Audition Preperation..

Two more days until my first college audition. Here is how I've been getting ready this last week.

I've put together a routine that I will do on that day. It's a 20-30 minute warm. 45 minute break(same ammount of time as the drive to the school), then a 10 minute mini warm up and then run threw my song. A five minute break and finally do a recording of my mock audition.

I'm not really nervous. I wish I was better prepared but I feel comfortable with the level at wich I'm playing. I got sick ealier this week so I've been trying to get my chops back in shape and I feel like they're pretty close.

Scales (Mendez Quotes

"All you have to do is practice scales. Scales and more scales... "

"slowly and gradually the synchronization between the lips and fingers become of second nature, when you no longer need to think of the mechanics of the instrument you can begin to play things like... well... like the bumblebee"
Rafael Mendez

I quoted this from a video where I saw him. When I heard him say "all you have to do is practice scales" I said "well sh*T I can do that"

so I started to practice scales but I followed his other advised:

"in trumpet playing cleanliness is next to purity of tone, it must be kept clean, always"

"you need plenty of wind to play it, not that one forces the air, never that, you never use more effort to produce the tone then in ordinary conversation"

so with all that in mind I got to practicing scales, over and over again very slowly making sure every attack and everything was clean and not forced. As I progressed I gradually got faster and faster... Within the last couple of days I've probably been spending 30 minutes practicing scales... over and over again...

Well, all the work is paying off. I've noticed incredible improvement in my playing. And I mean overall playing. Articulation, tone, endurance, cleanliness ext...

Who would of thought that something so simple could help so much.. incredible!