I've mentioned before that I'm a very goal-oriented person. I believe that the right set of goals helps me stay focused and centered on the tasks that I need to accomplish. The most effective goals fall into three categories: Short-Term, Intermediate, and Long-Term. Each of the short-term goals feed into your intermediate, and the intermediate into the long-term goals. Short Term Goals I like to think of goals as a pyramid shape. The base of the pyramid is made up of short term goals. These are goals like “Today I’m going to increase the tempo on ScEx 2 from 80 to 90 beats per minute.” Or ..read more

Last summer I wrote about focusing on a single goal and going all-in on a single weakness in my playing over the summer break. You can read about it here. That approach was effective, so I'll do it again this summer, but with a few tweaks. This summer I'll be focused on a single goal (moving in and through the top of the staff), but I'll have other tasks as well. I've already planned-out what repertoire I'll be performing next Fall. While I won't start working on the repertoire until July, I've planned out the means by which I'll improve my playing in order to better execute the repertoir ..read more

I've mentioned in past posts that I keep a practice journal. There are many benefits to practice journaling. You can see the progress you're making, you can look at what you've been spending the most time working on, it makes it easier to plan what to work on, it makes it easier to diagnose problems with fatigue, and the list goes on. I recommend that  all my students keep a practice journal. For this post I've included pictures of my practice journal in the three main sections in it. I'll go over exactly what I keep track of in each section and the various elements of each. Section 1 ..read more

When brass players attempt to think about the way to move their body as they play, they become overwhelmed in trying to consciously control the cripplingly complex entity that is the human body. This is known as paralysis by analysis and is documented as far back as Aesop's Fables. Try this: describe, in detail, every single body movement required to shoot a basketball through a basketball hoop. Or, try to shoot a basket by thinking of each step involved. Here's a taste of the complexity involved in such an action. First, you have to jump. How do you jump? You forcefully extend your legs. Ho ..read more

I've written before about daily routines and their importance to the development of every brass player. My stance on that certainly hasn't changed. The daily routine is where the majority of your progress as a brass player will take place. Something I've been experimenting with recently though is the use of multiple routines over the course of a few weeks. The reason for this experimentation is this: I'd been doing the same routine (Routine III) for a two years. ​ I'd made great progress, become a more complete player, and...reached a point with one of the exercises in particular where I was ..read more

Have you ever thought about what sort of training professional athletes go through in order to stay in shape for competition? I first encountered this concept in a book I recently read called 10-Minute Toughness by Jason Selk. I strongly recommend it for anyone looking to develop a yearly practice schedule.  just like the astronomical seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall), there are four: post-season. generalized preparatory, specialized preparation, and the performance season. Each is roughly three months long and has distinct characteristics.  PostseasonAbout two months After the final ..read more

Today we'll discuss getting ahead of the competition by staying focused over the summer. Happy practicing! Summer is a great time to get ahead of your competition by working on fundamentals. Many people take it easy over the break. Last summer I made it my mission to improve my range both low an high. I set a goal of adding an octave and ended up adding about an octave and a half. You can read all about how I did it here. Staying focused on the single goal of increasing range last summer worked so well that I decided to pick a different goal this summer and work towards it. This summer I want ..read more

Today we'll discuss five books I think every aspiring musician needs to read.. Happy practicing! Last weekend our local library had one of their semi-annual book sales. This is an event which is near and dear to my heart as it involves two of my passions: books and bargains. The library off-loads surplus inventory three times a year during these sales by offering books, which are often in excellent condition, for $7.50 for a grocery bag full of books. Yes, as many books as you can fit into a large paper bag! Weeks-worth of learning and/or entertainment for the price of a burger and fries. If t ..read more

Today I'll be short and to the point (mostly). Happy practicing! ​ This has been a hectic couple of weeks. So in an endeavor to stay in the groove of producing a new Tuba Tuesday edition every two weeks I'm sending out a couple more online resources that one of our readers (and current WTAMU junior), Alex Rivera reminded me of. I honestly can't understand how I forgot these two resources, but stranger things have happened.  International  Tuba-Euphonium AssociationFor a small fee (as low as $31 a year for students) you gain access to resources such as the ITEA Journal, pedagogy, and community ..read more

Today we'll discuss the most important book in your journey to become a better brass player, the Vocalise etudes (euphonium/trombone and tuba) of Marco Bordogni. Happy practicing! There are many reasons to use the Bordogni book; it's an excellent resource when you're learning to play expressively. Since all of the etudes are written with slurs pretty much the whole way it's also great for working on playing with smooth legato. Since smooth legato requires smooth air stream, it's also a superb study in breath control. Finally, It's a versatile wealth of music that can be adapted and adjusted to ..read more