Phrasing
Lesson time: (1min 46sec)
Free lesson
This lesson is part of the course Play Authentic Swing Trumpet
Watch this lesson for free below.
Lesson transcript:
Bringing Your Music Alive
Maybe at this point you've pressed pause to practice the things that we've just been talking about. Hopefully, it's starting to sound swingy now for you.
The Journey of Each Phrase
The next thing to focus on is the journey of each phrase. How do we make this music really come alive?
To bring the music alive, we need to think in phrases. Let's try to identify where those phrases are. Luckily, Mark has put the phrases in for us.
- The phrases are marked with a curved line over the top or underneath the music.
- Look on the part; you'll see them clearly marked.
For me, each phrase is like a little story. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
We have to know where we're traveling to, it's like a journey. I'm now going to really exaggerate that journey to see if you can hear:
- Where I start
- Where I go to the middle
- Where I end
The first thing I did there was to make sure that all the notes contained in that phrase mean something to each other. It's like words in a sentence.
You would not talk like that to your friends, would you?
So don't do it when you play the trumpet bit, because we always want to join the notes together to make a beautiful sentence.
About the instructor
Mike Lovatt studied at Trinity College of Music, where he was awarded the Jon Kelly Jazz Scholarship. He has performed and recorded across a huge range of styles with artists including Quincy Jones, Robbie Williams, Eric Clapton, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Buble, Oasis, Michel Legrand, Tony Bennett, Shirley Bassey and Danny Elfman, among many others. As Principal Trumpet in London's West End, Mike has performed in Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, The Producers, Billy Elliot, Guys and Dolls, Saturday Night Fever, My Fair Lady and Spamalot, amongst others. He has played on movie soundtracks including the James Bond films, Harry Potter with the London Symphony Orchestra, the award-winning Chicago, Kevin Spacey's Beyond the Sea, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Madagascar and The Corpse Bride. He is featured on trumpet and cornet in George Fenton's Mrs Henderson Presents, and on trumpet in Looking for Eric. Mike is principal trumpet with the Grammy-nominated John Wilson Orchestra and has been featured in their celebrated BBC Promenade concerts and recordings. Mike is sought after as a teacher and clinician, and is a professor of trumpet at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music. In April 2013 he was proud to be awarded the prestigious Derek Watkins' Chair of Trumpet at the Royal Academy of Music, London. In his MusicGurus courses, Mike shares the secrets behind his versatility, showing you how to nail authentic swing, rock and Latin trumpet styles so you can play any of them with confidence and the right feel. read more