Monday YouTube Fix: Arnold Jacobs on Solfege
Andrew Hitz
This short clip perfectly sums up why solfege is so important for brass players.
And as an added bonus you get to enjoy a little 1984 fashion!
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Filtering by Tag: Arnold Jacobs
A Dose of Arnold Jacobs for Your Weekend
Andrew Hitz
One of the many reasons that Arnold Jacob’s teaching lives on is that he was so quotable. A lot of his big ideas could be conveyed in a standalone soundbite. That’s powerful.
This quote is so simple but a great reminder.
At Northwestern, Rex Martin always told those of us in his studio that his goal was for us to be great musicians who happened to play the tuba well. It was never for us to only be great tuba operators.
I’ve always thought of myself as a musician who happens to play the tuba ever since. And the musician in me is driven by the song, not by the tuba operating.
This tweet is from @JacobsQuotes, an account I run as a part of Pedal Note Media. Give it a follow for the occasional nugget of Arnold Jacobs wisdom!
Jacobs Quotes Podcast: Episode 13
Andrew Hitz
For Episode 13 of the Jacobs Quotes Podcast I have the usual two quotes from Arnold Jacobs but also one from a jazz legend!
"Play known material from memory. Spend time learning to tell a story. Sing the music."
"Suck in air and the brain orders the machine of the body to perform correctly."
Bill Evans: “Keep searching for that sound in your head until it becomes a reality.”
Enjoy!
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"You should always strive to have excellence with you as you develop."
Andrew Hitz
Well this post sure covers a lot of ground! As was so common in the teachings of Mr. Jacobs, he says so much in not too many words. He hits on patience, keeping high standards, how to play drills, and so much more.
Jacobs Quotes Podcast: Episode 12
You can hear my extended thoughts on this quote by checking out Episode 12 of the Jacobs Quotes Podcast.
Starting the day off right
Andrew Hitz
This x 100!
Marty Hackleman once told me he doesn’t like to call it a warm-up. He calls it his daily routine and the byproduct of that routine is that he is warmed up, both physically and mentally.
I have encountered many students who use their warm-up to ease into the mental aspects of their musical day, but I don’t believe this is necessary if you walk into the practice room with the proper mentality in place.
This is one reason why I am an enormous proponent of doing breathing exercises before playing. I’m not a slave to them and don’t always do them, but whenever I do I make sure I am fully committed mentally to the exercise as a way of engaging my mind on a very specific task, which in turn helps my first notes of the day sound great.
This is also why I like to do things like wind patterns during my breathing exercises. “Be musical with your air” is a phrase I’ve uttered thousands of times to various concert bands and marching bands. “Playing” Jingle Bells with your air is a great way to get dynamics, phrasing, articulation, style and everything else going in the brain.
Once you activate all of those things, the physical side of playing really just comes along for the ride.
Finally, I find it can be difficult to truly concentrate on breathing exercises when I do the exact same ones in the same order ever day. That’s why I like to use sequences (like are found in The Breathing Gym Daily Workouts DVD.) There are many ways to get the air (and the brain) moving and mixing up what is done and the order they are done in is really beneficial, even for professionals.
Regardless of how you begin your day or what you do for a daily routine, a simple decision can be made that your first notes will not be of poor quality. If you make that commitment, you’ll be amazed at the results.
In search of a resonant pitch center
Andrew Hitz
This reminded me of a great exercise that Rex Martin taught me at Northwestern which I’ve shared with countless of my own students.
There was a note I was having trouble getting my absolute best sound on. It just wouldn’t center because I was fighting the horn.
So Mr. Martin had me hit the pitch intentionally sharp, hit the pitch intentionally flat and then play it right down the middle with a beautiful vibrato to help it resonate.
Hitting the pitch both sharp and flat helped to frame the pitch and the vibrato helped me to center it. I can’t tell you how well this exercise works. I still do it to this day.
