The Real Way to Play

The Real Way to Play The Cat Anderson Trumpet Method

A Step-by-Step Approach to the Upper Register by

Geoff Winstead (A Real Student of Cat Andersons)

Copyright Geoff Winstead 2009

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Foreword Welcome fellow trumpet players! The first time I ever heard Cat Anderson was in 1972 at Cal State University Northridge (San Fernando Valley State College then) during a concert after a weekend of high school and college jazz band competitions. He was one of the guest artists with the universitys jazz band. I had never heard anything like what I was experiencing that evening. I had heard Maynard and Doc, and was becoming aware of other high note players as my musical knowledge was expanding. But this experience was totally different for me. Every part of my body was tingling from hearing notes I didnt know were possible coming at me with power and clarity. I decided there and then that I needed to know how to do that! I was a pretty shy kid, but the exhilaration of the moment carried me down to the stage immediately after the concert to at least get an autograph from this great high-note trumpeter. I approached him and much to my surprise, the words from my mouth asked, Do you give lessons? He looked me up and down, gave me a huge smile and said, Actually, Ive just decided to take on a few students. He got out his wallet and handed me his card. Call me in a couple of days, and well discuss it. Whats your name? That first, short conversation, led me to a wonderful eight year relationship with this great trumpeter who became a mentor to me as his student and a friend in life. There are lots of stories that I could continue with, from having him stay the night, (using my sisters bedroom) and bringing him to school to rehearse with my high school band for a half-time show and jazz band concert, to taking me with him to various studio sessions or gigs, or my last casual meeting with him at Local 47 where he wanted my opinion on a dental problem he was having. I will add some of these stories, when appropriate, to the lesson at hand (or I need to fill space!). My goal, with this book is to repair Cats reputation, which seems to have been maligned a bit because of The Cat Anderson Trumpet Method. I will tell you now that he was disappointed with the book as well, and told me so as he gave me a copy of it. Well keep working from the stuff I give you, he said. The problems with his book are twofold. First, he was not a writer, so sometimes his instructions seem vague or esoteric with no definition as to how to actually approach the lessons. Second, and probably most important, he sent the manuscript to the publisher at the same time he left on an All-Star State Department tour of Europe and left it up to whoever edited the book to put it together. As a writer and editor, I feel sorry for both parties, because in those days, there was no quick way of communicating with someone who was traveling from country to country to get information. Unfortunately, the outcome was a mess, with lessons out of order, parts of other lessons spread all over the book, wrong dynamic approaches, wrong notes, and worse, time frames are given for completing things, as in play for 2 days, which is absurd. In the copies of his original manuscript, there is only one page that actually says Repeat for 2 Days, and I ignored that because I couldnt get it down in two days! When


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I was taking lessons from him, Id see him every 2 or 3 weeks and Id play each lesson until I got it right! I have wanted to write this book for years and have been encouraged to do so after making comments in various trumpet forums online. I have had a few students over the years that have come to me wanting to know the secrets of how to really approach Cats method. My disappointment, though, is that most of them were not mature enough to have the patience or diligence to go the distance. They would get to a point where they could impress their friends with a huge high G, giving them an occasional Double-C, and would be satisfied with that and quit. I can see that. I was there once, where being able to fill up a stadium with a G so loud the other bands trumpeters would come over to our stands to see who did that. Its fun. Its a good ego trip, and it builds your confidence. But it doesnt get you to the point where you can actually play extended passages in the upper register all night long and still have chops when you go home. These types of students didnt help me in re-writing Cats book, though, because everything was verbal and done with one-on-one examples. So, I put the idea in my back pocket until I got an email from a trumpeter in the U.S. Navy who was stationed in Europe. He had found one of my comments in a Trumpet Herald forum and contacted me from there wanting to know if I could help him with Cats book. Here is his note after I agreed to help him out:

Geoff, Thank you for your response! This is a great opportunity I will not pass up. Many years ago I was at a summer jazz camp at Eastman and I met a guy that studied with Cat and I didn't take the time to ask him questions. He was the only person I have met (till now) that studied directly with him. A little about myself: I am 40 years old. I play trumpet in the US Navy, I have been in for 15 years (now stationed in Italy). I would say the gigs I do is about 40% big band lead and 40% ceremony type music (marches) and about 20% brass quintet. I have been through all the books, Claude Gordon Systemic Approach, Double High in 37 Weeks, Double C in 10 Minutes, Carmine Caruso, Long Tones, etc., etc. (I have found through all this that I got the best results by just doing long tones and doing away with peddles.) ...Anyway, I just wanted to let you know a little about myself and what I have been doing. I got the Cat Anderson book about 20 years ago and tried to go through it as written. It just didn't work out. After going back and doing some research, I came across your response on the Trumpet Herald. I have a million questions but I don't want to be rude and take too much of your time. Again, this is a great opportunity to be able to pick the brain of someone that actually dealt one on one with Cat Anderson and can decipher his book. Thank you so much! Nathan Goebel

From that point, I knew I would have to write things down in a manner that was understandable to anyone who read it. I will include parts of our emails with Nathans questions for me, which I hope will answer the questions of anybody who decides to put in the time and dedication to build a fantastic range.


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I am not bold enough to say that this is the only approach to upper register playing. There are many other methods out there, and I believe they all will work to one degree or another to build your range. What all method books have in common is that you are dealing with a book and not sitting down with the person who wrote it, or taking lessons from someone who knows that method. With any method, it is up to you, the player, to follow the instructions exactly as presented and to have the discipline to actually sit down and take the time to do each lesson correctly and not be tempted to take short cuts. All great players have the knowledge that theyll probably get frustrated before they get something perfected, but they dont skip to the next thing when the going gets hard. In this book I will be giving links to websites, YouTube videos, etc., where their information, written, audio or visual, explains an approach that corresponds to this book, or gives insight and inspiration on what it takes to be a great player. Through my correspondence with Nathan, and questioning others who also took a few lessons with Cat, I have put together what I hope is a concise and understandable Real Way to Play the Cat Anderson Trumpet Method. Take the time to do it right and your range, power and endurance will soar! Have fun!

