One of the common email comments that I get regarding my sound files is the
fact that my playing doesn’t have any expression or swing in it. Believe me when
I say that this is something that I am VERY aware of. I listen to music
CONSTANTLY. I mean REALLY listen. I listen to music more than I do anything else
(sleep included). On the train ride to work, at work, at home, driving in the
car… music is there. That being said – all that listening has yet to help me
improve this one regard of my playing. I’ve gotten tons of tips of folks (which
includes listening more — sorry… not possible) and none of those tips have
sprung forth any significant change.

I believe the reason for this is I am still not comfortable playing the
trumpet yet. I’ve only been on the horn for about 5 years. While this is a good
amount of time – I don’t think it is enough time for the actually task of
playing the trumpet to be natural. When I say natural – I mean natural to the
point that it moves completely out of my mind so I can focus on making music. So
many thoughts swirl through my mind when I play and most of them are technical.
I long for the day when playing trumpet becomes almost second nature and I can
get the sound in my head — out of the horn.  Right now, I’m not even
close.

Take the trumpet out of my hands and ask me to sing or scat on a tune…
totally different story. It is mainly because I’ve been singing since I was 5
years old. It’s natural. I feel as if I can do anything I want with my voice. My
problem is not a lack of internal swing or rhythm.  Put that strange hunk
of metal in my hands and on my lips — I have serious problems.  The music
is in me but the filter (trumpet) won’t let it come out in it’s purest form.

If I sound a bit agitated by this – it’s because I am. Not with people who
make this suggestion but with myself for not improving yet. To be honest, this
is the main reason why you will not hear a lot of new sound files on my site. I
record them constantly but until I hear some significant change… they remain
hidden in the "vault."

I am confident that this aspect of my playing will improve with time. The
most helpful thing for me so far has been playing along with recordings. I take
a 4 bar or even 2 bar phrase from a soloist that I love (Woody Shaw has been a
constant in my ears recently) and try to duplicate it. Not just the notes but
the expression that the player uses when playing them. The problem with this is
getting that expression to come forth when playing my own improvised solos. I
recently made a recording of "Little Red’s Fantasy" and forwarded to a friend
who is very familiar with my playing. He immediately said that he noticed more
expression in it. Not enough… but better. The cool thing is he mentioned this
even though I was not looking for that type of feedback. Hopefully that means I
am on the right track.