ben66
01-20-2008, 12:32 PM
Hey everyone here are my top 10 tips for becoming a better musician.
1.) You should always get a great warm-up in. A good warm-up will allow you to play better and much more effectively throughout the rest of the day. Dont' rush through it and calmly play through your scales and buzz your mouthpiece if able to.
2.) Make sure that you always keep a metronome handy. These things can be very helpful in helping you to keep time. They play a little click in a rhythmic tempo which can help you be precise when playing songs or etudes. More expensive metronomes with subdividers can help you play eighth notes or in 2/4.
3.) Make sure to get a strobe tuner. A strobe tuner is key in making a band sound very nice. A strobe tuner allows everyone to see what their pitch is and will stop people from wondering, "Is that kid playing the right note?"
4.) Look at the instructor. This follows up on the previous tip about a metronome. Your instructor is like the extension of a metronome on stage. Since he isn't uttering any noise, make sure you look at him so you don't find yourself falling behind or rushing ahead.
5.) Look at your music carefully. Make sure you follow the coda and watch out for all accidentals. If you miss an accidental you will most likely destroy the pitch unless your lucky enough to play another note that falls in harmony which you probably won't. For example if there is an F sharp, and you play an F you will get an extremely ugly sound. Fortunately most people realize this, but unfortunately you've already destroyed the pitch by then.
6.) Make sure your section is in tune. You might possibly be in tune and Johnny might say he is in tune too. Chances are if you haven't played together, you aren't. In the end the grand master of tuners is yourself. Tune to one another and adjust your instruments to compensate.
7.) Dont' chew food or eat food while playing an instrument. Even if your a drummer. First of all it corrodes your instrument and second of all your chewing rhythm will probably throw off your sense of rhythm altogether. It's best not to even think about chewing food.
8.) This is an advanced tip. For all those who have advanced to the level of being able to improv make sure you play exciting lines. Build up your vocabulary, don't play the same one liner you may have heard from a Maynard Ferguson tape a while back. Get some music, or buy a book and look for cool rhythms and things you can play to make your solo sound unique and stand out.
9.) How you play. Tone is important for anyone who is looking to take music seriously. Cracked notes and squeaks will make you sound bad no matter who you are. Make sure that you always play your notes crisply and clearly and try not to crack or squeak them. A good way to do this is play your scales and sound as beautiful as you can doing them.
10.) Increase your range. This is a strictly brass instrument tip, probably more specifically for the trumpet. Instructors all over the country can get frusturated because their trumpets don't have the correct range. To give you a good feel of what your range should be, a good lead trumpet in high school should be able to bang out a high G if the need arises. Now if your range isn't quite there that's okay. Maybe it's only a C. If that is the case, play your b flat concert scale up an octave and hold out the A, B, and C. Not only will this build some endurance but this will allow you to increase your range and get you used to playing in the upper register.
I will expand on these tips later and hopefully you all enjoyed them. I am not a music teacher and therefore do not claim any responsibility for the success/failure rate of these tips. Have fun and PM me for more tips or I will make another thread that hopefully you will enjoy.
1.) You should always get a great warm-up in. A good warm-up will allow you to play better and much more effectively throughout the rest of the day. Dont' rush through it and calmly play through your scales and buzz your mouthpiece if able to.
2.) Make sure that you always keep a metronome handy. These things can be very helpful in helping you to keep time. They play a little click in a rhythmic tempo which can help you be precise when playing songs or etudes. More expensive metronomes with subdividers can help you play eighth notes or in 2/4.
3.) Make sure to get a strobe tuner. A strobe tuner is key in making a band sound very nice. A strobe tuner allows everyone to see what their pitch is and will stop people from wondering, "Is that kid playing the right note?"
4.) Look at the instructor. This follows up on the previous tip about a metronome. Your instructor is like the extension of a metronome on stage. Since he isn't uttering any noise, make sure you look at him so you don't find yourself falling behind or rushing ahead.
5.) Look at your music carefully. Make sure you follow the coda and watch out for all accidentals. If you miss an accidental you will most likely destroy the pitch unless your lucky enough to play another note that falls in harmony which you probably won't. For example if there is an F sharp, and you play an F you will get an extremely ugly sound. Fortunately most people realize this, but unfortunately you've already destroyed the pitch by then.
6.) Make sure your section is in tune. You might possibly be in tune and Johnny might say he is in tune too. Chances are if you haven't played together, you aren't. In the end the grand master of tuners is yourself. Tune to one another and adjust your instruments to compensate.
7.) Dont' chew food or eat food while playing an instrument. Even if your a drummer. First of all it corrodes your instrument and second of all your chewing rhythm will probably throw off your sense of rhythm altogether. It's best not to even think about chewing food.
8.) This is an advanced tip. For all those who have advanced to the level of being able to improv make sure you play exciting lines. Build up your vocabulary, don't play the same one liner you may have heard from a Maynard Ferguson tape a while back. Get some music, or buy a book and look for cool rhythms and things you can play to make your solo sound unique and stand out.
9.) How you play. Tone is important for anyone who is looking to take music seriously. Cracked notes and squeaks will make you sound bad no matter who you are. Make sure that you always play your notes crisply and clearly and try not to crack or squeak them. A good way to do this is play your scales and sound as beautiful as you can doing them.
10.) Increase your range. This is a strictly brass instrument tip, probably more specifically for the trumpet. Instructors all over the country can get frusturated because their trumpets don't have the correct range. To give you a good feel of what your range should be, a good lead trumpet in high school should be able to bang out a high G if the need arises. Now if your range isn't quite there that's okay. Maybe it's only a C. If that is the case, play your b flat concert scale up an octave and hold out the A, B, and C. Not only will this build some endurance but this will allow you to increase your range and get you used to playing in the upper register.
I will expand on these tips later and hopefully you all enjoyed them. I am not a music teacher and therefore do not claim any responsibility for the success/failure rate of these tips. Have fun and PM me for more tips or I will make another thread that hopefully you will enjoy.