Geoff WInstead

Scans from my first meeting with Cat and of his letter getting me into Local 47


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Contents

Foreword .................................................................................................................................... 2

Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 6

Examples of Cats Original Lessons........................................................................................... 8

Useful Stuff................................................................................................................................. 9

The Warm Up........................................................................................................................... 11

Preliminary Lesson................................................................................................................... 15

Daily Drills ................................................................................................................................ 17

Lesson 1................................................................................................................................... 19

Lesson 2................................................................................................................................... 22

Lesson 3................................................................................................................................... 25

Lesson 4................................................................................................................................... 29

Lesson 5................................................................................................................................... 33

Lesson 6................................................................................................................................... 36

Lesson 7................................................................................................................................... 38

Lesson 8................................................................................................................................... 41

Lesson 9................................................................................................................................... 44

Whole Tone Scales .................................................................................................................. 46

Lesson 10................................................................................................................................. 47

Lesson 11................................................................................................................................. 51

Major & Minor Arpeggios.......................................................................................................... 55

Lesson 12................................................................................................................................. 57

Lesson 13................................................................................................................................. 61

Maintenance............................................................................................................................. 64


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Introduction Before there was Maynard, there was Cat! For 27 years with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, he played into the stratospheric range of doubles and triples practically every night. He would form his own bands, big and small, over the years and play in the bands of other greats like Lionel Hampton. He retired from the road to the studio scene in Los Angeles, where he could be found playing in almost everyones local All Star band there any night of the week, in a recording session playing for a TV show or movie, or would be off on a State Department tour of Europe, the Middle East or Japan, always thrilling the audience everywhere he went, and leaving aspiring trumpet players, like me, dumbstruck! I believe I am one of less than 10 actual students that Cat took under his wing and who went through his entire method with him. You see, we were guinea pigs for his book. I know of several people who took a few lessons with him, those he advised or consulted with, etc., with most of them having an anecdote or two about him. Unfortunately, a lot of their memories have either become enhanced or a little mixed up, to say the least. I have heard and read stories about Cat that are supposedly true, whether good or bad, but are truly just old wives tales at best. I have heard and read the exact same stories attributed to Bud Brisbois, so I take them all with a grain of salt. Of course, this is how myths and legends have always begun, and these guys arent around anymore to defend themselves. I went through two apartments and a house with Cat, and never saw any weightlifting equipment, horns strung from the ceiling, horns in every room, including the bathroom, etc. He never blew through a handkerchief on his mouthpiece (supposedly being able to play through it!), refused to show me (or anyone else) his mouthpiece(s), or acted like he was schizoid. Myths and legends are created to explain away the unusual, or powers that are beyond normal comprehension. They usually discount that these feats were accomplished through plain old hard work and dedication to a goal. I spent at least one weekend a month with him during high school and more in college, where he would take me with him on studio calls, rehearsals, concerts and even lunch or dinner, either after a lesson or just to see if I wanted to check something out that he felt I should experience. He got me into Local 47 with just a note to Max Herman, put me in his rehearsal band there, let me sub for him on some occasions, and always treated me like I was part of his family. I have kept every copy of his lessons, which are starting to fade and turn brittle after 35 years because of pre-Xerox copiers that printed everything in purple and smelled like formaldehyde, as well as notes I kept when we switched over to working out of his book after it was printed, so I know what Im giving you is the real thing. Because a lot of Cats book wasnt printed in the correct order, I have re-organized it back to the original lesson plans he gave me, with an explanation before each exercise on how to approach it. The lessons are now in a step-by-step approach, instead of jumping all over the place, expecting you to somehow advance from a high F to a double-C in the same lesson. I


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have also included a detailed explanation of how to play Cats Warm Up, which is essential reading before you begin any of the lessons. Im not going to give you too many quotes from Cats book, if any. I have been a writer for over 30 years and believe I can get his points across in a clearer, more understandable manner. If you want to read his original thoughts and philosophy and dont own a copy of The Cat Anderson Trumpet Method, you can read or download the whole thing at www.r-o-d-d-y-t-r-u-m-p-e-t.cc/catindex.html . If you can understand and navigate through it without getting frustrated, more power to you! I do ask that you read his Foreword as well as pages 7, 20, 27 and 34 to get an insight into what he felt a student should be able to achieve with his method. As you can see, Im also going to give links to various websites to give examples of points that are easier to get across if you have a visual or audio reference. You may want to keep this book on your computer as well as printing it out so you can just click on those sites when you want to go there. If any of these sites change, I will put up the changes on my website so theyre available to you as well as any new ones I feel are helpful. There are also sections with comments or questions and answers from students about problems and progress. You have purchased this book because you are curious about what could be new about Cats method. Some of you are probably returning players who may have tried Cats book and werent able to get much out of it. Some of you are probably younger players who have heard Cat either on recordings or seen him on a YouTube video. What you all have in common is the desire to increase your range, control and stamina in the upper register of the trumpet. There is no easy way to get there, no matter whose method you use. You can buy anyones trumpet method, but just owning it doesnt get you to where you want if you dont use it. You have to decide youre going to be diligent and dedicate yourself to playing everything exactly the way I have detailed it and being honest with yourself as to when to go on to the next lesson. If you do, you will find yourself, in a short period of time, playing higher and higher, with more power, more stamina, and with more confidence. That, I can guarantee. Thank you for your purchase now get to work!! GW


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Examples of Cats Original Lesson Plans Cat could never remember Geoff!


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Useful Stuff

Metronome Hopefully, you have a metronome, since it should be an essential part of every musicians arsenal. I have given tempo markings for almost every exercise, so knowing the difference between 72 beats per minute (bpm) and 120 bmp is a must. If you dont own one, visit your local music store (or an online music store) where you can find excellent small electronic metronomes with built-in tuners (its also nice to know if your double Ab is in tune) for under $40.00. Fingering Chart In the Cat Anderson system (and probably anybody elses system) the fingerings (valve combinations) for the upper register are exactly the same as they are on the staff. That being said, if you find that your horn is better in tune using, say, the third valve only instead of one and two on a high C# and you are accustomed to playing that way, by all means do it. However, when you find youre playing an octave above that, check it out on your tuner (see

above).

oubles and Triples

hile there are sometimes disputes as to where doubles (I believe theyre referred to as e

reathing Techniques and The Science of Breath

at did not teach any special breathing techniques, per se. He always insisted on being ust.

