#sessionmusician

Hi! I'm Maeve and it seems to be raining somewhere...? Anyway, this is the start of an online diary where I post about my music, session work, big achievements etc etc... you get the picture.

I'd love to create/ be part of a community shrouded in creativity and endless webs of connections, like someone knitting while on crack (?).

Stay looney tuned for whatever's coming, hopefully not that imposing cloud...

Everything Dandy,

They all mean the same thing but they also mean different things to each of us. Routine: something we do regularly but flexibly - warm-up, long tones, flexibility exercises for example but we might use different books or exercises depending on how we feel. Regimen: feels a lot stricter, the word itself feels very militaristic - 0900 Lip Buzzing, 0902 Vizzutti Mouthpiece Buzzing, 0905 Frink Integrated Warm Up part 1 and so on. Ritual, however, feels far more spiritual, more reverential, more time-honoured.

We all have our routines, regimens or rituals in our practice sessions which we’ve either spent months or years honing or we’ve taken from our favourite book or we’ve been given by our teacher. For a number of years I had a ‘Therapeutic Daily Routine’ put together for me by Noel Langley, my teacher at the time. I also, after a lesson with Roger Ingram, use a pre-warm up stretching and buzzing routine that he gave me. I still use both now and again but not religiously.

I may talk about my practice routine (although one could argue it’s not practice if it’s a routine) in a later post but it won’t be today. This post is going to focus on routine outside playing, daily routines, that help keep us on the right path… we all have them, even if we don’t realise it, and I bet most of us feel a little bit ‘out of sorts’ if we don’t perform it.

I’m going to spend the next part of this post talking about what my routine is, how it came into being and what benefits it has for me:

I set two alarms 10 minutes apart but I don’t snooze either of them. That 10 minutes is where I roll over and (I’m not ashamed to admit it) I cuddle Mrs J. We don’t see each other a lot in the day so it’s a few minutes of connection - even if she’s still asleep.

The very first thing I do after getting out of bed is to go down the two flights of stairs to the kitchen, warm up Little Miss J’s milk and head into the garden to do some simple breathing exercises. I normally inhale through the nose for 4 seconds, exhale through the mouth for 6 seconds although I’ll sometimes inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8. I find the fresh air and controlled breathing are great for my mental health (more on that later) and they start to build my energy levels up. It can also be quite invigorating if it’s raining!

Next, I complete my Duolingo daily quests - all three of them - to start engaging my brain. At this point it’s not do much about learning French specifically but about using language learning to improve my cognitive skills.

Following Duo, I use the ‘Balance’ app for guided meditation. It might be 10 minutes, it might only be 5, but it’s always there, focussing on positivity, loving-kindness or self-esteem depending on where my head is at that day.

Once I’ve woken my head up, it’s time to move on to waking up my body. After meditation I’ll jump in the bath. Sometimes I will have a really hot bath (benefits include improved circulation, enhanced mood and enhanced flexibility) and sometimes I’ll ‘Wim Hof’ it and have a cold (not quite ice yet) bath - I’m doing cold every single day of July - as this can improve mood, increase energy levels and increase focus and concentration.

Moving on, I do a series of stretches (I’ll outline these in a follow up post) followed by a 60 second plank and 30 squats to work on my core strength and maybe burn a few extra calories. My morning ritual concludes with a breakfast of at least four fruits (normally strawberries, grapes, apple and tangerine), some yoghurt - often with granola- and a mug of freshly ground black coffee (see my stunning photography below)

This ritual came into being while I was on Shared Parental Leave with Little Miss J and developed over the months into its current state. It was originally to help me to lose a bit of weight - or at least not put it on - and generally improve my health. I’ve adapted it to fit around work too. It’s really come into its own recently after I was diagnosed with depression - sometimes just getting through my ritual can stop a low mood in its tracks which can make a massive difference to my day, especially if I’m in the classroom.

