The last rehearsal for Partizani Brass Band started off a little weird.
There was a little bit of turmoil with the members, and we needed to discuss things and plan things. I thought we were having a planning meeting... but it turned out to be a rehearsal.
And I didn't have my trumpet! (... this is the exact script for a lot of my anxiety dreams, but it was real life.)
Luckily, I am a very lucky person. One of the drummers in the band had a trumpet at his house a couple blocks away. We both jogged over to get it (... pre-rehearsal full-body warm up - CHECK!) and I was ready to go.
Unlike a lot of trumpet players, I'm pretty happy with my equipment and don't go shopping very often. But I enjoy it when I have a chance to try other horns. This was a Vincent Bach Mt. Vernon model. I loved playing on it! If you've tried this horn, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, Seth and I have been going through Jordan Hoffman's Power Player Trumpet Course. I couldn't wait to try out some of the minor adjustments that he pointed out in the course to get a stronger upper range. The only problem was that the Partizani music is all written within a reasonable do-able range. I spent the last half of the rehearsal seeing how much I could take up and octave so I could be in the ridiculous range.
Do you ever do that? It's totally unnecessary, but fun.
I was happy with the volume of my sound around high E and F. That is one of the first quick wins from taking the course. Those notes felt less like "high notes" and more like regular notes that I can play any time.
If you want to find out how to have a stronger upper range, check out the course here.