with unfocused work, are less ebm npr Sie selves and rarely connect with their own playing on an intui Kel IS et ba entals have to be continually reaffirmed and refined: a s at ow, a compa efficient tongue stroke, and a sensitive, responsive aperture appara! bya song, sable ‘embouchure, all leading to our goal of controlling inside out.” To a large extent our professional success will be built on how we perform when we are not at our best. One of our goals as performers is to make our “bad days” noticeable only to ourselves. To do tis, we need to continually strive to raise our abilities so our performance evel says high when things are not working as we might wish. The best Bttitude reflects a kindof balance, steadily working to improve wile having fun and enjoying what we do. Real confidence comes from the knowledge that we can perform well when we are not at our best. To paraphrase the great Amold Jacobs: “do not be abressed wih how you sound, bate wih ow You wart 1 sound. Always play to that ideal col ‘tone inside you.” Experience repeatedly confirms that “good luck” is an important factor in all succtteful careers, The Kind of “good luck” that we are talking about is not accidental: it js when preparation and opportunity intersect, To posses this “luck” one simply must be prepared for last minute opportunites, the kind that will often propel a young career Prd. The best young musicians recognize thatthe life ofa performer is a hard one; they consistently work tobe ready for when ther chance to be heard suddenly appears, Sheetal, fora professional trumpeter, ths means to be comfortable in a wide variety> C of rhythmic situations, transpositions, registers, dynamics, tempos, and styles of articulation. Above all, the ability to blend with other musicians (not just other trumpet players) in a wide range of musical styles. As I once heard Gerard Schwarz say in a master class, “careers don’t begin with playing first trumpet on Mabler 5 or Petrouchka, but with second trumpet on a Mozart piano concerto.” Joseph Conrad once observed the contrast of how love for the sea was expressed by amateur yachtsmen and professional fishermen. The yachtsmen sailed when the weather ‘was beautiful, made their own schedules, and were always enthusiastic about their time on the water. The fishermen earned their livelihood by daily facing whatever the sea offered, often cursing their hardships as they dealt with the elements. Their feelings for the sea, a complex mix of love, respect, and wariness, came from a very deep part of their souls, and would rarely be expressed verbally. This can be very similar to the inner emotions of professional performers. Conrad asks us to think deeply about the nature of this kind of love, to look through and beyond what is attractive and convenient to what is truly beautiful,ment of our most basic sive These scale and chord studies are intended for the develop: skills: a smooth, relaxed air flow, a compact, efficient tongue stroke, and a respon aperture framed by a strong, stable embouchure. I recommend establishing a very smooth legato tongue before moving to crisper articulations. The overall concept for these drills is the same as in Herbert L. Clarke's Technical Studies- to play with ease in all registers, keeping our embouchure fresh and pliable. The ability to practice hard and productively while staying fresh is the simple key to acquiring real endurance, which Clarke described as “90% of cornet playing.’ ‘The late flutist Thomas Nyfenger once asked his teacher, Julius Baker, why he practiced so deliberatcly. Mr. Baker replied, “If1 never make a mistake, I'll never make a mistake.” This enigmatic wisdom can also be applied to endurance development= if while practicing hard, we never get tired, we will never get tired. Obviously hard work is sometimes fatiguing, but we should always try to avoid completely draining our reserves. ‘A number of exercises are influenced by Richard Shuebruk’s Graded Lip Trainer, Grade 3, and Robert Nagel’s Rhythmic Studies. These should be practiced with a metronome, not for speed, but for developing a sense of relaxed composure when faced with difficult entrances. Our ability to enter well is crucial to our professional success, and relies largely on how relaxed and rhythmical our preparatory breathing is- how “synchronized” we are, as Carmine Caruso would explain. Try not to “stack air” (take in more than will be used)— when air has to be expelled during rests, we cannot avoid excess tension. The Bach transcriptions should be interpreted very expressively within large, steady ; pulses. I am very gratefil to have been inspired in this music by my colleagues, including oboist Stephen Taylor, flutist Susan Rotholz, organist Ted Guerrant, conductors Ryohei Nakagawa (Tokyo Bach Band) and Blanche Honegger Moyse (New England Bach Festival), and by recordings of Glenn Gould and Dinu Lipati. seer ererr ree eee ee eseseeseseses bil di adhd Bad ahh hd <