Music Lesson: Intervallic Exercises

In this next exercise, we're going to use the technical and physical approaches that we've been developing in previous lessons on something which is perhaps a little bit more intervallically interesting. This is something maybe I've taken and used in composition or in improvisation.

The Pattern

• We will use:
  • Perfect fifths to ascend
  • Perfect fourths to descend

What I'm going to do is put a series of Fermatas over notes at the bottom. (That's pauses for people in the UK, but fermatas for everyone else.)

Airspeed Warm-Up

What I'm doing here is crescendoing to speed up the air:

• My tongue position goes forward.
• As I ascend, the intervals will be different. They will be part of the same finger pattern as in the flexibility exercises we've done.

As I descend, I'm going to try to:

• Crescendo down my perfect fourths.
• Maintain the airstream.
• Pitch the notes accurately, rather than just hoping for the best, which is the normal way that jazz trumpet players seem to descend (sorry to say).

Rubato and Breathing

This is rubato. Anytime I need to:

• It's legato and rubato.
• Take a breath through your nose, not too quickly.

Important:

• Not so that anyone else can hear you breathe.
• Carry on as if you were starting the exercise from that point.

Tongue Position and Articulation

What hopefully I've done are a few little splits there.

• I've breathed the exercise and got my tongue position working for me.
• My tongue position will be in the right place when I start to use any kind of articulation, whether it be my jazz articulation or just a staccato.

Now let's use a short staccato that we worked on earlier. Let's say it, then play it like this:

• Remember to look at the center part of your bell and sing it (without pitch) to keep the air flowing.

Optimistic Development

In a way, I tongue faster when I play it on the trumpet, which is quite an optimistic development!

• I will keep going at that.
• I really feel saying it before playing helps get the flow.

Since we did it legato with labored fermatas to ensure proper breathing:

• By the time I play staccato and light, it should actually feel liberating and easier to play the trumpet.

Practicing Staccato

Let's do that one more time because it felt nice.

• It's almost so short that I'm not taking it seriously enough.
• And that's how short it needs to be.

Application in Music

Later, we'll look at how short staccato can be placed in music, which is very useful in:

• Pop music
• Jazz

Short Notes Example

The short eighth notes we practiced were those short notes.

Generally, what happens is when people play those short notes, they sound more like this:

• So I don't know: Which one do you prefer?
• I know which one hurts less, and that's probably the one I want to do.

Okay, good luck!