James Stamp Trumpet Method Pdf Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.Find sources: James Stamp news newspapers books scholar JSTOR ( March 2008 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ).After having played in different Minneapolis theatres he was asked to play 4th trumpet in the Minneapolis. James Stamp (Modified) - do one pattern on air first - breathe only where indicated - all notes below F-sharp are to be fingered the same as one octave higher - maintain a consistent embouchure with only minimal movement - big, full tone in all registers - keep the jaw and oral cavity relaxed and open Further Study: Stamp, Hickman.
- = James Stamp Trumpet Method Warm-up Book
- James Stamp Trumpet Book
- James Stamp Trumpet Method Pdf
- Trumpet Method Of James Stamp
James Stamp (1904–1985) was an American professional musician.
Background[edit]
Stamp was a professional musician from the age of 16, starting in the Mayo Clinic Band at Rochester, Minnesota. After having played in different Minneapolis theatres he was asked to play 4th trumpet in the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Playing 4th trumpet didn't allow for enough performances and the first trumpet player treated him like a valet. Later, after an argument with the 1st trumpet he was asked to play the 1st part on the Brahms 2nd Symphony while on tour to Cincinnati. He was then given a contract as 1st trumpet for the next season immediately after the concert. James Stamp held a position with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra for 17 years playing Trumpet under conductors such as Henri Verbrugghen, Eugene Ormandy and his favorite Dimitri Mitropoulos.[1][2]
Later after Eugene Ormandy left the Orchestra and Dimitri Mitropoulos became conductor the orchestra's finances were not very good. So, in 1944 he decided to sell his house and move to California. Mitropoulos tried to talk him out of leaving, but the house was already sold and he had made his decision. Stamp relocated to California, where he was immediately asked to play in studio orchestras in Hollywood, as well as radio and television programs. He suffered a heart attack in 1954, after which he devoted more time to teaching. He wrote an instructional book, Warm-ups + Studies which was first published in 1978.[3] He died on December 22, 1985.
Thomas Stevens, former Principal Trumpeter of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra said, 'I believe James Stamp was one of the finest teachers in the world. His approach was so flexible that I have never seen him fail to improve a player, whether it be an established symphony musician, jazz or lead player or a twelve-year-old student.'
Bibliography[edit]
- Warm-ups + Studies: trumpet & other brass instruments in treble clef, CD in C and Bflat (1995)
Articles[edit]
Articles in the Brass Bulletin, International Magazine for Brass Players:
- Brass Bulletin 39, III-1982 (p. 14-21), Alfred Willener, Subtle Teaching
- Brass Bulletin 53, I-1986 (p. 3-4), Jean-Pierre Mathez/Thomas Stevens, Editorial 'Homage to James Stamp'
- Brass Bulletin 100, IV-1997 (p. 59-65), Jean-Christophe Wiener, James Stamp, Master in Listening part 1
References[edit]
- ^http://www.malcolmmcnab.com/jimmystamp/
- ^https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN8c_IaZYtA
- ^http://www.editions-bim.com/james-stamp-warm-ups-and-studies-for-trumpet-with-cd-accompaniment-in-b-flat-and-c.html
External links[edit]
= James Stamp Trumpet Method Warm-up Book
After completely neglecting this blog for three years while I pursued my Doctorate, I woke up two nights ago to a message from a friend telling me that an article of mine was going around Facebook. Imagine my surprise when I opened this site (after spending 5 minutes trying to recall what my password could be) and saw that it had over 1,300 views! I decided this would be a good opportunity to share something I’ve been kicking around in the back of my mind for a while now. Let’s begin with a story:
One year, as a Teaching Fellow at UNT, I was assigned a student (let’s call him Sam) who was a sophomore. Sam had studied with another teacher for his first year and was really struggling to meet the demands placed upon him by the school. His sound was bad, his range was bad, and his technique was bad. His UDE (a rigorous jury students must complete at the end of their 2nd year) was coming up in 8 months and it seemed like there was no chance of him passing. At the beginning of the lesson, I had him open his book of flow studies and saw that all the right things had been penciled in by a previous teacher: “Use lots of air!” “Keep the throat open and relaxed.” “Make this sing.” etc… But none of that was happening. The sound was closed off, tense, and did not resonate. After the first couple of minutes I thought I may have found the root of the problem. I asked, “Sam, who are your favorite trumpet players to listen to?” Silence. So I asked, “Do you listen to trumpet players?” “No.” “Can you name any professional trumpet players?” “No.” And therein I discovered that my hypothesis was correct. Sam did not know what the trumpet is supposed to sound like and thus could not create a good trumpet sound. For his first week, instead of assigning etudes and technical studies, I had him listen to a long list of trumpet players on YouTube. Håkan Hardenberger, Alison Balsom, Maurice Andre, Phil Smith, Chris Martin, Matthias Höfs, etc… Sam was a type A person, so he came back to his next lesson with a list of everyone he listened to and what he thought made each player’s sound/approach unique. It shouldn’t be surprising that with his very first note, it was an incredible improvement! Over the course of the next two semesters, Sam improved tremendously and passed his UDE with flying colors! Now I’m definitely not writing this to express discontentment with Sam’s previous teachers. I know one of them and that person is a fantastic person, teacher, and player. What concerns me is that Sam’s situation is not unique, is not rare, is not even surprising. It is actually perfectly ordinary for people pursuing music in college to never listen to their own instrument!
