In an effort to enjoy life more, I've been trying to get back to stuff that I really love, the sorts of things that always have made my heart sing, you know?
One such thing is playing music. I took lessons in piano and oboe when I was younger, and taught myself some basic chords on the guitar. But I also wanted to try something new. So for Christmas, Adam bought me a musical instrument and it came today. Bet you can't guess what it is 😂
I tried it out after lunch and I can (almost) play 'When the saints go marching in' all the way through!
It's SO FUN 😁😁😁
Trumpet update: I've now had three lessons, and yesterday my teacher also gave me the book he used to use for beginners, and it's super. I can play whole notes from the A below middle-C and up to the C above middle-C.
Yesterday I learnt B-flat.
Teacher: So now you know your first flat!
Me: Yes! And it's B-flat, which is my favourite flat.
Teacher: ...is it?
It then occurred to me that not everyone has favourite flats? Surely that's not the case!
It's coming up to three months of learning trumpet (about two months of lessons). The book my teacher gave me six weeks ago is supposed to last a full school year and we're nearly finished it – this sounds more impressive than it is because the book is for beginner musicians, not just beginner trumpet players. So there's lots of 'this is a minim/crotchet/rest/key signature' which I don't need to learn.
Biggest challenge continues to be lip strength. But also I find it hard to be thinking of everything at once when I'm playing something new. There's finger positions, intonation, pressure, pitch, so I find myself gripping the trumpet harder than I should, and getting a sore hand afterwards!
I spoke about that with my teacher and he reassured me that there's so much to think of, no wonder I sometimes find it hard. It will be fine with time. He is a good and patient teacher and we're doing more and more duets – this, I love, because you have to keep up and keep playing, no matter the mistakes!
I can play almost 30 minutes at a stretch now, which is making practice sessions more enjoyable. So the short version of this post should read: Trumpet. Still loving it. Music is so fun. The end (or actually still very much the beginning).
@teadrinker Congrats! You're practicing more than many. If you really want to build lip strength, look into the Caruso method. Don't go too deep into it, just the "first 6 notes". It has helped me immensely over the years.
And practice soft, not loud. Have fun!!
@teadrinker Awesome! Don't worry if the notes don't sound good. It's more about developing the embouchure than getting a good tone. When I first started it, it sounded really bad!!
Just don't be afraid and don't play too loud!
Oh, and have fun. 🙂
Bec
J. Jacoby (gender explorer)