When asked recently what he motivation and methods were, up-and-coming trumpeter Mark Rapp has this to say:
Where do I get my compositional inspiration? From everything and anything… it could be a book I’m reading that triggers some sounds in my head or a story someone tells (as was the case for my tune “Token Tales“) or it could be the crazy stress of a hot subway platform and everyone is ticking you off. In terms of musical considerations, I much, much prefer singer/songwriters for their simple melodies and passionate presentations/performances. Angular, complex, brainy music definitely has its place and I definitely take the time to check it out and enjoy its brilliance, but honestly, for the most part, I’d prefer to hear Bob Dylan or Radiohead than an infinite series of altered chords blazing by at break-neck speed.
I love Miles Davis of the 50’s and 60’s, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter…As for today’s players: Terence Blanchard is my current favorite. He’s always, always taking risks on stage and going for it. And there will be at least a few times where he’ll miss what he’s going for, but it is so inspiring, so real, completely honest – that is truly bad! Marcus Printup is fantastic – probably one of the most soulful, heartfelt players. Branford Marsalis continues to reign supreme for me on sax. Bjork, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine… world music… Fela Kuti… love it.
As for practicing the horn… I would kill to have the time I had in college – man, if I can get in 2 hours in a day, that is a rare and exceptional experience for me. At the very least, I hit the basics everyday… I start with long tones on second line G and work my way all the way down to the bottom of the horn playing each note for about 60 seconds, as softly as I can, yet with as much support as I can. You want the feeling of filling up the entire horn with air, but keeping the note very soft. Then, I like Arturo Sandoval’s warm-up that he got from (I think) a Claude Gordon book that starts on middle C and down… then just a couple of pedal tones… basically, I get the blood moving in the lips, get them feeling full and vibrant. I run through major scales in all 12 keys utilizing an array of patterns – starting slow. Do some lip slurs on Augmented, Major, Minor and Diminished chords… tonguing exercises (often, tonguing is incorporated into the scales)…
As far as improvisiation goes… man, sometimes I’ll end up unintentionally going off on a scale exercise and play a groove on that sound. Just playing… no goals or intentions.. just working it out, exploring what hits me, enjoying playing my horn and getting into the particular tonality of the scale. Or I’ll work on a tune… very slowly play through the changes… make sure I understand the chords.. that alone could take days or a week… and just keep working it… then play the tune on a gig a number of times… eventually you start finding the freedom in the tune. It’s a long process for me… some tunes probably will never feel free. Others are a blast to play from the get-go and I can weave in and out all over the place.
Just last night, I was at a jam session and sat-in on a number of tunes. One of the tunes we played was “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise.” Even a tune that I’ve played for years and know well, I was finding so many new ways of approaching it, but I was also discovering more things about me as a musician, me as a man. Investigating any desire to prove something to other musicians or my control in volume, patience in phrasing (or lack thereof), playing on top or behind the beat, my tone, my flexibility in the moment, new harmonic ideas, camaraderie amongst the band, reacting to the drums, following the piano player’s lines, etc. There was so much to learn or benefit from in playing just a couple of passes on a tune. Well, there is if you want it or look for it. For me, I learned I caused my flexibility to suffer and hence my melodic ideas to suffer because I had a few moments of playing too loud and aggressively which stemmed from some silly desire to prove I had a bigger tone on my horn. So, for those couple of phrases, I played fat and loud, but what I executed on the horn wasn’t what I was truly hearing in my head, in my heart. I let a moment go by that could have been much more meaningful and in the end, more musical and impressive had I set the ego aside and not blasted this other trumpeter away. Then again, he was a cocky little thing, like we trumpeters can be, so it was simply his turn to be set straight. Next time though, it may be my turn to get schooled on the bandstand.
In the end, if you love the manual labor of the horn and can’t go a day without at least touching your horn, you’ll be good to go.
