FBSMC4, A Musical Approach to the Basics, Intro into Session 3: Warming-up

Warming- up is basic to brass playing. Not only to brass playing, but to anyone who uses their body as a vehicle for achievement. Athletes, martial arts people, dancers, musicians and actors and actresses to name a few. And don't forget those of us who exercise to keep our bodies healthy so it can continue to function well for as long as it can.

Sometime in the next 12 to 18 hours, 3 new videos will be posted on warming up. This is what our Session 3 will be about. Remember this is a musical and organic approach that hopefully will inspire warming-up as something meaningful and practically useful. Warming-up is allowing ourselves the space to tune ourselves to ourselves and put all of our various parts in harmony with one another. It is a whole thing. Body, mind and our Self or Essence. It does not have to be some boring task or 'necessary evil' so we can really just do what we want to do. It is a part of the whole connective integrated process.

In Session 3, Part 3, (video 3), endurance naturally starts being brought up. I hope this will prove to be good introduction into Session 4, which will be about endurance, a musical approach to it. Yes! Endurance is a part of the musical process because it has to do with the ability to stay within the connection no matter what. But that is for next week...

'See' you soon on a, musical approach to warming-up!

Session 2 of Frequency Bone Summer Music Connection 4: "Articulation Not Attacks!"

Here we are in "A Musical Approach to the Basics" Session 2, titled: "Articulation Not Attacks!" The description of these videos was posted earlier today, so please refer to those in the last blog post. Hope you find these useful!


Session 2: 
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

FBSMC4, Some Insights into Session 2, "Articulations Not Attacks!"

Either later today or tomorrow, FBSMC4, Session 2 titled "Articulation Not Attacks!" will be coming to the blog. It is in 3 parts and of course consists of 3 videos.

 In Part 1, I was working with my new microphone trying to get a better setting so the sound of the trombone would not be distorted. So many things just started to flow out of me that I just kept this video which was really meant to be a test for microphone placement! When it is happening, let it happen! So from this 'test', lots of stuff flew out of me including the subject of articulation. So I took that cue and kept running with it.

Part 2 could have the subtitle, "Find the Breathing Room within the Standard." What I mean by this, is to keep our minds and bodies from getting stiff while we get more specific about what we are looking for. There is aways room in what appears to very little room for 'error.' Even in the touchy realm of intonation! :-) Legato is brought up in this video and one of the important things is the attention to the musical approach. Musical here meaning, an idea that has gesture, contour and clear feeling or imagery. 


Part 3 could have the subtitle, "Basics are All Around Us" or, "Change is Basic to Living." Again, this video is very spontaneous and live at the point! There is a lot of fun and important information for teachers and students in this presentation.

*As you can see from these videos already, I am being myself. I am giving myself lots of room while keeping on task. This is what works for me. If you watch all the videos, I'm sure that a lot of your questions that arise from my seemingly jumping around in the subject matter and weaving many things in, will be answered. If you have questions, please send them in the comment section and I will address them. 

FBSMC4, SESSION 1, PARTS 1 & 2: Basics are Natural

In this pair of videos called "Basics are Natural," I am setting the tone for our summer get together which is called "A Musical Approach to the Basics."  I approach the basics in a musical way and am very spontaneous with them. What is musical you might ask? Well, for me, it means to be genuinely alive! It is organic and very naturally basic. Finding one's way is natural in the discovery process. The good teacher is a skilled guide and the student is driven by their own inner force while listening and applying the guide's directions as good as they can. 

Note: I am experimenting with a new microphone and the sound is not stellar on these videos. Hopefully the next video which should be out in a couple of days will be better! Don't let the not terrific sound block you from getting the main feeling and points that are being offered. 

Session 1, Part 1:

Session 1, Part 2:

 

Welcome to Frequency Bone Summer Music Connection 4! A Musical Approach to the Basics

Welcome to the Fourth Annual "Frequency Bone Summer Music Connection"! Enjoy and take your time with this introductory video. A set of two more videos will be posted two days from now. Dive in and get your feet wet with the basics!

This introductory video to this summer's work, "A Musical Approach to the Basics," is to encourage a fuller feeling for and connection to what is basic. The simple, core, elementary and fundamental aspects of any subject are its roots. The seed will become a fully mature plant if its basics are taken care of. It is home base, the grounded state where all the later developments find their center.

An excellent exercise is to look at different things in life and find out what their basics are. For example: organic life breathes, whether it is a plant, snail, bird, fish, dog or a human. Breathing is so basic.  And it is also basic in wind and brass playing. It is about keeping it natural and at the same time realizing it is something to be developed into a skill. Here is an exercise:

1. Take a breath through your mouth lasting 5 seconds. 

2. Hold for 5 seconds.

3. Exhale the breath through your mouth for 10 seconds.

4. Repeat this 5 times then breath normally.

How do you feel after this?

