The 2013 Presidio Brass Summer Seminar is coming up this July 29-Aug 2 again at Rancho Bernardo High School. Check out our Summer Seminar page along with the 2013 brochure for all of the info and registration form. See you there!

BY SEAN REUSCH

As a beginning musician, most people are taught how to hold their instrument, how to read music, care of their instrument, and music fundamentals such as sound production, intonation, rhythms, articulations and dynamics. It is surprising to find that most young musicians are not taught one of the most crucial things in becoming a good musician – how to learn a new piece of music.

Young musicians routinely are given music and then told to go practice. They eagerly enter a practice room and begin to play straight through the music from beginning to end without stopping, never correcting their mistakes. Not only is this type of practice boring and frustrating, but this practice leads to many bad habits which, ironically, will take even more practice to unlearn! Here are some tips for learning a new piece of music.

Remember, practice makes permanent! It is very important to do things as correctly as possible from the very beginning. By practicing the following ways, it will be much easier to learn a new piece of music really well and in a shorter amount of time. Good luck!

1. When you very first learn a piece, play it slowly! This enables you to program things correctly from the very beginning (i.e. intervals, articulations, rhythms, notes). Itzhak Perlman, the incredible violinist, said, “If you want to improve quickly, practice slowly. If you want to improve slowly, practice quickly.”

2. Break the piece up into smaller sections. Find the most challenging spots and begin working on them first. Make any licks that are challenging or intimidating your friend! Look to see if the composer ever repeats any of those spots!

3. Make flash cards for any challenging lick to isolate it further. To fix a specific problem (example: rhythms, intervals, articulations), isolate it and make several exercises out of it (5 exercises per flash card).

4. Use some of the following strategies when learning a new piece:

a. Slow down tempo – play 1 note at a time!

b. Speed tempo up slightly – play all rhythms as quarter notes.

c. Drop a high lick down an octave.

d. Raise a low lick up an octave.

e. Play an entire phrase all on 1 note (to work on rhythms, articulations, dynamics and phrasing).

f. Play an entire lick with no tongue.

g. Sing!

h. Buzz!

i. Play a lick backwards slowly.

j. Analyze a lick – is it a pattern that you might recognize such as a scale or arpeggio?

k. Make a sequence out of a lick – raise it or lower it by half-step.

l. Listen to recordings and then play along with them if you are able.

5. At some point in every practice session, play straight through a piece – don’t stop! Be sure to play it at whatever tempo allows you to be successful. SLOW IS GOOD! This practice gives you a realistic idea of how well you can really play the piece After you finish playing straight through, assess how well you did. Where were your problem spots? Next run-through, anticipate those spots and focus on them ahead of time.

6. When you feel like you can play the piece, slowly start speeding up the tempo. Make sure everything keeps sounding great!

7. Record yourself! You will be amazed at what we don’t hear and let slip by!

TJ Tesh, trumpet, says: “What we tell young students (and older students alike) is that we once sat in their same seats. We all saw great performers that inspired our imaginations and caused us to dream of lives filled with music. Then we assure them that with dedication and hard work, they too can fulfill those dreams. If those are the habits we instill, then we have done our job and are proud to have done so. “

For more tips and fun practice music, go to http://www.presidiobrass.com/downloads.html

We’ve posted some new tour dates for Fall 2012! Check out our Calendar for all of the details. We hope to see you on the road!

Our Summer Workshop for all brass players is back this year at
Rancho Bernardo High School!

July 9-13, 2012 / 1:30-4:30pm

The Presidio Brass Summer Brass Seminar is a wonderful opportunity for high school and college brass musicians in the San Diego area to develop as musicians, hone their skills, and have an absolute blast doing so!! Packed with instruction as well as inspiration, the Seminar will prepare you to take your playing to the next level.

Includes: Playing in Large and Small Groups alongside Presidio Brass, Talks on Preparing for Auditions, Breathing, Effective Practicing and more!

Presidio Brass Summer Seminar Brochure and Registration Form

See you there!

Third generation trombonist, Sean Reusch, originally from Toms River, NJ, is a founding member of the Presidio Brass. Sean began performing trombone when he was ten years old. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Penn State University and a Master of Music Degree in Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, he moved to San Diego, CA.  Since then, Sean has performed with many groups including the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera, Orchestra Nova, Los Angeles Opera, Orquesta de Baja California, Pacific Symphony, Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, and the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Sean has performed with artists such as Dave Brubeck, Johnny Mathis, David Sanborn, Bernadette Peters, Eddie Daniels, Natalie Cole, and Marvin Hamlisch.

As an educator, Sean is currently on faculty at UCSD, Palomar College, Mira Costa College, and at the Idyllwild Arts Academy during the summer. Sean maintains a large private teaching studio and many of his students have gone on to study music at top universities and conservatories throughout the United States.

Sean writes the Education Articles for Presidio Brass and has created a seminar for college students on “Effective Techniques for Successful Auditions”.

Here are some of the topics:
·  Centering – an effective focusing technique
·  How to prepare for an audition effectively
·  The Power of Positive Thinking
·  Visualizing
·  Efficient Practicing
·  Resources for Peak Performance

Sean resides in Carlsbad, California, with his wife and two children.

LISTEN TO THIS!

BY SEAN REUSCH

Does your daily musical diet contain the essential Vitamin L – LISTENING? Besides listening to oneself, it is also very important to listen to amazing musicians on a daily basis. Be sure to listen to as many performers (not just your instrument!) and genres of music as possible.Attend live concerts. Live concerts are fantastic because one not only gets to hear great music being made but also gets to see the artist perform. Listen to great recordings. Listen repeatedly to a recording until you have it memorized and can sing and play it just like the recording. By doing this, musicians learn about style, phrasing, tempo, timber of sound, balance, and blend. One of the best things for musicians to do is mimic amazing musicians. Imitation helps develop our musical identity. As a musician, we can pick and choose aspects of playing that we want to sound like and incorporate them into our own playing.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when listening to other musicians:

• What makes this performance or recording so special and unique?
• How does it make you feel and why?
• What can you do in your practice to sound like this?
• What do you like or dislike about this performance and why?
• Does the performer follow the musical instructions of the composer?

Some more listening tips:

• Listen selectively – break apart music and listen to a different part each time. What instruments or voices do you hear?
• Listen with purpose! Focus when you listen.
• Listen to the recording while looking at the score.
• Listen with a friend and discuss what you heard in the performance.
• Listen to a recording numerous times. It’s amazing how many details we miss upon one listening.
• Listen to many recordings of the same piece and pay attention to differing styles. Pick your favorite interpretation and imitate it when you play the piece.