D Wsupers in Europe ok, super!) begin, it has been generally accepted by those who maktheir living playing up there, that doubles begin at A. In the example, above, you see an arrowpointing to what is a double A (the note below it, one ledger line above the staff is a high A). An octave above that is a triple A (Cats favorite note!), and so on. Sometimes Ill find a video on YouTube of some guy whos just crazily ecstatic, claiming to hit a double F! Sorry to tell you,dude, but you only got to a high F. Youve got an octave to go! Hope you bought this book, so you can really get there! B Crelaxed, taking in as much air as necessary, but not feeling like youre a balloon about to bBy doing these exercises, he felt you would naturally develop a feel for how much air you need to play in the upper register of the horn. That being said, I think it is worth your time to read the article on wedge breathing by the great Bobby Shew as taught to him by Maynard Ferguson. http://abel.hive.no/trompet/ntf/shew-eng.html Maynard learned about breathing by


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studying a book called The Science of Breath by Yogi Ramacharaka, which can be found in its entirety at http://www.shout.net/~jmh/clinic/science_of_breath/ Practical Physicality Some of us are not gym rats and arent particularly interested in doing crunches, working out on machines, etc. However, we do need to keep in some sort of shape to keep from becoming physically exhausted while playing. I recommend either going for a long daily walk, or using Claude Gordons walking exercises (thank you, Larry Meregillano, for reminding me about them!), which go like this: The first exercise is 5 sets of 10 breaths standing in place. The second exercise is called 5 Walking, which is 5 equal sniffs-inhaling while walking, 5 holding-full, 5 puffs-exhaling, and 5 holding-empty, then repeating this cycle walking a square city block. Each month it progresses one more step, then after 10 walking it moves to 5 jogging, until finally reaching 10 jogging. Horns and Mouthpieces Most of you probably have a good set up that youre comfortable with already and the rest of this paragraph doesnt pertain to you! It is easy to get obsessed with finding the perfect horn or perfect mouthpiece. This will become a lifelong (and expensive!) pursuit, if you fall into that trap. There are no perfect horns or perfect mouthpieces. There are just horns and mouthpieces that are better than others. A good quality professional trumpet and mouthpiece combination that gives you the sound you want, ease of flexibility, doesnt back up on you and is comfortable to play is all you need. A new, expensive, shiny horn isnt necessary. You can find a good used Benge, Olds, Conn Connstellation, or any number of great old pro horns that are as good, or better, than a new one for a good price and youll be happy with it for years. Hopefully, you have a decent music store nearby that carries a large variety of mouthpieces from different manufacturers. If youre still in school, youre probably best off with a good all around mouthpiece instead of something super shallow that isnt going to get you a big fat sound when youre soloing in a classical situation. And you dont want something so deep and wide that it inhibits your ability to play lead on a chart in jazz band. Find something you can easily play a nice chromatic scale from an F# below the staff to a C above the staff without having to readjust your chops and keeping a good fluid tone all the way up (and back down). You can do this method with that mouthpiece, no problem. Mouthpieces and horns dont play themselves you play them. Mutes If at all possible, try not to use a mute playing these exercises, especially when trying to get the sub-tone whisper G down. You need to hear yourself. However, if you must, either use a harmon style mute, or my preference, a Renuzit practice mute that you can make yourself. These things are made from a 99 cent air freshener and a bit of cork you can find in any hobby store. http://www.dallasmusic.org/gearhead/Renuzit%20Practice%20Mute.html There is also a video on YouTube with a more advanced version and search around for others who have turned it into a cheap version of a silent brass system. Note: Pick a scent you like, because even after you remove the smelly stuff, it has permeated the plastic, which makes for a nice smelling (but not overpowering) case or mute bag!


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The Warm Up

Read ALL of this before doing anything else!! The Warm Up is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of The Cat Anderson Method! If you dont take the time to master this fundamental idea, you may as well have not purchased the book in the first place. Yet, in Cats original book, there is so little said about it. Only, play softly as in a whisper. What does that mean, exactly? About the same as gliding down to Rio to me, and I was one of his students! It is true that G on the staff is the easiest note on the horn to play, but there are two reasons for playing it that were never printed or explained, until now. In my first lesson with Cat, we spent the entire two hours trying to get me to play the G how he wanted it, and even then, I only was able to play the G correctly for only a few minutes. It took several weeks to get to the point where I could play the G correctly for the entire 20 minutes, so stick with it. This does not mean you cant do any of the exercises before you get the G right, but dont think it isnt necessary to get it down, because everything else will become much easier once you do. First, dont get discouraged! Persistence with a goal in mind will keep you on the right track. Im going to assume that you have a few years of playing under your belt so I dont need to go into the basics of producing a tone, tonguing, etc. However, I am going to ask you to do a few things that are unorthodox that apply to the whole book. So, get your horn out and -- TURN OFF THE TV, STEREO, I-POD, COMPUTER, ETC. TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO GET OUT OF YOUR ROOM (NICELY). WERE ABOUT TO BEGIN OUR LESSON ON PURE CONCENTRATION THAT I CALL ZEN, ACCORDING TO CAT. Take in a good, relaxed, breath. This is going to be 20 minutes on the same note, so take in a good amount of air, but not to the point where youre tense and your shoulders come up to your ears. Fill up your lungs from the bottom up (no shallow breathing) as if doing a Hatha Yoga exercise.

Place your two top front teeth on your bottom front teeth until the tips are just lightly touching. DO NOT clench or bite down hard. Keep your jaw relaxed. Dont worry if you dont have perfect teeth where your molars meet all around, everyone has a different dental makeup. I have a pretty good overbite, so my jaw moves slightly forward when I do this. Actually, thats a good thing.

Dont think that you wont be able to get air through your horn. You will! I have never met anyone with teeth so perfect that they cant get air to pass through them. You would have to have rubber gaskets on every tooth and every gap sealed to stop it! If you dont believe it, try this: Take a breath and exhale as if you were going to blow out a candle. As youre blowing out, keep your lips in the same open pucker but bring your upper and lower front teeth together. Did the air stop? No!


