Time to crack the whip!

So, some things are harder for some people than others.  For me, multiple tonguing is a great challenge.

When I was in 7th grade, I could double tongue without thinking about it, play a high C on a daily basis, and play parts of the Haydn Trumpet Concerto....but then things changed when I got braces.

Truthfully, having braces should have only pushed me to work harder, but I let it be an excuse to not practice and work on the things that needed to be done.  As a sophomore in high school, I got my braces off.  I had to learn how to play again...which was definitely a process.

Now, as a freshman in college, I find my self struggling with multiple tonguing, range, and volume.  Why are these things an issue? Simply because in the past, I chose not to practice them, even when my private teachers told me to, and I knew I needed to.

Since coming to college, almost everyday I am reminded of my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to my playing.  This semester, I have to work on these things everyday, no matter what! I can't put them off any longer.

Throughout high school, my private teacher would tell me that if I didn't work on these things, I wouldn't be able to play a lot of music.  But I never believed him.  Almost every lesson, he would remind me that these were the only things holding me back from playing any music I wanted to.  But yet I never practiced these things.

Now, as I'm off at college, I know he is right.  I should have listened to him and worked on these things.  But I chose not to. So now its time to CRACK THE WHIP! I have no choice but to practice these things.  If I choose not to, I am not going to get better, and I won't be able to play most of the music I dream of playing.

Starting today, February 3rd, 2015, I am promising to practice these things everyday.  I am not practicing these things because other people are telling me to.  I am practicing these things because I want to become a better musician.  I want to be the best trumpet player that I can possibly be!