Now repeat the exercise in this way:

1. While taking taking the in breath, feel the air as a natural powerful source of fuel for your body. 

2. While holding the breath, feel the air energizing your body.

3. During the exhale of the breath, feel all of your mind and body relaxed and stress free.

4. With each repetition of the 3 steps, feel each of the feelings get stronger and more potent each time.

Now how do you feel?

The importance of this simple exercise is to emphasize how important our minds are when we approach the basics. If we can have a feeling and connection about the basics that is natural and healthy, we will program our minds and bodies to get the most nourishment from them.


BASICS ARE NOT JUST  BEGINNING DO'S AND DON'TS. THEY ARE A VITAL PART OF DEVELOPMENT THAT HAVE A MENTAL, EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL CONNECTION. THEY ARE AT THE CORE OF IT ALL. THE SOUL PART. WHERE THE BASICS ARE IS WHERE THE ESSENCE LIVES.

FREQUENCY BONE SUMMER MUSIC CONNECTION 4

Yes, it is that time of year again! Very soon there will be the first video in my online summer camp Frequency Bone Summer Music Connection 4. It will consist of a series of great music, trombone and human interest topics. Frequency Bone Summer Music Connection 4, (FBSM4), promises to be captivating in all ways to a variety of musicians, poets, photographers and artists ... including trombonists!  :-) My hope is to continue to shed light on bringing out the spirit of the music in each person. This summer will focus on how to be more creative with developing our technique, coming at it from a musical perspective.

What is a 'musical' perspective? It is in the manner of approach. How we approach something can make the difference between a vibrant discovery practice session or a make the 'doughnuts' unconscious practice session. In my view of a musical approach, all of the basics are seen as expressive, meaningful and practical movements and gestures. These 'movements' and 'gestures' are ignited with the 'spirit' of what is needed. It is the type of energy that is put into the movements and gestures that make them 'musical.' It is in the 'Art' of the simple basics. These are seeds that can then be expanded upon so there is a natural integration of technique and the spirit of the music from the very start.

I love the words from the song "Whistle While You Work" from the story "Snow White and Seven Dwarfs." Those words are profound really. For isn't it very felt and obvious when someone loves their work? But, it is clear not all practice sessions are full of a happy whistling attitude. Especially the ones where the urge to throw the horn out the window gets really intense! However, it is an excellent overall attitude to have joy in the simplest parts of playing. I love warming -up and practicing the basics. I find it very grounding and a time to get in touch with the foundational aspects without being preoccupied about how great it sounds. At the same time, these sessions are very important in keeping our playing standards up held in a simple and progressive accruement. 

Keep in touch with the blog and I hope to see you very soon for FBSMC4 entitled, "A Musical Approach To The Basics." 

when I was young...

In order to keep on developing in a given area that one has pursued for many years, I found that embracing change is profoundly important. To resist it can be futile in certain cases. Take our bodies, they change. If our identity is totally wrapped up in what we physically can do, that can be very traumatic when it changes, especially if we were getting lots of recognition for it.

When this change starts to happen, or when we actually take a note of it and can't ignore it any longer, that is the time to embrace it. Not as a sign of defeat, or the "I think I'm loosing it" attitude, but as a chance for new insights and possibilities. The 'bump' in the road is not always a bad thing. It is all part of the journey.

Let's take this into the brass playing realms. At age 57, my approach, physically, mentally and emotionally are quite different to when I was 19. The body is different, as well as my mind and emotions. Therefore, if I try to approach certain aspects of my playing now as if I were 19, the results would not be where I would like them to be. In fact, it could be damaging, certainly on the physical level.

For example, when I was young, (which is not the same as youthful), I never thought of using different vowel sounds for certain registers of playing. There was no need at the time. I made the adjustments in another way in a certain method I developed. When this system broke down, I was put in a position to discover another way. Having been playing in this 'other' way for well over 30 years now, there have always been changes on a smaller scale that needed to be addressed and vowel sounds evolved. So did many other types of articulation. So did many types of airstreams and vibratos. This is all on the technical level. The musical level got richer and instead of just coming from my first response feelings, I built deeper relationships with the music as a living life. Music was just the form but it was a living, breathing being with multi-dimensional expressions and essences.

To someone who has not been on this journey it might sound complex. Put it is not to me. It is a living relationship that has it's fluctuations and patterns new and old. Just like person and other living things do.

Embrace change. It is part of life and music. In that embrace, what can magically appear is that special something, that actually does not change but appears in many forms. In this, we can always be young!