Whatever your routine, regimen or ritual is, it will have its benefits for you even if you’ve never stopped to think about it. Perhaps that’s something you should explore…

While my routine isn’t centred around playing, it certainly impacts my playing - from building my core strength and helping my lungs to being focussed on what I’m practicing, performing or teaching - and there is a lot of value in that.

Actually, have you got 2 horns? 3? 4? If not, why not? Horn sections are the way forward! Legit, quite a lot of the session work and live work I have done has been as part of a horn section. I know you’re thinking ‘well, of course, it’s obvious’ but if it’s that obvious why haven’t you got your own horn section yet??

Synthesised sounds of the 80’s not withstanding, horn (or brass) sections have been around in popular music since 1959 - give or take a year or two. Ray Charles’ song ‘What’d I Say’ is generally credited as the first recorded use of a horn section in pop music. If something has stood the test of time then it makes sense to get in on the action.

Just in case you aren’t aware, I’m not referring to a section of French horns like you have in an orchestra - however awesome the sound - I’m referring to the other sort. Horn is a generic term for any brass or woodwind instrument in the popular music world…

In this post I’m going to talk a bit about different horn section set-ups, give you a few examples of horn sections, maybe some songs with horn sections in and a few other useful bits of information.

Generally speaking, if you play trumpet you will know someone who plays sax and someone who plays trombone - get in touch with them and get practicing together. Here’s why:

Horn sections come in different shapes and sizes and can look like any of the following:

1-Horn:

Saxophone (normally Alto but could be Tenor)

Trumpet

2-Horn

Trumpet and Saxophone (could be either Alto or Tenor)

2 Saxophones (normally an Alto and a Tenor)

2 Trumpets (not the most common although I have played in a 2 Trumpet section when I worked with British breakthrough rap artist E.N.V.)

3-Horn

Trumpet, Saxophone (Alto or Tenor), Trombone - this is the standard 3-horn line up.

2 Saxophones (Alto/Tenor, Tenor/Bari or, the less common Alto/Bari), Trumpet

3 Saxophones (A/T/B, A/A/T)

There are other 3-horn combos but these are the 3 most common.

4-horn

By the time you get to 4 horns it can be any combination of trumpets, saxophones and trombones. My favourite is trumpet, alto sax, tenor sax and trombone with 2 trumpets, tenor sax and trombone a close second.

Within these groups I would expect the trumpet to double flugel (which 99% do) and saxophone to double flute, possibly clarinet but I’ve never seen it in a pop setting.

If you want to have a look and listen to some horn sections check out:

The Killer Horns

Blackjack Horns

The Air Horns

Komodo Horns

The Horny J’s

The Regiment Horns

The Muscle Shoals Horns

The Phantom Horns

These are just a few but a bit of an internet search should turn up some more….

Once you start working as a section, you will probably definitely need to start doing some arranging. If you are doing standard charts there are plenty of sources, free and paid, of horn charts of differing qualities which, again, an internet search will turn up. You can use your own judgement on how good the charts are…

If you’re new to arranging then you need to check out the following books:

Stickley, F., Jazz & Rock & Roll Horns - an e-book with written and audio/visual examples. It’s a bit of a quick start guide rather than an encyclopaedia but it’s a great starting point.

Runswick, D., Rock, Jazz and Pop Arranging - not horn specific but, nonetheless, a great resource focusing on popular genres.

Gates, J., Arranging for Horns - published by Berklee, this is my favourite on the list, it’s not perfect but it’s got good examples and is more in-depth than the others.

Of course, the other way to learn about arranging for horn section is to listen, listen and listen some more. Horn sections play various roles in songs so try and cover as much as you can. I’ve played on tracks where the horns have been part of the ‘ambiance’ and not really heard in the mix, tracks where we played pads (long notes) and stabs (short notes) or a mix of both, and tracks where we’ve had solos or a horn soli (think Sir Duke). Once you’ve listened to examples of all three you’ll have a better idea of what the horns can do to a song, how they can elevate it. Hal Leonard have released a series of Transcribed Horn books so you can follow the charts through, see how they’re written and how they fit. There’s 5 in all - Jazz/Pop, Jazz/Rock, R&B, Pop Hits and Pop/Rock - with 15 songs in each to keep you occupied for a while.