It is worth noting that none of this had anything to do with speed. Just three distinctive versions of the same note.
I’m so happy he showed me this exercise and that the Jacobs quote reminded me of it!
Your chops are dumb
Andrew Hitz
Your chops are as dumb as a box of rocks. Your brain is what’s driving this train.
So don’t focus on feedback from your lips while you’re supposed to be actively creating art. That doesn’t end well for the audience.
Besides, to quote the great Mark Gould:
“It’s not supposed to feel good. It’s a piece of %#&$ing metal on your face.”
You Can't Break a Bad Habit
Andrew Hitz
This is precisely why it is so important to not rush through things and learn them the wrong way when practicing. The key word in the last sentence of the above Arnold Jacobs quote is gradually.
Once you have established a habit, the only way to replace it with a new one is gradually over time. Translation: it's a lot of work.
I was also always taught that the brain does not respond well to the word don't. If you write something like "Don't Drag" in your music then your brain first comprehends "Drag" which is not exactly ideal. I always have my students write the positive version of whatever they're working on so "Don't Drag" becomes "Groove" or "Steady Tempo".
Ideally, we don't ever learn something wrong in the first place because the extra time we take to learn something with slow and deliberate practice will be more than saved by not having to relearn it the right way. But if we do, rather than focusing on not doing it wrong, we need to replace it with the correct version and then have the patience to see the entire process through which will take a while no matter what we do.
Staying in the Middle Third
Andrew Hitz
This observation by Arnold Jacobs is why I find breathing exercises out of The Breathing Gym so beneficial for students. Getting them to experience the sensation of taking in a large amount of air without having the horn in their hands is invaluable and gives them something concrete to model when they do pick up the instrument.
Doing exercises with long inhales like 6-7-8-9-10 or any variation of In for 8 > Hold for 8 > Out for 8 (also 8>16>8, 12>12>12 or even 16>32>16) are great for feeling the sensation of moving a lot of air.
And as always, Mr. Jacobs was dead on with this observation. So often, mediocre brass players never get close to full and never get close to empty. Getting them to experience this is a great way to encourage them to eventually do it on their own.
The Brass Junkies 83: Donna Parkes
Andrew Hitz
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We had a blast interviewing the phenomenal Donna Parkes, Principal Trombone of the Louisville Orchestra. She told us all about her fascinating journey from Australia to Kentucky with a few stops along the way.
It's always so great when musicians who are as accomplished as Donna is are so down to earth. It really was a treat to speak with her!
From the show notes:
TBJ83: Trombonist Donna Parkes of the Louisville Orchestra on having a “Yes!” attitude, sleeping bags and growing up in Australia
Donna Parkes, Principal Trombone with Louisville Orchestra joins Andrew & Lance to detail her amazing career, from Australia to Kentucky, with stops in Chicago, Alaska and Doha, Qatar.
In this fun and lively conversation, we cover:
- Playing Principal Trombone with Louisville Orchestra
- Playing with the Colorado Music Festival
- Coming from Indiana, I mean Canberra, Australia
- Coming to the U.S. after her undergrad to study with Charlie Vernon at DePaul
- The differences between the Australian and U.S. markets
- Studying with Michael Mulcahy early on in Australia
- Playing freelance gigs in Sydney for a year before moving
- Getting a lesson with Arnold Jacobs and Ed Kleinhammer
- Working with 80-year-olds in Virginia
- The size of Andrew’s tongue (don’t ask)
- Sleeping in her sleeping bag with her trombone in a hostel on her first night in the U.S.
- Taking pictures of snow
- Tips for flying to Australia
- Playing gigs in Sitka, Alaska twice a year
- How she recently got married in Australia
- A typical week in Louisville, which is anything but typical
- The importance of being flexible and being a good colleague
- Having a “Yes” attitude
- Playing in Doha, Qatar
- An important life lesson, “Don’t smell it first.”
You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.