Players - Downbeat

Woodshed
Chops Goals
A Three-Part Practice
Regimen Designed for
Long-Term Trumpet
Achievement
I have been approached by many jazz trumpet
players inquiring about “chops” endurance,
flexibility and other pedagogical aspects of performance.
I immediately refer to my classical
studies and bring up various exercises, etudes,
excerpts and methods that I’ve worked on.
After answering questions about these issues, I
am almost always asked how to incorporate this
into jazz and how to practice these exercises
and have time to work on jazz performance.
This always amazes me. Many trumpet players—musicians
in general, for that matter—go
through their careers without an effective, daily
practice routine that incorporates the musicianship
necessary to play jazz and the pedagogical
skills to execute musical ideas clearly. I believe
this is due to the overwhelming task that many
aspiring jazz trumpet players face. Not only do
you have to spend hours gaining technique,
flexibility, range and correct breathing practices,
but you have to practice lines, chords, tunes,
patterns and other components of jazz pedagogy
without getting fatigued. All of this practice can
be frustrating without a clear plan.
Throughout my early study, I had teachers
and mentors who instilled in me the importance
of having great technique and facility as well as
a good working knowledge of jazz practices and
pedagogy. While studying these aspects of playing,
I began to come up with a practice routine
that fit my needs and helped me accomplish my
goals. Over the years, I have adjusted it slightly
as I accumulate knowledge, taking what I can
from every method of study that I come across
and assessing whether it fits my needs and is
applicable to my general way of playing.
Before developing a practice routine, you
must have clear goals in mind, both long-term
and short-term. You have to decide what kind of
player you would like to be. This will help you
have a clear focus while studying musical and
pedagogical ideas. About 15 years ago, I wrote
out my career goals in five-, 10-, 20-, 30- and
40-year increments, accounting for what genres
of music I wanted to play, what bands I wanted
to play in, and what type of music I wanted to
write and perform in my own bands. From this,
I devised a plan of action.
I researched what techniques and skills I
would need to achieve these goals, found people
with similar career paths and sought advice. I
began to take the knowledge that I learned and
48 DOWNBEAT April 2009
Tongue Slurs
Flow Studies
came up with a practice schedule that would
help me achieve these goals—a routine that
would give me musical and technical proficiency.
This routine breaks down into 10-, five-,
three- and one-year goals, as well as quarterly,
monthly, weekly and daily goals, which mirror
MASTER CLASS
by Sean Jones
my plan of action. I continue to use the bulk of
the routine that I developed years ago.
My daily routine is broken down into three
segments. First, I have my maintenance routine,
which includes exercises that are used to maintain
basic trumpet technique and proficiency.