If you want to think about exploring working in a horn section but you’re not sure where to start or what to do, Rockschool now offer horn section grades 1-8 with repertoire suitable for each level - all the info is on the Rockschool website but I believe it’s the same rep for all three instruments so you can play together with the backing tracks.

I’ll finish off by telling you a little bit about my horn section. Called The In-House Horns, because we specialise in remote recording (although we do live performance and studio recording), we formed in 2011. We have played on a number of tracks and albums including a UK Top 10, appeared in music videos and live on stage. Officially there’s 3 of us but actually there’s been 6 of us in various forms over the years, all of us multi-instrumentalists. Roughly speaking we have 2 trumpets/flugels, 2 reeds, 2 trombones/tuba but us brassers can actually play all brass and, as a section, we can cover pretty much everything. Versatility is key to a good horn section!

‘Commercial trumpet playing’ wasn’t in my vocabulary when I was studying. As far as I was concerned you were either ‘classical’ or ‘jazz’ and I didn’t feel like I fit into either category, I was just ‘a trumpet player’. Years after I’ve left university most of the work I have done has been Indie, Rock, Pop, Country, even Symphonic Metal. It wasn’t the path I chose, it chose me and I am a self-professed commercial trumpet player.

‘What is a ‘commercial trumpet player’?’ some of you may be asking. Put simply, it is a trumpet player who plays music that isn’t classical or jazz… however, they may also play classical and/or jazz as part of what they do. There is a bit more to it than that but that’s the essence.

A commercial player will be able to switch genres and styles at the drop of a hat and, not only will they be able to play those styles, they will be able to do so convincingly and consistently. I think (although don’t quote me on it) that the days of back-to-back recording sessions, TV shows, radio shows and club dates have dwindled to basically nothing, however, for the diligent and consistent trumpet player, there is work to be had if you know where to look.

Before looking for the work though, you need to be ready. You need to know your genres and be able to play convincingly in those genres. The first step to playing convincingly is listening and lots of it. Create playlists on Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music of songs from each genre - particularly ones with horn sections in. Get online and see if you can find transcriptions of the songs so you can play along or, even better, create your own transcriptions as this is a super useful skill to have as a trumpet player. If a song doesn’t have a horn section grab some manuscript paper and create one or, even better, improvise one. I’m not talking improvised solos, I’m talking ‘on the fly’ pads, stabs and riffs. Give it a try!

In addition to listening there are a few books out there to help you learn about playing in different genres. I’ve used both of these a lot and think they’re great. As usual, no links because I don’t want to play favourites but get hold of the following:

Eric Murine, The Progressive Guide to Commercial Trumpet Playing. It’s downloadable, legally, for free. Murine covers Blues, Soul, Motown, Bebop, Funk, Funky Soul and Pop. In each chapter there are 2 exercises and a duet based on music in that style, a suggested listening list and there is a 14 week plan and a 7 month plan to cover all of the material. As it is Murine’s doctoral thesis (don’t let that scare you off) there is also extra information and interviews included too.

Tiger Okoshi & Charles Lewis, Berklee Practice Method: Trumpet. Available in hard copy from various retailers, this book comes with a CD and covers Rock, Blues, Blues Swing, Funk, Light Funk, Hard Rock, Bossa Nova and Stop Time. Each chapter has sections on Technique/Theory, Learning the Groove, Improv and Reading as well as a daily practice routine. The really great thing about this book is the fact that it marries up with the books for the other instruments so you can work on playing together as a horn section or even a full band. It’s a solid investment.

Between these two publications you should have everything covered in terms of genres. I like to complement these in the practice room with fundamentals written with modern playing in mind. Clarke, Schlossberg and Arban are great but they don’t really cater to the needs of the modern player. To help with this Clint ‘Pops’ McLaughlin has rewritten the Arban and the Clarke - both are available on his website.