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Why are the teeth touching? This is to create muscle memory and sort of acts as a book mark in that you come back to the same place every time you play. It causes your jaw to move forward slightly, creating a more even set position, which is desirable. Now, with the teeth closed embouchure, play the G with a "duh" or doo soft tongue attack at a p with a steady air stream and back it off, softer and softer until the tone just starts to break up. Do your lips feel like theyre about to bounce off of the mouthpiece? Good! Believe it or not, this is the starting point. What the heck are you looking for, Geoff?! What were looking for is actually a sub-tone! The sound you want to hear and focus on is the G on the staff coming through, faintly, inside your air stream. So if you think about it, it actually is a note being played as if in a whisper, the whisper being the relaxed air itself carrying the overtone of the G. This is the sound youre looking for and youll need all of your concentration to be able to keep it going for 20 minutes. You will get there, dont worry. In the meantime, just concentrate on playing as soft as possible, zero tension, with no distractions. Now, you probably wont get to that point for awhile. Remember, it took me several weeks to actually get it. So, find that spot where your tone starts to break up, then come back to a point where you have a tone most of the time. It may cut out occasionally, but keep the air moving and the tone should come back. That is your current whisper spot. You will find yourself able to play even softer over time, getting to the desired overtone, but the real idea, I believe, is to keep a constant, warm (but kind of "fuzzy"), soft tone for the required amount of time. If you still have trouble with finding the whisper after several days of trying, here is an alternate approach that is used by some players: Slightly pucker your lips as if you were going to kiss someone lightly (or, as if you were going to do a lip buzzing exercise). In that position, put your mouthpiece to your chops lightly and blow. Let your chops find the mouthpiece as if they were trying to pull the mouthpiece towards them to try and make a seal. You will probably get all kinds of crazy squiggly noises at first, but keep a steady, strong airflow going and eventually youll hear either the G or the C above it coming through the airstream. To get this sub-tone, you will find that you actually use more air than you think you should have to. Concentrate on controlling and keeping the tone once you find it. And if you still find that neither of these approaches work for you after making a concerted effort for several days, then just playing the G as softly as you possibly can, keeping the tone going without breaking it up is better than nothing and is about 75% as effective. Do not take your mouthpiece off your chops for the entire 20 minutes. Breathe (take in air) through your nose, not your mouth, after your initial breath. This doesnt mean I want you to circular breathe. Remember, you want to keep your horn on your


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chops for the entire 20 minutes. Get use to this, because most of the exercises in this book are played this way. Hold the G as long as you can before breathing. Fill up your lungs as you would take a normal breath, just not through your mouth, and start the tone again with either a duh tongue or an air attack, keeping the same, relaxed embouchure and minimal tension in your jaw. The other reason this warm up is on a G is that you dont want any valves involved to do the next part. Eventually, what you will want to be able to do while playing the whisper (sub-tone), is to keep the note and air stream constant to do the following: First, while playing as softly as you can, remove your right hand from the horn. Did the sound stop or break up? If not, good. If it did, then youre choking off your airflow and/or have too much tension in your right hand. If everythings still good, while keeping the note going, switch hands. There should be a smooth transaction without a breakup in your overtone or air stream. If not, youre left arm is too tense, so come back to a point where you have a steady tone and try it again until the note doesnt break up during the switching of hands. What does this trick prove? It shows you the actual amount of pressure (or lack of) that is needed to play correctly. If you can hold your horn in either hand for several minutes while playing the G and not break the note when the horn is passed from one hand to the other, this is the same arm strength you want to use when ascending into the upper register. Too much pressure is your enemy! Knowing how little pressure it takes to maintain even the softest note keeps you from strong-arming a high note passage and fatiguing your chops. Another trick that was discovered by students who have purchased this book is that if you have a regular spit valve, you will know you have the whisper down correctly if you can open it while playing and the whisper doesnt disappear. Okay, its been 20 minutes! How do you feel? It may be that you might feel a little fatigued the first few times or so you try this. You may not make it the full 20 minutes the first few times, either. Thats okay. Twenty minutes is your goal. Play until your chops become slightly fatigued, then rest for as long as youve played. Getting a little tired is perfectly normal because youre developing some new muscle memory and coordination. Try to play longer every day until you can go for the entire 20 minutes What else do you feel? Are your lips tingling like little electrical charges are going off, or something similar to lightly stroking a feather on your arm? Do the corners of your mouth ache a little? Good! Thats what we want! You must rest as long as you play. If you play for 20 minutes, rest for 20 minutes. Let the muscles in your face recover (as well as your arms). So, lets recap:

Lots of warm air Front and bottom teeth lightly touching Duh tongue to get started Breathe through your nose when taking in more air


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Never take the horn from your lips Play as softly as you can until the G just becomes an overtone in your air column Play for 20 minutes, occasionally switching hands without breaking up the note REST for 20 minutes

This is how you must start every lesson, every day. Finally, this is your range building book. It should not replace your regular practice routine in Arbans, Clarkes, Collins, or whatever technical studies, music for upcoming gigs, rehearsals, etc., that you need to do. After you get the whisper down, you may want to check out Walter Whites Long Tone Accompaniment cd. http://cdbaby.com/cd/walterwhite2 The cuts are exactly 20 minutes long and make playing the long G less boring. Walter is a former trumpeter with Maynard Ferguson.

A Note on Teeth Closed (touching) embouchure as opposed to Normal or Regular embouchure and nose breaths The teeth closed embouchure is how you are meant to practice this method, except where indicated. It is not meant to replace your regular embouchure, but will probably modify it, over time, to a more jaw-forward, centered set up, which makes playing upstairs much easier. Please view any videos of Cat on YouTube and you will see that he does not breathe through his nose when performing. Again, he only meant to use the nose breath as a means to keep your mouthpiece on your chops while practicing these exercises (although I do find a quick breath through the nose useful during a performance from time to time).

There will eventually be a sound or video file giving an example of the whisper on my YouTube page, which is sdhinote. Im not convinced its necessary after all of the explanations, but some people just have to be shown. Just keep looking for it. It will show up!


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Preliminary Lesson Im not going to call this Lesson 1, because it was never a part of the lesson plan that Cat gave me and only showed up when he gave me his book after it was printed. I believe, since he couldnt evaluate players who bought his book in person, he wrote this out to make sure they would have a good foundation to start with. My assumption is that if you have purchased this book to increase your range, you at least have a consistent high C. That being said, you need to test yourself with these exercises to make sure youre ready to actually start with the regular lessons. If you have not read the Warm Up page yet, you need to in order to make the exercises in the entire Method valuable. If you cannot make it through this Preliminary Lesson without too much difficulty, then stick with it until you can get through the whole thing, as prescribed. These exercises are also good for comeback players in need of developing a good strong foundation.