James Stamp Trumpet Book
James Stamp Trumpet Method Pdf
In the article I wrote a couple years ago that gained popularity, I contrasted the pedagogical approaches of James Stamp and Vincent Cichowicz. Stamp’s approach is physiological in nature, meaning that you should be aware of the workings of your body and tweak those to obtain the desired sound. Cichowicz’s approach is conceptual, meaning that if your sound concept is strong enough your body will find ways to create your desired sound without you having to be aware of the physiological aspect. And while these approaches are diametrically opposed, they both begin with the exact same step. Sound Concept. One cannot obtain a good sound physiologically without first understanding what a good sound is. By the same token, one needs to have a sound concept in order to use the conceptual approach.
This is what I refer to as the “Missing Link in Trumpet Pedagogy.” If the two primary pedagogues of the past 100 years agree that having a sound concept is the foundation for everything else, then why do we start beginners on the mouthpiece? Why do we start them on F or G, or C? Why do we begin with leadpipe buzzing? Why do we assume that if a high schooler or college student has a bad sound, that it’s because they aren’t using enough air? Why do we assume the throat is too tight, the teeth are clenched, the tongue is too high? Teachers usually start with those elements because they (supposedly) represent the basic building blocks for everything we do on trumpet. But that is simply not true. The foundation of good trumpet playing is the sound concept. After that, everything is just technique.
So where do we go from here? I submit that teachers should assign more listening than long tones or lip slurs. More than Clarke or Arban studies. Especially at the beginning of a player’s training, they should be spending time every day diligently listening to recordings and professional live music. Only in the context of great musicianship do technical studies and etudes make sense. Keith Johnson writes, “The first step is to recognize a good sound. All other skills and requirements follow this primary accomplishment” (The Art of Trumpet Playing pg. 26). Johnson does not say that the first step is creating a good sound. The first step is recognizing it! A person can only consistently play at a level they hear. I may surprise myself now and again with something that’s a little better than I imagined it going, but those are flukes created by accidentally using more air or less of something else. I can only consistently create music at the level I can conceptualize it. I regularly tell my students, “Your brain is your musical instrument. You must learn to play your musical instrument before you can ever hope to play the trumpet” (or some variation of that). Listen to lots of music and have your students listen too. Share a recording with each student every week. One thing I’ve incorporated into my teaching is to have a “recording of the week” that I share with every student at the beginning of each lesson. I’ve talked about this with other teachers and had one of them tell me, “There’s just not enough time in a 25 minute high school lesson to spend time listening.” My response was, “If you only have 25 minutes, how can you afford not to work on the most fundamental skill?” As teachers, let’s require more listening of our students. As performers, let’s require more listening of ourselves.
Trumpet Method Of James Stamp
Thanks for taking the time to read this! I had originally planned to make this article two parts with the first half being about the “missing link” and the second suggesting ways to incorporate listening into a daily schedule. I feel that this article is long enough on its own and I would like to cover the discipline of listening in a separate article. I would love to get your feedback on this article! Do you listen as part of your daily practice? Who do you listen to? How has it helped you as a performer? As a teacher? Is there anything in here you would like to argue?