There are about as many theories and methods of practising trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba (and all the other brass instruments) as there are teachers teaching them.

An article covering all of these methods would be several hundred screens long, of which very few (if any!) people would be likely to read from beginning to end!

So instead, here are 5 rules of thumb that you may not have thought about before, or, may have forgotten:

Rule #1: Practise regularly

1 hour of practise, 7 days per week, is a LOT better than 7 hours of practise, 1 day per week. Now, I do recall another  trumpet player telling me once that:

“If you want to play really high, you should only practise once a week”.

My reply:

“O…K…” :S

At the time, I was working as a freelance professional trumpet player, playing several days per week, and practising every day. The other trumpet player, well, let’s just say he wasn’t…

Rule #2: Get a concept of sound

What do you want to sound like? You don’t know? So, you’re practising an instrument, but you’re not sure what you want it to sound like?

That’s like practising archery without knowing where the target is!

Buy some recordings. Go to some concerts. Listen. You’ll quickly find out what sound concept(s) you like, and can then practise to either emulate them, or use them as inspiration to help you create your own unique sound.

Rule #3: Play and rest

Written in most of the major method books somewhere, “rest as much as you play”. This is useful for incorporating tip #4

Rule #4: Intersperse mental practise with physical practise

While you are resting your chops, if you’re up to it, keep your brain active, by employing mental practise, or to use a fancy term, VisuoMotorBehavioralRehearsal (VMBR).

VMB-what?

Ok, forget the fancy-pants terminology. Do this:

When you are resting your chops READ through the music you have just played, or are just about to play. Practise fingerings, rhythms etc IN YOUR MIND ONLY. See yourself playing in your mind’s eye. Do this regularly and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Rule # 5: Use a timed practice schedule

Write down on a piece of paper all the things you need to practice:

• Scales and arpeggios
• Breathing
• Long tones
• Transposition and sight reading
• Excerpts
• Solo pieces
• Studies
• Improvising over changes
• Multiple tonguing
• Flexibility
• Slurs
• etc…

Quite a list isn’t it?

One way to help you tackle it is to practise each element of practice for certain period of time each day – no more, and no less. An example:

• Scales and arpeggios: 5 minutes
• Breathing: 5 minutes
• Long tones: 5 minutes
• Transposition and sight reading: 5 minutes
• Excerpts: 10 minutes
• Solo pieces: 20 minutes
• Studies: 10 minutes
• Improvising over changes: 10 minutes
• Multiple tonguing: 2 minutes
• Flexibility: 3 minutes
• Slurs: 5 minutes
• see what we’re getting at?

By practising for no more, and no less time than you allot for each element of practise, you give yourself drive. Time is precious and practising in this way, it isn’t wasted.

Now, although that looks like a BIG list, it is only 80 minutes. Factor in resting for AT LEAST as long as you play, setup, and pack up time, and you’ve got yourself a dandy 180 minute (3 hour) practise session (including breaks).

Practise efficiently like that for 1 month and you will get some great results!

Do you have any other tips? Comment below!