(1) Every warm-up in this book should be done in this way: Teeth closed (touching), breaths are taken through the nose (after the initial oral breath), the note (G on the staff) held as long as you can before taking a breath, played as softly as you can manage to the point that the whisper is achieved without choking your air stream. DO NOT take the horn from your lips. Your goal is to play it for 20 minutes. However, if your jaw or corners of your mouth are getting sore after 10 minutes, Stop! Rest 10 minutes and go on to the next exercise. You want to build up to 20 minutes (and rest for 20 minutes, initially). You want to tax the muscle,

Rest for 20

but not over-tax it so it has a chance to build and recover. Lets get to it!

minutes

(2) Play this for 10 minutes. The dynamics in the original book say to crescendo t I

ting

Rest for 10 minutes

Some have told me they have difficulty with starting the C with the teetter

starting at a mf and decrescendo to the pp and then back up to the mf.

from a mf to fff(!) and back down to a pp. Cat never had me (or anyone else thaknow of) play anything over a forte when playing his studies. It goes against everything he preached about practicing softly! So, play this (again with teethtouching, nasal breathing, horn always on your lips) with a slow crescendo starat pp and going up to only mf and back down again. The tempo should be around 72 bpm looking to play the entire 6 bar crescendo-decrescendo in one breath.

h touching. If you encounter the same problem, try starting it normally and then bring your teeth together afthe tone has started. If you can produce a louder note starting with the teeth together, try

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(3) Play for 10 minutes, exactly as in exercise 2. Play each line tw


ice, then start again. Breathe (through your nose) at the rests. (Again, if you get tired, rest.)

Rest for 10 minutes use

then gradually increase your speed. Softly (p), teeth closed, n

Rest for 5 minutes (5) Play very slowly (72 bmp), softly (p), oral breaths at the rests. Play with teeth

. Hold the high C as long as you have air. Rest for 15 minutes

(4) This is pretty straightforward, but may be awkward at first because it gets you to tonguing with your teeth closed. Take this about 84 bmp at first until its clean,

ose breaths, horn on chops.

touching

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Daily Drills Daily drills consist of tonguing and fl one after each lesson.

p, slowly, playing no more than mezzo forte, with teeth touching, nasal

Rest for 5 minutes Now, increase your speed to about 120 bpm, same embouchure setting as

Rest for 10 minutes ou will want to strive for both speed and accuracy. You can crescendo on the holds if you

like. Switch to your regular embouchure every other day. In the followingrange increases, go back to the top of the page and take each line up an octave.

exibility exercises to be dTonguing Exercises Play as in your warm ubreathing, keeping your mouthpiece on your lips.

above, striving for a clear tone and hard accents. Breathe at the rests. Hold the A for only a short time and go right into the 16th note line (2/4) without taking a breath. Hold the D until out of breath.

Y exercise, as your

18 Flexibility Exercises Play the page, as is, with teeth touching, nasal breathing, mouthpiece always on your lips, softly. Play slowly at first, gradually increasing speed. Rest 15-20 minutes.


19

Lesson 1 Warm Up Remember: First (big) breath through the mouth. Front teeth just touching lower teeth. Soft attack, as soft as you can play, eventually looking for the airy overtone. DO NOT take the mouthpiece from your lips. Breathe through your nose. Keep warm air moving (dont choke off air stream to play softer). (Scan is in Cats hand from original lesson copy.) Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

Rest for 20 minutes

(1) Play softly (p), teeth closed (as above), slowly (72 bpm), as far as you can in each

(2) Same instructions as above. Play the entire phrase in one breath, softly. Breathe at

the rest. Play 4 times. (Scan is in Cats hand from original lesson copy.)

Rest for 10 minutes

h the nose where indicated. Rest for 5 minutes.

breath, breathing through the nose. DO NOT take the mouthpiece from your lips. (Scan is in Cats hand from original lesson copy.)

(3) Still softly (no more than mp), slowly (84 bpm), teeth closed, breathe throug


20

(4) Same instructions as part 3. Crescendos should be from p to no more than mf. un

Rest 5 minutes

) Lets up the tempo to 100 bpm. Teeth are still closed, nose breaths where indicated

Rest 10 minutes

or variation on exercise 5, try tonguing the triplets.

Breathe through the nose where indicated (or necessary). Hold the D until you rout of air, breathe orally before starting the next two lines, but return to the same embouchure setting, holding the C until out of air.

(5for exercises 5, 6 & 7. Play no more than mp mf. Repeat as written.

F


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(6) Set the tempo at 72 bpm the first few times you do this. Try and increase the speed as you gain accuracy. Hold the final note as long as you can.

Rest 5 minutes

(7) Tempo should be at 84 bpm. Breathe where indicated and at rests. Hold the final

Rest for 15 minutes

ext, go to the Daily Drills pages. When finished with those, rest for 20 minutes, then do your

his may be a fatiguing lesson and you may not make it through the first few times. That is ry

lay each lesson until you are satisfied with your progress. This means you can get

note as long as you can.

Nregular technical studies (Arbans, Clarkes, etc.) using your normal embouchure. Tnormal with Cats method, so dont be discouraged! Always rest when you are tired. Never tto attempt an exercise more than 3 times. If you cant get to the end of the exercise at that point, then you are done for the day. Pthrough the entire lesson at the tempos indicated, accurately and without too much fatigue. Then go to the next lesson.


22

Lesson 2 Warm Up Big breath, teeth closed, softly (keep striving for the whisper), dont take the horn off your chops, breathe through your nose. Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

Rest for 15 minutes

(1) Play slowly (around 72 bpm), teeth touching, keeping your horn on your lips for the entire exercise. Each phrase is played starting at piano, crescendo to a forte at each top note, breathing through the nose quickly at the end of each phrase. On the hold on the second line, hold it until you are nearly out of air, then take a quick nose breath and go right into the next line. Try to play the last two lines in one breath (each time), crescendoing to a forte on the E.

Rest for 15 minutes


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(2) The same instructions as Exercise 1, except tempo is 84 bpm and no crescendos. Hold the final note until you are out of air.

