Violin Lessons in Columbus, OH

Instruments: Trumpet Euphonium French Horn

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
Trumpet is a harder instrument to simply play than most other instruments, with the exception of maybe oboe and bassoon. Producing a good tone consistently is one of the most difficult things to do on the instrument. Maintaining that tone while focusing on other areas of technique is the real trick and the question I always find myself coming back to. "How can I make this sound good."

When will I start to see results?
Every person is different and will see results in different amounts of time. The largest factor is determining how long results take to appear is simple the amount of time you dedicate to not just your instrument, but music in general. While 15-30 minutes of practicing a day is a fantastic start, it will not yield results as quickly as the 15-30 minutes a day plus dedicated listening time, simple score analysis, or any other number of "deep learning" techniques away from the instrument.

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
There is an art to practicing effectively and efficiently. While learning this skill, it is important to be organized and experiment with different practice techniques to see what works best for you in particular. In general, when you are trying to learn a new piece of music the first step is to be able to hear and sing your part. Depending on how much experience as a musician, this may take various amounts of time to accomplish. Sitting down at a piano or singing along with a recording are some of the most effective ways to learn your part aurally. Then, once you know how your part is supposed to go, try sight reading the piece with all the musical intent you can muster. Locate and isolate technically troublesome areas either turning the music into a set of exercises or find a set of exercises that will target your technical weakness. The singular biggest piece of advice anybody could ever give for effective practicing is to NOT simply start at the beginning of a piece and restart until you get it correct. This will lead to nothing but frustration, overworking the opening, and ignoring troublesome sections.

How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
I believe that trumpet is a much more physically demanding instrument than more traditional instruments such as piano, violin, or voice. I personally do not recommend starting a child on a trumpet before the age of 9 or 10, but I would encourage students to experiment with other instruments as soon as they express any interest in music what-so-ever.

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