a quick study

Learning to play a new musical instrument or even learning how to improve on an existing one isn't such a big deal and can be a lot of fun if you know how to do it. Unfortunately, music teachers using the traditional methods can become extremely boring and often times the student becomes discouraged and quits. I recently (Jan. 2015) began learning a new instrument, the flugelhorn, a cousin of the trumpet.

me holding a flugelhorn

Playing the trumpet wasn't really totally new to me since 40+ years ago I was introduced to it in music college and had to pass a proficiency test on it along with all of the other band and orchestral instruments before receiving my teaching and performance degree. But....that was 40+ years ago and about the only things I could remember were how to hold it, some fingerings and how to form the embouchure. Between the time I decided to begin the task of learning to play or should I say re-learning (Nov. 2014) and the point where I finally got a playable horn 2 months later (January 2015) all I did was buzz into a mouthpiece I had from the college days.

It really was like starting from the beginning but I decided that I wasn't going to go thru the traditional method of learning. Back in 2005, I started learning to play the guitar which took me about 9 months. I used a different method than what was taught to me which was similar to the Suzuki method. I tweaked it for myself and used a program called Band In A Box. I created a melody and solo using BB along with the accompaniment tracks, listened to it over and over and then began learning it. Fortunately, I read music and was able to follow the notes. For most part, I had to look up the fingering but once I got them it was a piece of cake, well kinda. I learned the parts by playing phrases. First by myself to get acquainted with the notes and then to the music which got me used to playing with a band right away.

I also added scales to my practice sessions using an accompaniment which made it more fun. For endurance and breath control I would hold the note of a scale at first 4 beats and worked my way up to 16 measures (64 beats). This also helped for tone development. Using this method helped me learn to play much quicker and made me sound like I've been playing the horn for years. More to come in the future on my quick learning.

I'm sure you're interested in finding out how this all sounds so below is a player and you can check it out yourself.