Canadian Musician - November/December 2020 | Page 30

BRASS

Chris Coletti is an internationally acclaimed trumpet soloist and chamber and orchestral musician . Famous for his work with Canadian Brass ( 2009- 2019 ), Coletti is also assistant professor of trumpet at Ithaca College School of Music . He has performed and / or recorded with some of the biggest names in music , ranging from the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic to Kanye West and Quincy Jones . As a content creator and influencer , Coletti has thousands of monthly visitors to his online videos , blog , social media accounts , and newsletter . www . trumpetchris . com .
By Chris Coletti

Don ' t Be a Hero – Sound Like One !

The biggest hurdle most trumpeters face in live performances

– and this includes auditions , recitals , orchestral concerts , quintet performances , and even livestreams – is missing too many notes .
Blame digital recordings , if you will , for making editing incredibly easy and thus more common , forever raising the standard of excellence to near perfection . But the reality is that audiences , conductors , and judge panels alike need to hear a clean performance in order to enjoy it .
Do not misinterpret this to mean that a clean performance necessarily equals a successful performance ! Even a “ perfect ” performance is not good enough ; each performance must tell a story to be wholly successful .
That said , too many missed notes can and will eventually distract your audience from the music to a point of no return . You ’ ve lost ’ em .
Now , to make matters worse , we trumpeters tend to measure our worth as musicians in the context of our equipment , i . e . which horn we play and which mouthpiece size we favour . Big equipment is very trendy right now . You may have heard that playing Petroushka on E trumpet ( GASP !) makes you a worthless wimp . This mentality certainly does not get us closer to our goal !
Note Accuracy Note accuracy is a result of :
1 . Ð Your imagination creating the specific sound of the note in your head , and
2 . Ð Your body transforming the sound into physical reality . Doing this well is a result of proper practice .
Of course , equipment is a factor . If you did a blind test and played a series of mouthpieces from small to large , the largest will almost always sound the best – especially up close . This does not mean it is the right choice , nor that it will even sound the best in a given musical setting .
Keep this in mind when choosing equipment : the right set up is the one that helps you to do the best job in the application at hand . Period !
You must determine what this means for you . A freelancer might require more middle-sized equipment than someone with a more specialized position , i . e . a fourth trumpet in a symphony orchestra or lead trumpet in a big band .
Similarly , there is nothing wrong with taking out different equipment for a different job . For example , you may wish you could achieve that super dark sound on your B for the offstage solo in Mahler ’ s “ Symphony No . 3 ,” but using a flugelhorn might be a better choice . Sure , it would be great to nail Bartok ’ s “ Concerto for Orchestra ” on C trumpet , but the chance of missing the high note when using an E trumpet goes down to almost zero percent .
Note that you don ’ t have to buy an E , D , piccolo , C , cornet , rotary , and natural trumpet to succeed as a trumpeter ; occasional access to these instruments is all you need .
Somehow , we ’ ve developed this idea that easy equals wimpy . Trust me ; having a job – especially these days – rules . Being a hero and cracking notes in vain doesn ’ t . We trumpeters don ’ t have it easy , and any advantage is a huge advantage . So take advantage !
You ’ re a musician . Don ’ t act like a hero – sound like one !
This article is based on a post from Chris ’ s official blog at www . trumpetchrisblog . com – a valuable resource for anyone interested in becoming a top performer .
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