Two Tips (for Staying Sane in The Practice Room) From Trumpet Legend Charley Davis

[Wednesday, 1:07 PM,
November 24, 2021]

Hello my trumpet playing friends,

  I hope this message finds you well, and you’re hittin’ all the right notes this holiday season!

  Now, in the spirit of practice room motivation, here are two simple tips that you can use during your daily shedding. They come from one of the all-time greats, L.A. studio legend Charles Davis. Both are easy to apply and obscenely helpful.

Chas. Davis

  Charley is an old-school cat who’s been around the trumpet block. And if you’ve never heard of him, you’ve still likely heard his trumpet playing. He played first trumpet for ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Family Guy’ for a hot second.

  Also, if you’re a big band geek like me, Charley was the lead trumpet player screaming like a banshee on Buddy Rich’s album ‘The Roar of 74.’ (links below)

  Aside from being a great trumpeter (and cool dude), Charley is also a direct protégé of the famous trumpet teacher Bill Adam. Adam taught trumpet at Indiana University for many years, and his list of students is a veritable ‘who’s who’ of the playing community.

Charley’s (& Adam’s) Basic Approach to Trumpet Playing

  I met Charley during my graduate studies in Los Angeles. And fortunately, was able to dedicate a portion of those studies to learning from him at his home in North Hollywood.

  These lessons were pretty eye-opening for me. Charley was the first guy I met who devoted so much time and energy to routine. And if you could boil down the Adam school of thought into one sentence it might be, ‘imagine the sound you want and practice your butt off.’

  Along those lines, when I first met Charley we chatted a bit about my playing goals and experience. Then, he asked me how much I practiced. I said ‘about an hour and a half a day (which at the time I thought was pretty good).’

  Charley’s response?

‘And you want to be a professional trumpet player!?! When I was in college, I practiced 8 hours a day and could nail F’s above double-high C!’

 

The First Lesson

  I’ll tell ya what, Charley was not kidding about that whole practice thing. And I don’t recall how many times he asked me if I ‘needed to be somewhere,’ but that first lesson was over three hours long. We played back-to-back the entire time while his dog laid howling at our feet.

  Those four months (or so) were probably the most I have practiced in my entire life. And admittedly, I’m a lot lazier now. However, Charley did impart some wisdom on me that I use to this day.

Two Solid Practice Rules

  While working through his daily routines, Charley’s two guidelines were:

1. If you get a piece of it, keep going.
2. If you miss three times, save it for tomorrow.

  And while these guidelines are practical, I think they ultimately just kept Charley sane.

Rule Number One

  To understand the first rule, it’s useful to know how the Adam Routine is organized. Basically, you start at some easy note, and then ‘spider’ out in range like so:

 

 

  So, using Charley’s first rule, you would continue to each succeeding note as long as you ‘got a piece’ of the preceding.

  It’s a great rule. And it keeps things fun because you get to move along. Plus, it prevents idealism and thinking your playing is ever going to be ‘perfect.’

Rule Number Two

  The second rule (saving the missed notes for tomorrow) is equally awesome as you know exactly when to stop.

  And when you finally quit ‘banging your head against the wall,’ you’ll find playing frustration and fatigue a thing of the past. This tactic also leads to a greater appreciation for the process of improving your playing – rather than obsessing over each missed note. 

One Additional Guideline

  At this point, I’ll simply add that if you want to make sure trumpet playing keeps getting easier, pay attention to your playing mechanics while applying these suggestions.

  In other words, if you ‘get a piece of it’ by blowing your brains out – that is a dangerous road. Be mindful of the little things like a floating posture, relaxed shoulders, and playing with a more or less consistent ‘release’ of the air.

  You know, the stuff I keep blabbing on about in these emails. 🙂
 
Thanks for Reading!

  That’s it from me. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this email. Have a great Thanksgiving (if you’re into that sort of thing). And until next time, happy trumpeting.

Your trumpet-playin’ pal,

James

P.S. Here are some clips of Charley’s ridiculous lead trumpet playing.

Something (Solo ballad with Buddy’s band)

‘The Roar of 74’ (Full Album)