Rest for 10 minutes

omments on Lesson 2

G: I have been starting my day with Lesson 2, but have been forced to do it in a practice

s I

have you mindlessly crescendo as you go higher which (I believe) forces you to

W: Im so happy youre having a good time and making progress! The results you are getting

.

of course, is to be able to hear yourself property, particularly on the soft G.

C Nmute (for now). Exercise 1 I can almost make through all they way, but need to rest for a minute before playing the last two lines. It is much better than it was a few days ago. Thinghave noticed: I am now able to do the lesson, rest a few hours and then easily play my jobs forthe day. I have not been playing nearly as hard as I was, but getting the same results. Much more efficient! Other methods over blow the upper register, creating all sorts of problems. Cats approach really makes sense and works! Gare exactly what Cat would have wanted (doing his routines in the morning and being able to play a gig later in the day with less fatigue). I wouldnt be overly concerned about using a muteWhen I first started with Cat, he was living in a small apartment in Hollywood and there was always a harmon in his horn so he wouldnt disturb his neighbors. The idea without the mute,

24 (3) Repeat this exercise 5 times. Teeth touching, horn on chops, softly (p), 92 bm,

breathe through the nose at the rests and breath mark. Hold the last note as long as

Rest for 15 minutes Play this 5 times. Articulate as written, teeth touching, softly (p), nose breaths, horn on

t, looking at 112 bpm to be the right tempo. You may want to rest for around 30 seconds between repeats, at first. Rest for

Daily Drills, rest, then your technical studies, etc.

you can the last time through.

chops each time through, slowly at firs 20 minutes


25

Lesson 3

Warm Up Big breath, teeth closed, play as soft as you can (keep striving for the whisper), breathe through the nose when needed, DO NOT take horn from chops. Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

Rest for 15 minutes

(1) The lower octave is to be played through twice, as written (take the repeats), p to mf on crescendos, with teeth closed, slowly (about 72 bpm). You can take a short rest,

if fatigued. If not, continue with the upper octave exactly the same way. Make sure to articulate, as written, on th n, which should be able to be done in one breath if you breathe fter the tied E whole note. Hold the high C until youre out of breath.

e eighth note sectio(through the nose) a

Rest 10 minutes


26

(2) Same as the previous exercise. Lower octave (2x) the first time; upper octave (2x) the second (all pp). Take the whole passage slowly. The last line of the 2/4 section can be tricky as far as accuracy is concerned, but once you get it down, it is nice to increase the speed a bit. Hold the final E until you run out of breath.

Rest 10 minutes

(3) Take this slowly at first to get the notes down (accuracy of pitch and attack are what youre looking for here). This is an mf exercise (teeth still closed and nose breaths). Relax. Dont try and force anything. Hold the final 16th note E for a few seconds, take a quick nose breath, then go to the F, which should come pretty easily (and may just pop in like it was nothing). If youre feeling good with it, go ahead and crescendo to a forte and hold until youre out of good air. Just dont let the tone break up.

Rest 15 minutes


27

Questions and answers about this lesson:

hand in hand with this method. He also said Cat always had a glass of wateknow about the importance of drinking water, but it wasnt until I found one

NG: With teeth closed?!! Just want to get it straight. You said on ex. 1 to play with teeth closed. Do you also mean the bottom octave? I am keeping it super soft, but the lower notes sound rough, but as I was doing it, I could feel that it was really working the chops in a good way (I think I have answered my own question!). GW: I think you did answer your own question (LOL!). You can bring it up to a pp or p and clear up your tone. The whisper isnt necessary after the warm up. NG: Should the last 12 bars in ex. 2 and all of ex. 3 be played in one breath? GW: Yes, that is your goal. Of course, if you need to breathe someplace, do it. But your ultimate goal, here, is to get through those passages in one breath. It is all a matter of control and being relaxed.

Cat stuff NG: I met a guy in Rochester, NY, who took a few lessons from Cat. (He said) Cat was in very good shape and worked out with weights (something Ive been doing for quite a while). I think the good feeling exercise gives me shows in my playing and seems to go

r nearby. I

Ingrams articles that I realized how important it is for trumpet players to st

to lose water at an above average rate. I usually go through a 12 oz. bottle each rehearsal, and have 2 bottles with me for concerts. (4) This following page is a song, not really an exercise, composed by Cat, entitled

Hello You in the original book. I look at it as a swung bebop tune, which makes it fun. The tempo should be around 144 bpm to start. You can up it a bit when you get the tune down. Follow the articulations marked and swing the eighth notes. At the key change, you can treat each phrase like a dramatic cadenza to the held notes. Have fun! Play this with your regular embouchure and breathe through your mouth. This is a good way to check your progress. Rest for 15 minutes.

of Roger ay hydrated.

GW: I have no recollection of seeing any weights in Cats apartments or house. Then again, I wasnt looking for any, and gyms werent a big thing in those days. Hed sometimes wear a t-shirt or tank top around the house on a hot day, and I think he was just naturally stocky. I try to at least get in a good daily walk. Cat was a huge advocate of having water around. I dont know if he knew any scientific reasons for it. He just said it keeps you refreshed. But it makes sense. Youre constantly blowing hot air though your horn and perspiring to different degrees, so youre going


28


Daily Drills Start taking the exercises up by half steps to keep up with each lesson. That is, on the flexibility page, play the whole page, then go back up to the top and take each line up an octave until you get to the spot where you cant quite get that next half step. Try the line twice. If its a strain, youre done. Come back to it the next day. On the tonguing page, play exercises 1 and 2 as is. On exercise 3, continue the 16th notes up by half steps. Again, when youre tired, rest! Rest at least 20 minutes and go on to your technical studies book(s).

29

Lesson 4 Warm Up Big breath, teeth closed, breathe through the nose when necessary. Hopefully, you have the whisper down pretty well by now. This time, though, during the second 10 minutes, crescendo only to mf to the point you need to take a breath, then decrescendo back to the whisper until you need to breathe again. Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

Rest for 15 minutes

(1) Play softly, for 5 minutes. DO NOT take horn from chops. Breathe through the nose.

minutes. For the next 5 times through, use your normal embouchure, but still breathe through the nose. You can increase dynamics each time though (pp, p, mp, mf, f just dont blow yourself out, theres still more stuff to get through).

