Goals for 2011-2012 Band Year

Theo Carr -
This year, I really hope to take my playing ability to the next level. I know I am O.K. right now, but I know I can be a lot better. I just have to put in the time and effort. By June, there are several specific things I want to work on. I would like to be able to tongue faster and more efficiently. I am good at tonguing moderate tempo pieces, but I struggle tonguing faster. In Semper Fidelis there were some sections I couldn't play as well as I wanted to simply because I couldn't tongue fast enough, and when I did, I couldn't get the rhythm right or line it up with my fingers. I also want to learn to double tongue. That will make it easier to play the faster rhythms. Another thing I want to improve is my tone quality. It has been really nice at some points, but this year it hasn't been that great. I don't think I am supporting it well enough. I was inspired by the tone of the first trumpets in wind ensemble at the fall concert, and I want to improve my tone quality so I can get to that point hopefully within the next two years. Another goal that I have is to memorize all of the fingerings from high G to low C. I think this is a very simple goal, but it will benefit me greatly if I am able to achieve it. One final goal I have for this year is to be more in tune with the other trumpets. I would estimate we are out of tune eighty-five percent of the time, so during the time we have to warm up it would be a good use of our time to get ourselves in tune with the people sitting in our vicinity. So these are my goals, and I hope to achieve them by June!