shatter the glass
There is always a limit. EVERY player has limits.
The individual player knows what they can do. Highest note, lowest note, loudest dynamic, softest dynamic, fastest _______ (slur, trill, tonguing, etc - fill in your blank). I call these glass ceilings, floors and walls. A glass house, if you will.
It’s up to us to grow, develop and get better - to get beyond those glass barriers.
But how?
There a few necessary rules to consider:
work pain-free - don’t push through pain
sound good and keep a high standard of sound concept - we can’t “own” the thing if it doesn’t sound good
use solid fundamentals - don’t manipulate and sacrifice good technique to get through the glass (it will hurt and therefore not likely sound good anyway)
no shortcuts - horn playing is a craft/sport/trade that involves good old fashion muscle building, development, and skill sets. Some people were born with natural gifts, some not - put in the time and effort to get there (shortcuts often hurt and therefore not likely sound good anyway)
Here are some tried and true ways of shattering the glass:
define your glass walls: where are they? what are they? do they change from day to day or are dependent on your playing load?
make a list of your glass walls
devote 30 minutes a day per glass wall; for example - let’s say that lip trills are a barrier for you. Can you slur between partials at all? Yes? most players can to even a slight degree.
If you answered yes to slurring between partials: find out what tempo you can do in a mid-comfortable range, pick two adjacent partials and for 30 minutes every day play quarter notes, then 8th notes, then try triplets and 16ths. Try to stay on it for the entire 30 minutes. Then tomorrow, bump up the metronome 5 clicks.
work through other higher and lower partials, gradually, in either direction
If you answered no to slurring between partials: take the mouthpiece off the horn and try to move between two different notes (steps, minor 3rds, major 3rds - all slurred) using the piano to help if necessary and spend time developing your ear and the muscle control to move between pitches. Move back to the horn if you have success and use a lot of air to blow through two partials. If you still struggle, spend a week doing this exercise on the mouthpiece alone.
if 30 minutes is too much for one session (i.e. your glass wall is sounding good in the high range at forte), then try two 15-minute sessions or three 10-minute sessions. It is crucial to pay attention to the feel of the exercise and to not push it.
add repertoire to apply the technique that you are building so that you can create context.
The biggest challenge towards improvement is often diligence and persistence.
I find that instant gratification is so readily available in almost every other facet of life, that the “slow and steady wins the race” mindset can be a challenge.
You must think of yourself as an athlete. There is no rushing the process of building muscle and technique.
There is no app, there is no quick fix, there is no shortcut.
But there is so much to gain from the process. Not only will you be a better player, but the struggle will mature you, give you empathy, and wether you want it or not, the skillset to help other people.