Rest for 5 minutes

(2) Play 10 times, slowly (84 bpm). Teeth closed, nose breaths, ppp for the first 5 times. Use all of your air on each hold, take a breath and continue. Rest a couple of

Rest 10 minutes


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(3) This was never titled Gold W It is both a song and an exercise. Play (repeat) this 3 times

orm when I got it! , teeth closed, breathing through the nose. The first time,

pp, slowly (84 bpm). The second time, p, and a little faster. The third time, mf, waltz tempo, breathing only at the quarter rests, not eighths. Hold the final F out until oure out of air.

Notes on Lesson 4, before we go on: NG: what I have noticed is this: when I started Lesson 4 (and also with other lessons), the first day or two Im thinking, How am I going to get through this? Very quickly, though, I seem to adapt to it and my progress improves. For example, Lesson 4, ex. 2, the first time I did it with teeth closed (5 times at ppp), I was dead by the second time through and it just sounded awful, couldnt get it soft, and it was all static. The next day I made it all the way through and the sound and volume was much better, not perfect, but much improved. I always thought that power and range were directly related to strength (in the corners). I believe that is partly true, but I am proving to myself that it has a lot more to do with coordination and your body adapting

y

Rest 15 minutes


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(4) This is just as written. Take it slow the first time through. Were looking for accuracyof attack. Start at pp and crescendo / decrescendo naturally as you go up and down, but not more than an mf. Breathe (through the nose) where you need to (teeth closed). As you get this exercise under your fingers and the notes are good,

then it becomes a velocity exercise, taking it faster each time until you can do it accurately in one breath (one time through).

Rest for 15 minutes Daily Drills Since there are similar exercises in this lesson, only play exercises 3 and 4 on the tonguing exercises. Remember to keep going up by half steps on exercise 4 and the entire flexibility page. Rest at least 20 minutes. Continue your lesson with your technical studies book(s), music you need to practice for band, gigs, etc


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Observations, trivia, ramblings, etc

Im truly happy that youre enjoying yourself finding value in what Ive been giving you far as your discoveries about Cats method, i.e., not being able to initially get through

ething and sounding like crap to being able to complete the lessons without over blowith a controlled air stream is exactly as it should happe

GW: ! Assom ng wi n. But would you have figured it out the way the original book was presented? I dont think anybody could. instead of comparing range building to body-building, I think its more akin to strength training, where the goal is endurance more than massive muscles and the breathing through the nose is so much like Hatha Yoga, which a lot of players have used to keep themselves in shape. NG: Another thing I read or heard about Cat is that he had trumpets all over his house, and during the day he would pick up a horn and play for a few minutes. Now, playing these exercises, it seems like they are set up like that: play an exercise, rest 10 minutes and so on. I can really get a lot of listening and reading done during the breaks! GW: I never noticed several trumpets at any of his places (I went through 2 apartments and a house with him). Thered always be one in the living room and another in a bedroom. (Of course, I wasnt really playing lets find the next horn.) Im sure he had lots of horns. I know he didnt usually take one from the house with him since he had one in the trunk of his green on green on green Lincoln Mark III (new at the time). But yes, Im sure having a horn within reach no matter where you are lends itself to picking it up and playing something. Now youre bringing back a lot of good memories!


33


Lesson 5

es

through (ouch!).

Rest 10 minutes

Warm Up You know the routine: everything whisper soft (or at least ppp) and slow, teeth together, breathe through the nose when necessary, horn stays on chops. No crescendo this time. Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

Rest for 15 minut(1) Play this 4 times, soft (p), teeth together, about 84 bpm, breathe through nose

every 4 bars. Notice you dont play the G until the 4th time

Rest for 15 minutes

(2) Play as written, p, teeth closed, breathe through the nose at the hash marks. Play the lower G the first time and the high G the second time, holding it as long as you can. Slowly at first, increasing speed as you go along. Accuracy is the thing, here.

34

(3) Octave slurs! Play just as w s in the slur is the goal. Teeth closed, mp, slightly faster (9 ugh the nose where indicated. Play the final 9 bars in one breath each time. Hold the high G as long as you have air.

Rest for 15 minutes

Rest for 20 minutes

Daily Drills

as you can. Rest, and continue with your

ritten. No extra note2 bpm), breathe thro

(4) Check your progress. Try this exercise with your regular embouchure at a moderate tempo in one breath (goal).

Remember to keep going up by half steps as far other stuff.


35

Conversations on Lesson 5

NG:powanted to tell you to see what you think. I am also doing the same with Ex. 3. I make the first 2 lines with repeat, then I cant quite4 make the repeat on lines 3 & 4, so I stop and rest, then finish again, it is improving. If I was to use pressure, open teeth, etc., I could do it but I have been fanatical about using a very light grip and minimum left arm! Its cool, because with the teeth closed and playing these softly, the notes come out with very little effort and I can feel the aperture is so small, the corners then really engage and the burn starts, then everything shuts down. But when this happens, I am careful not to smash the mouthpiece into my face. for the book, are you going to recommend 1 week for each lesson? Some studies (in the original book) say 2 days! I dont think I could pull that off! GW: Youre doing everything correctly, from what I can see from your comments. These lessons always stress rest as much as you play, so when you get fatigued, stop, rest and come back to it later. If at that point you cant get through it, especially if you find yourself using more pressure, then youre done for the day. Take a long rest and do flex studies or whatever needs to be worked on other than Cats stuff. I have never figured out why play for 2 days was put throughout Cats book. Theyre certainly not realistic, and I think thats a large part of the misconceptions and frustrations about his ook, that you should be able to get through the whole thing in a couple of weeks with a

page of my original stuffe lesson until you get it down, so sometimes I wouldnt have a lesson with himeeks or more.

NG:to the tongued section (line 3), I just rest and tto make it through lesson 5. I am going to stick with the lesson for a few more days to really get comfortable with it Ive been having fun with the Daily Drills (because) Ive been doing them on my picc. I keep moving up a half step each week until I hit my tongued high note ceiling. I then rest and do the flex exercises. I play each line 4 times and every day I move up the metronome a little and go as high as I can, which today was a double D GW: Im so glad youre having a good time! What a good idea for getting some playing time in on your piccolo! It sounds like youre doing everything correctly. All of the remaining lessons will start to take longer, because theyre just plain harder, and you may or may not hit a ceiling or plateau. Nice progress!

