As a āmatureā learner ā¦
About four years ago I decided it was finally time to try out the trumpet - at age 65. I found a student trumpet on eBay and fumbled my way to some notes - much to the annoyance of others in our locked down house.
I couldnāt find any in-person teachers so I worked with two different teachers online, but that didnāt really work out. My playing stalled.
Then this year an even more aged friend suggested I join the Bath Community Big Band where he plays trombone. So I joined and started practising in earnest. I fumbled my way through my first gig, hitting around 15% of my t4 notes.
Now Iām keen to establish a practice routine that will build my playing skills. I can read music and I have the basics of music theory. Iām looking to Tonebase to provide inspiration and information.
7 replies
-
I feel your aspirations and disappoints. I just paid for private lessons upfront for the year, and so far it has been a disappointment. Tonebase has more for a fraction of the cost. (about 1/32 the cost per year)
-
I started taking private trumpet lessons once a week at around 35. I tried to press on for almost two years despite insane stress at a day job and unsupportive family environment. It felt like I was doing one step forward, two steps back, which frustrated the heck out of me and I quit the lessons and the practice. 12 years later after playing occasionally for a short period I committed to doing the 5th grade at the age of 50 as a fun challenge and started taking lessons again. A year past the exam, it still feels like my playing is progressing. I can now attempt pieces I always wanted to play, but wouldn't dare to even try, which is a huge motivation. The moral is, sometimes it might not be the right time, but it's never too late.
I think there's a lot of good advice on Youtube, especially if you have some fundamentals like I had from my first bout. But Tonebase seems like a great value. I was considering it in place of the lessons, but thought I'd miss the face to face interactions, so for now I enjoy both :)
-
Thanks for your message . Finding an online teacher can definitely be difficult sometimes, especially as it's so hard to truly "hear" the teacher's sound over the internet. I think playing in-person with folks, even if they're way above or below your level, is the absolute best way to improve. Whether it's a lesson, or in ensembles, it just helps so much to hear your sound blend with others. There's only so much we can do on our own. When this isn't possible, or in addition to this, we need to make sure we are nourishing our musicianship with high-quality information and inspiration (after all, garbage in leads to garbage out). This is where tonebase comes in!
There's no single right way to use tonebase. And at the end of the day, you're in charge of crafting a practice routine that works for you. But tonebase is a massive resource, and virtually every course has something that can help you nudge your practice routine in the direction it needs to go.
I'd suggest you start by creating a Practice Plan ā take the level quiz and check out the videos we recommend for you. From there, branch out and explore other topics in the Library that interest you. Build a routine based on what you want to improve at, starting with fundamentals, implementing LOTS of rest, and challenging your technique daily. In Dan Rosenboom's upcoming course (it's out next week), he talks a lot about how to improve by visualizing concentric circles: in the middle is the set of things you can do in your sleep... outside that are the things you can do MOST of the time... outside that are the things you can only do SOMEtimes... and outside that are the things you can never do. Focus your practice on the outer edge of the things you can do MOST of the time. This is where we begin to see true improvement!
As always - write with questions!