A history of my musical journey, as well as advice and resources for the instruments I play.

Piano

My first instrument was piano. When I was a little kid, my parents took me to piano lessons. Unfortunately, I couldn’t read music very well. I often had to stop and figure out what note the little blob of ink on the staff actually represented. I was taking lessons at the private school I went to, but since their upper grades were a little to small in class sizes, we changed to the area’s public school. At my new school, I entered just as students were first able to join the music program, and so I selected a new instrument for concert band.

Flute

Honestly, the reason I picked flute was the size of the case. I couldn’t ever carry a piano around in my backpack, so I wanted my new instrument to be portable. Flute and clarinet were my thus my options, but I thought flute sounded prettier. I’ve been playing it ever since.

Flute Advice

Don’t be mad if you can’t get a sound out of the thing. Its okay to get upset, too. It took me two weeks before I could make a sound, and by the time it happened, I was so upset I refused to be happy that I could finally play. But that was a long time ago, and now I have trouble not making sound out of the flute when I blow into it. Just remember that your air stream needs to be focused towards the center part of the opposite edge of the embouchure hole, with about half the air going across the hole and half going into it.
Try using your embouchure to change the pitch, not rolling the instrument in or out. Many players I know seem to like to do this, but its better if you teach yourself the correct embouchure for each note so that you can instantly have it in tune instead of adjusting after the note has started. Rolling in or out is fine though if you are tuning to someone else and trying to figure out how to adjust. Just make sure you then adjust your instrument so that you can return the flute to its normal position.
Learn articulation. Good articulation is one of the things that distinguishes good players. Forget double or triple tonguing until your basic attack is really clean. Don’t no what articulation is? Ask your teacher, and don’t be ashamed, because for some reason I learned only after playing for two years.
Always have lots of air for support, but not necessarily blowing it all in the instrument, depending on the dynamic.
Check your flute’s cork once in a while. Mine was way off for several weeks, and I spend most of the time wondering why I couldn’t play well until my flute teacher realized what was wrong.

Trumpet

I wanted to be in the middle school jazz band. But I played flute. Playing flute in jazz band sounded kind of dumb. Sure, jazz flute solos are nice, but what is a flute player to do the rest of the performance? So I decided I was going to learn a jazz instrument. My grandfather used to play trumpet, so I picked that, despite never having played a brass instrument.

I soon learned that I was not the kind of person who could pick up an instrument and get good at it really quickly. But at least this instrument I could make sound out of right away, and so I kept practising. I wasn’t ready for the first year of middle school jazz band, but I made the second. Having private lessons really helped, and I would suggest all passionate musicians get some if they can.

Though I never stopped playing flute, I often find myself playing trumpet more. Its partially because trumpet requires building up embouchure strength, but more because I really like the instrument. A trumpet has the ability to take on many different moods and colors, something that is harder to do on flute.

Trumpet Advice

Low notes are the best way to practice high notes. Do some long, low tones in between your exercises.
Rest as much as you play during practice.
Give up your obsession with high notes! Focus instead on playing well and then build up your range. If you are really obsessed with high notes, go play piccolo instead.

Piccolo

As many flute players do, I eventually learned piccolo. Its great for marching band, as who can ever hear marching flutes over the brass section? But honestly, I always preferred flute, as it seemed much more musical. For those of you who feel likewise, try to find that same musicality in your piccolo playing.

Piccolo Advice

All the flute advice applies, as they are practically the same instrument (only the irritation level is different!).
Learn dynamics. I mean the soft ones. Nearly every piccolo player can play loud, but it takes control and practice to play softly and still sound good. This is something I need to work on, since I was always used to playing loud so that my section could be heard on the field.
Practice with a tuner or a steady tone. Please!
Learn to hear the notes in your head before you play them.
Air support is still just as important, even if the instrument is smaller.

Percussion

One day I decided to join the percussion section. Wind players should consider joining some kind of percussion ensemble, if they can find one. Its really great for developing a stronger sense of rhythm. The only downside is you may be unbearably annoyed at people’s poor rhythms when your return to concert band.

Piano Again

I’ve always been jealous of really good piano players. So recently, I started playing around on an electronic keyboard I got as a present. I decided to get out some of the lesson books I still had and play some exercises. Hopefully I can regain my skills enough to be able to play some decent pieces, or maybe just be able to test the sound of composition ideas.

General Instrumental Advice

Applies to all instruments I’ve played, and probably the ones I haven’t.

More air (unless you are a percussionist, but breathing is still good once in a while)! Always have lots of air support. Try to breath from the bottom of your diaphragm and use the strength of your air to support the notes.
When things hurt, stop playing (unless you are performing, in which case the show must go on). If your embouchure hurts, try to use more air and your tongue level instead of your face muscles. But take a short break first.
Never be afraid of playing, or of messing up. Just go for it. Even if your wrong, its better to sound confident, as you might trick the audience into believing you were right.
Don’t stop and think about mistakes. Just keep playing, and afterwards make note of them so you can improve next time.
Sometimes, when tuning, its better to think more about the pitch you are going for than the errors in the pitch you are playing. Be cautious about adjusting your instrument more than a little bit, instead look to adjust your playing.
Count. Everything. Especially if you are a percussionist, because if you can’t play rhythms right, what are you doing in percussion?
Do whatever you can to get private lessons with a good teacher. They will be able to help you with things that never get worked on in group rehearsals.