I know it has been a while since my last journal entry. I’ve really been bad  about logging my thoughts and filling everyone in on what I’m doing. Truth of  the matter is unless there is a gig of some type coming down the pipe, there  isn’t much to talk about. I spend a majority of my time practicing to get better  on the trumpet and learning to express myself through improvisation. Both of  those tasks require a fair bit of repetition in order to reach the goals that  I’ve set for myself. I perform the same drills or some varation on them daily.   It’s challenging enough to make them exciting, fresh and new in the practice  room — making them seem that way week after week IN PRINT is even harder!

I was recently named chairman of the instrumental group at my church. We only  have a total of about nine regular members but the hope is it will grow into  much more than that. So far we’ve got clarinets, flutes, viola, guitars,  trombone, trumpet and percussion. We recently played two gigs for Christmas  programs and they turned out fine. More importantly we were well received by the  church which will hopefully lead to more opportunities. Black History month is  right around the corner…

One thing I discovered on those two performances was I have NO chop strength.  Reading and playing the first trumpet part was a completely different animal in  comparison to the improv/jazz gigs that I’ve played. It could be mental but we  played three short songs and by the end of it – I was completely wasted. I had  NOTHING left in the tank. I was using the smash mouth trumpet method to get out  the last few notes on “Go Tell It on the Mountain” (for those of you who don’t  know, this method involves smashing the trumpet into your mouth to keep your  embouchure together and making noise). It was really depressing and it got me  second guessing if I was doing the right things for endurance. I’ve got a lesson  this coming Friday and hopefully we can go over a few things to help me.

Since we are quickly approaching the end of the year I guess it is time to  put a few goals for 2006 on paper. Below is the short list…

• Transcribe – In 2006 I plan on spending a bulk of my improv practice time transcribing solos. I’ve tinkered with this in the past but I’m really going to put in the time and try to learn at least two or three choruses of my favorite solos if not the entire thing. I read and heard that transcribing solos is essential and required to learning to play jazz.  Time to buckle down and do it.
• More Practice Time – I’m going to put my old silent brass unit to work so I can get an extra hour or half hour of practice time in on weekdays. I plan to use it near the end of my sessions when I practice improv. I’m going to pipe in an aebersold playalong or my favorite exercises from Vol. 3 and get some additional work in.
• Increase Chop Endurance – After the experience of chopping out on the last two church gigs I’m going to either join a community band again or dedicate time to learning to play longer pieces of written out music regularly. I’m leaning towards the later but if I start back sliding I may force myself to join a regular group or maybe meet with a friend regularly to play some technically challenging duets.
• Local Jam Sessions – I’m going to attend and sit in on some of the regular jam sessions at local clubs. For me that would be HR57 and Twins.  Even though I am playing gigs from time to time the regular exposure to other musicians who are better than me is a requirement for improvement. There may be nights when I’m pushed off stage but I consider that part of the process.  When it happens – you can read about it here. I’m actually going to a jam session this coming Thursday but I’m still unsure about trying to play.  We’ll see…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone. I wish good health,  happiness and peace to everyone around the globe.