HERE IS THE SECRET, BUT YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LIKE IT:
STRENGTH! See? I told you you wouldn't like that answer, but the fact is, IT IS TRUE! I am not talking about "dialing" in a more perfect mouthpiece to give you that extra edge which is something I have spent time and money doing! 10 years ago, when I went to Bob Reeves, I already had a Triple G. I had already stood out in from of large to very large audiences and played Maynard type high note solos or the hardest lead parts known to man! 10 years later I am the official record holder for the highest note documented via video on Trumpet: QUADRUPLE C...it's not the mouthpiece I got from Bob Reeves! CART BEFORE THE HORSE! All of us including me, have bought a new mouthpiece "HOPING" she's the one that will make and keep the magic happening. In some cases, the magic happens right away, but then dissipates ....PERMANENTLY! The reason is UNDERLYING: The underlying issue is STRENGTH and most likely in YOUR case: LACK OF STRENGTH! Let's go down 2 octaves from my top note of quad C to the note you still can't get, can't squeak, or can squeak, but is totally useless in any playing situation including your home studio. What is that note? The Double C aka the Super C aka the Grand C. I know you know about this amazing note that you can't get and it doesn't matter your age. Even as a 14 year old All mid state trumpet champion in 9th grade at Hawkins Junior High under the direction of Mr. Featherston ( hope my memory got that correct), I was keen on playing higher and hearing my first double C FROM anyone just...to be able to know it truly existed! So, you can't get this spectacular note, but think: "IT'S THE DAMN MOUTHPIECE! THAT IS THE ONLY REASON I CAN'T PLAY THIS BEAST OF A NOTE!" Wrong! Man, let me tell you how sweet it is to play that double c! Even if all you ever do the rest of your life is pop out a few decent double c's in your living room or basement, WOW, it is worth achieving! YOU DID YOUR HOMEWORK OR...DID YOU? Yes, you probably did and did a very good job! Well, you did a good job of hunting down another mouthpiece YOU think will do the trick! Did it do the trick? Maybe? It did for the first week? First 2 weeks? CONTAMINATED THINKING After decades of playing along side other brass players or teaching them, I have learned at least one thing: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE HUMAN DESIRE TO DO THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WORK TO ATTAIN A GOAL! I learned this when I was 18 years old and a freshman at AUSTIN PEAY STATE UNIVERSITY and most nights being the ONLY trumpet player to go past 3 hours, then 4 hours, then on some nights..FIVE OR SIX HOURS of straight practice! I exaggerate not even 1%. This happened in the belly of the Clement building where all the practice rooms were under the floor of the Clement Auditorium above. I have heard this building now does not exist or they remodeled it. What is the point and where is the contaminated thinking? 99% of you are not willing to actually DO THE WORK! 1% or more accurately, LESS THAN 1% of you will do some work or THE work required. CONTAMINATED THINKING says: "All that ridiculous practice time crap is for chumps! I am smart enough and talented enough that I don't really have to waste all that time practicing repetition. I just need to find the perfect Mouthpiece, the perfect Horn THEN LOOK OUT PEEPS! You will be seeing me dust and burn any trumpet player I have to audition against, compete against!" SORRY MY FRIEND: That is contaminated thinking! In the world we live in, YOU DON'T GIVE, YOU DON'T GET! You don't give me 5000-10,000 INTENSE HOURS OF PRACTICE and you are NOT going to get what you think you deserve! NADA! WHY NOT TRY BUILDING STRENGTH? Practically ALL of you reading this have not TRULY tried building strength. You may think you have, but you haven't...not compared to me you haven't! And if you have to compare to something, it might as well be the strongest, highest playing trumpet player on the planet....yes, passed old Jon Faddis bye bye UNLESS Jon is hiding some triples we have never heard of before. You might not like working hard, but I have a program that ANYONE can stick it out with because it is only 4 months! NO NOT 4 YEARS, BUT 4 MONTHS! You can do this! HAVE A LOOK AT WHAT NOBODY ELSE CAN DO INCLUDING FADDIS:
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