It might be a bit of a placebo thing but I actually prefer modern books that have been written with commercial players in mind. I use The Beast Series by Matt Fronke, Modern Flexibilities for Brass by Scott Belck, Technical Studies for the Modern Trumpet Player by Pat Harbison and Randall Reyman’s Technical Drills and Duets for the Jazz/Commercial Trumpet Player to work on my fundamentals. I find they get me in the right mindset.

There is a pervading idea in the trumpet world that you need a certain sound to be a commercial player - bright, focussed and brilliant - and that may be true but you also need to be able to blend in with a section too, whether that’s in an orchestra, big band, pop band etc. so just be aware the sounds you are aiming for and think about how you can change it for different settings.

A quick note on gear because aren’t we all gearheads when it comes down to it…? You can play anything on any trumpet and get the sound you want, however, it’s not always efficient. Playing a 3 hour funk gig on a large bore horn would be a killer. Think about smaller bore horns for those gigs. If you’re not sure where to start Yamaha and Bach make ‘commercial’ trumpets - the YTR6335RC and the LT190L1B respectively - which might be worth having a blow on to see what works but remember that other horns can work just as well for you. The same can be said about mouthpieces… Bach produce a commercial mouthpiece in a variety of sizes and Warburton, Pickett-Blackburn and Patrick Mouthpieces all offer a range of ‘commercial’ backbores for their 2-piece mouthpieces and they are all available as one-piece mouthpieces too. Again, this is just a note, buying a horn and a mouthpiece just because it says commercial on it isn’t necessarily going to give you the sound you want or need… I am not saying go out and buy a new horn and mouthpiece combo. Take advice from your teacher or another trusted trumpet player before embarking on that journey.

My take away tips are:

Listen to a lot of music in a lot of genres.

Include the right things in your practice: different styles, sight reading, range.

I was engaged in a chat on a musician’s Discord server this afternoon - it was enlightening, uplifting and a perfect example of musicians supporting musicians.

The original conversation (which I missed) centred around a user apologising for not being better at arranging and not being very good at jazz. This elicited responses from other users which included ‘I don’t know why you feel the need to put yourself down like this so often’ and ‘beating yourself up about it won’t make you better’. Later on in the thread appeared a comment about being one’s own harshest critic and encouraged the original user not to stop criticising their work but to ‘keep it kind and constructive’. It was to this I added my reply. I won’t copy and paste it here as some bits are contextual but I shall paraphrase and expand as I think it’s something people - musicians especially - need to hear!

As musicians, we’re always expected to strive for perfection, but to what end? You may never be the next Miles Davis, Alison Balsom or Maynard Ferguson but do you want to be? Do you need to be? I think not! If I demanded perfection in everything I did I would never get anything done, I would never send off any of my session work, I would never finish planning lessons and I certainly wouldn’t post here on Tumblr.

Here’s the shocker: it’s not about being perfect, it’s about being ‘good enough’!

I’ll say it again in a bigger font:

It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being ‘good enough’

I’m not saying we should adopt a slap-dash ‘right, that’ll do’ attitude but that we should adopt an attitude of ‘I’ve worked really hard on this, it’s the best I can play right now and I’m happy with it BUT I’m also going to learn xyz from it’. We should absolutely be holding ourselves to a high standard but not to an unattainable/impossible one.

When I auditioned for uni I thought I played pretty poorly but I still got in. When I left Uni, I asked the Head of Music why he let me in, he said ‘I saw potential’. A few years later, when I was brave enough to ask if I had fulfilled that potential, he followed up with this: ‘You are not and never will be the best trumpet player in the world but you work hard at whatever you do. You are reliable and dependable, you show up for the gig and you get the job done and done well and that is what it’s all about’

I’m now a very experienced brass teacher and my current role is Lead Brass Tutor within the education department of a (really quite big) opera company - I’m not saying this to show off just to demonstrate that you can achieve lots of things if you work hard - and I make a point of not demanding perfection from my team or our students. Demanding perfection achieves nothing and prevents people from learning either through unachievable goals, feeling discouraged or, more often, both.

