Canadian Musician - November/December 2018 | Page 30

BRASS
Paul Baron is one of today’s most highly respected lead and commercial trumpet players. His sound is distinctly bright and powerful and carries
with it decades of experience in a wide range of musical styles from jazz to rock, big band to musical theatre, and TV jingles to movie soundtracks.
As well as being a performing artist for Jupiter Instruments and Pickett Brass with his signature line of mouthpieces, Paul is also an author,
educator, and clinician. www.paulbaron.net.
By Paul Baron
The Role of the Section
Player
I
Taking Direction
f the lead player has to point out something
you did not catch while playing through
something the first time, that’s okay. Make
sure to listen to the direction and make the
changes asked of you.
Most of the time, the lead player will ask
you for a change once or twice. The first time is
strictly a musical request, so do not take it per-
sonally and make the change. If you are asked
twice for the same change, it starts to get a little
frustrating for the lead player. If it goes beyond
two requests, it starts becoming personal and
will appear the section player either does not
care to follow or do a good job, or is showing
disrespect by not making the adjustment.
When I play lead, I try to make everything
so obvious that I am easy to follow. If there is
something that I hear that needs to change in
a section part, I assume it is because I was not
clear enough in my playing. When I make the
request of the section player, it is not a personal
criticism but a musical request. Sometimes I
hear excuses or reasons why something did
not happen with me. These may be valid but
it is not necessary to explain or come up with
an excuse; just make the adjustment. On occa-
sion, after as many as six times addressing the
same spot in the music without any change
or seemingly without any attempt to adjust, I
have had section players who repeatedly give
excuses or reasons why they have not played
the part correctly. That is extremely frustrating
and not a fun scenario to play in. It is a sure-fire
way to get a reputation as a difficult person to
play with and that certainly will not help your
career. If you approach the music with respect
and musicality and show respect to the lead
player by following and blending, you will earn a
very good reputation and be asked back. I have
had a number of section-mates with whom I
love playing, and when a contractor or band
leader asks for my recommendations for a sec-
tion, I will always ask for these players. It makes
my job as a lead player so much easier and en-
30 • C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N
Part 3
joyable, and ultimately, the section and band
sound better as a result.
Respect the Role
In regards to respecting the music, the lead
player, and the other players in general, you
need to respect the job and all that it entails.
Show up on time and with a positive attitude.
Make sure your instruments are in good working
order and that you look like a professional ready
for work. Be sure to bring all the mutes, especially
if you do not know what is going to be needed.
It is better to have more than not enough. If you
have the time to get a good night’s sleep and be
fresh to play, make sure you look after yourself.
Sometimes travel and playing schedules take
precedence, but make sure you get yourself
together and focus on the job. Not many will be
sympathetic if you come in after a heavy party
night hungover and playing poorly as a result.
The priority is to the work, so make sure you are
prepared on all levels and approach it giving
everything you can. Nobody wants to hear you
complaining about the music, the job, etc. If you
really dislike the players you are working with
or the type of music you have been asked to
play, it is much better to turn down the work
than to come in and be miserable, which in turn
makes the people around you miserable. A good
positive attitude and approach to the music will
result in more work down the road.
Focus
Concentration is a very important part of
the job. You don’t want to be the one losing
concentration and causing a recording
session to go long, or stepping in holes in a
live performance. Of course, sometimes this
is unavoidable; we’re all human, but you need
to come to the job firing on all cylinders. Most
jobs only require intense concentration for short
bursts, but try to immerse yourself fully in the
moment and job at hand. An average Broadway-
type show only lasts about two-and-a-half hours
with an intermission, and likely has sections of
dialogue where you can momentarily relax your
concentration. Doing the math here, you can
see that the length of concentration is really
not that taxing in most cases. A trick I use to
keep my concentration up after I have been in
a long run of a show is to pick a different thing
to really concentrate on. Sometimes I really pay
attention to the way the bell vibrates and I try
to make the bell vibrate with the least amount
of effort. Sometimes I focus my attention on the
way the air feels as it passes through my lips and
imagine how it spins through the mouthpiece
and horn and out the end of the bell. These
may seem like weird ideas, but after 50-plus
shows playing the same thing every day, it
really helps to keep your head in the game by
bringing your intense focus to something a little
different each show.
It is like really focusing on a small piece of
bark, on the larger tree, in the much larger for-
est. It’s all in the perspective. Respect of the
music, the players around you, and the lead
player, as well as focus and attention to those
things, will make you a pleasure to work with
and will have a definite and positive effect on
your career.
This is based on a
lesson from Paul’s
book, Trumpet
Voluntarily – A Holistic
Guide to Maximizing
Practice Through
Efficiency, containing
more expanded
information on this
subject as well as 19 chapters with music
examples and exercises. The book serves
as a guide to teach the player how, what,
and when to practice. It is available now
through qPress, www.qpress.ca.