Be it in the practice room or on stage, mistakes happen, some you learn from, others you don’t need to learn from but as long as you strive to be the best you can be then that’s good enough and good enough is good enough!

‘Practice makes perfect’ can do one! ‘Practice makes permanent’ is more accurate but if I had to choose I personally prefer the 5P’s:

Practice Prevents P*ss Poor Performance

Playing brass is just about the best thing ever (well, it is to me) but it does have it's drawbacks... especially as a trumpet player as you can end up buying, carrying and playing more than you expect.

Most of us brassers end up playing, or at least teaching, at least 1 other brass instrument. On the whole, that's not too bad, lots of the instruments use the same fingering - especially if you're reading in treble clef. It's important to note that the real odd ones out are French Horn and Trombone. The fingerings on Horn differ depending on whether you're playing a B-flat horn, an F horn or a double horn using a mixture of the two and trombone (in case you hadn't noticed) uses a slide. If you're required to teach two, three or all of the brass, it's worth just reading up on what you're doing but the basics are easy (in my opinion).

What I really want to cover in this post is what else, as a trumpet player, you need to play in what setting. It's not a 100% complete and definitive list - it's developed from my own personal experience and a bit of reading - but it should give you an idea as to what sort of gear you may be looking at and carrying around or, more specifically, what to take with you to a gig/rehearsal/recording session. I'm not going to analyse too much, it's mainly going to be a series of lists, but I may mention an odd piece of music here and there.

Orchestra:

Trumpet in Bb ('The Norm' or 'The Status Quo')

Trumpet in C (I believe this is favoured over Bb in US orchestras)

Trumpet in D/Eb or E/Eb (Apparently D is more useful than the Eb and E - Bach Mass in B Minor is a popular excerpt for D Trumpet)

Trumpet in A (not common, would usually transpose the part)

Piccolo Trumpet in A/Bb (useful for Bach, in particular the Brandenburg Concerti)

Cornet (Bizet's Carmen is a great example of orchestral cornet)

Rotary Trumpet in Bb or C (particularly in Europe - especially, but not limited to, French and German orchestras)

Big Band:

Trumpet in Bb

Flugel (Georgia on my Mind rings a bell for this one)

Concert/Wind/Military Band

(some wind band music is written for Cornets, some for Trumpet and occasionally both - Holst Suite in Eb 1984 edition has 3 Cornets and 2 Trumpets which isn't an unusual combo. I've played in wind bands where the 3rd Cornet players double on Trumpets 1 &2)

Trumpet in Bb

Cornet

Flugel (fairly rare but not completely unheard of)

Herald or Fanfare Trumpet (particularly in military bands. Gordon Jacob did an amazing arrangement of God Save The Queen utilising fanfare trumpets and trombones)

Musical Theatre

Trumpet in Bb

Flugel

Piccolo Trumpet (Jesus Christ Superstar has optional Piccolo in Trumpet 1, Shrek The Musical also has Piccolo as does Book of Mormon - not the only ones but a good start).

Cornet (Billy Elliot is a good example of cornet usage in musical theatre - it emulates the sound of the brass band (brass bands being inextricably linked to mining))

Kazoo (Oh, yes, you read that right - How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Ok, it's not actually written in the Trumpet parts but when I played it in London the entire band doubled the kazoo chorus)

Tambourine (Our House - The Madness Musical... enough said)

Pop

Trumpet in Bb

Piccolo Trumpet (Penny Lane by The Beatles is the only actual example I can think of) (edit: I think Whitney Houston’s One Moment In Time has one too but I need to confirm it)

Flugel (again, not overly common but I've used a Flugel whilst in the band accompanying a rap artist)

Bass Trumpet (Rashawn Ross of The Dave Matthews Band doubles on Bass Trumpet... he's not the only one but he's my favourite)

Just to reiterate, this list is not exhaustive but it should give you an idea of what you're getting yourself into in some of the more common settings.