(after 4 days) I have yet to play it through as prescribed. I can make it (ex.1) 3 times but

op out on the 4th (at first 2x was my max). So what I will do is rest 1 minute, then finish. I

bfantastic range. No way. I only have that on one . It was always play

for a couple of thw

(after 7 days) I am making it through exs 1 & 2, but ex. 3 is still holding me up when I get hen finish it out. So now I am resting only once


36


Lesson 6 Warm Up Same as always! Big breath, teeth closed, whisper soft, breathing through the nose when necessary, horn stays on chops. Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

Rest for 15 minu

tes

(1) Play 10 times through, slowly, softly, teeth closed, nose breaths. Hold the last note

until out of air each time.

Rest for 10 minutes

Rest 10 minutes

(2) Softly (pp or p), as written, teeth closed, nose breaths at rests. Tempo around 92 bpm. Hold the final note until out of air.

37

(3) Play 5 times. Again, slowly, not taking the horn from your lips. Breathe at the hash marks a very 2 lines at first, then keep pushing to see how far you can go until you need to take a breath).

Rest for 20 minutes Daily Drills Back to doing both pages. Remember, when you cant finish an exercise on the 3rd try, youre done for the day. Continue with your other books for technical exercises, or things you need to rehearse. Comments on Lesson 6 NG: Lesson 6 has been going well (it) almost seems easier than Lesson 5, that is until you get to ex. 3. I havent made it through 5 times I need to stop and rest. But overall, my chops are so much more focused and I really notice I am using much less pressure in my normal playing, which is giving my sound much more core and a quality that wasnt there before.

softly, teeth closed,nd rests (Id go for e


38

Lesson 7 Warm Up Whisper G, teeth touching, breathe through the nose when necessary, keeping horn on chops, as always. Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

Rest for 15 minutes (1) Play 5 times, slowly (84 bpm), softly, nose breaths when necessary, teeth touching,

mouthpiece on chops all the way. (This one is fatiguing.)

Rest 15 minutes

(2) Take this at a moderate tempo, phrase as indicated, nose breaths, natural crescendo/decrescendo (no more than p to mf). Try to play the straight line from g# to G# as a half valve smear. Slur it if you need to, but try for the smear daily. Hold the D until out of air each time. Play 5 times as written.

utes Rest for 15 min


39

(3) Chop check! As written, no moderate tempo, mf, breathe where indicated.

Rest 5-10 minutes (4) Back to teeth closed, horn on chops, nose breathing! Play as written about 92 bpm,

mp to mf. The only thing hard about this exercise is the close intervals and stamina after playing the earlier exercises.

Daily Drills Keep going up by half steps. Add your other daily practice routines.

rmal embouchure,

Rest for 20 minutes


40


Comments on Lesson 7 NG: (after 4 days) This one aint easy! Ex. 1 at first I would have to rest 1 minute before repeating, now I can do it 2 times, rest 1 minute, 2 more times, rest 1 minute then the last time. I will try 3 times through without stopping tomorrow. Ex. 2 I bump up the volume one notch to mp, which makes it slightly easier, but I can only make it through one time (with the repeat), so I do the rest 1 minute thing and do it 5 times. Ex. 3 I do this one around mf and it really doesnt give me any problems, same with ex. 4, but I keep it at mp. Overall, I am really feeling and hearing the results, even though I cant make it through the prescribed 5 times yet. I want to spend more time on this one. Maybe by the end of this week Ill feel better about moving on to the next lesson. (3 days later) Lesson 7 is a challenge, but every day Im improving. Im feeling good about moving on to Lesson 8

Endurance and control with the ability to pick these crazy notes out of the air without having to check them an octave lower is what were looking for.

GW: No, this lesson is not easy! The GOAL is to get to the point that you can make it through 5 times and then make it through 5 times the next day, etc., where it keeps getting less difficult.

41

Lesson 8 Warm Up You know the routine: Whisper soft, teeth touching, nose breaths, horn on chops all the way. Play for 20 minutes (continuous G) Rest for 15 minutes when finished.

(1) Play 10 times, softy, teeth touching, horn on chops, breathe through nose, slowly (72 bpm). Try for each time through in one breath. Hold the last note until out of air each time.

Rest 10 minutes (2) Play 5 times, 92 bpm, p, teeth closed, nose breaths. Hold the last note until out of

air. Rest for 30 minutes


42


(3) Take this at a comfortable tempo, with the idea of increasing your speed on the

16ths as long as theyre accurate, repeating as indicated. Hold the last note the le

get it by the third try, youre done for the

Rest for 20 minutes

Daily Drills Play the flexibility page only, this time, going as high as you can. Continue with your other studies, rehearsal stuff, etc. Conversations on Lesson 8 NG: Wow! This lesson is going great!! I notice more improvement in my playing from this lesson then any of the others, or it may just be from being consistent for so many weeks with Cats method, things are just really lining up. Either way, its great!

second time through as long as you have air. You probably wont get to the DoubC for a while (I could be wrong), but the idea is to keep going up as far as you can, trying three times to get there. If you dont day. As always, teeth touching, p mp, nose breaths. You can take the horn fromyour chops after each long hold.

43

Ex. 1 is hard, bit I really keep it soft and n the quarter notes Ex. 2 is a one. I had to bump up the m first time, but I am moving it down

possible, then rest 30 seconds. I have been getting up to about Eb and E above double C! I have found my corners are so much stronger now, so I am using much less pressure and I really feel like I am gripping the mouthpiece more. When playing lead in the band I dont think about the method (or anything, really) but I notice that when I go into the upper register, my

overall using MUCH less energy and getting so much more results!! GW: This s fantastic news and really makes my day! Thanks! Its funny, the more I work on this book, researching things and picking up on bits and pieces of info from other players websites, I find that whether Cat knew it or not, his method is kind of a distillation of the best of other players ways of dealing with the upper register of the horn. I found it quite interesting that Herbert L. Clarke practiced super long tones starting at piano, and backing off to where it was similar to an overtone. He also played all of his exercises in this manner. Hmmmm sound familiar?! He also used 3 embouchures (left, middle, and right) so if he got tired, hed just

I am so overjoyed with your results! Your persistence and dedication are reap

give hard attacks oetronome to 84 thereally good

a few notches daily. Also, the first day, I rested one minute between each run through. Yesterday I did 45 secs, today I did 30, tomorrow, Ill try 15 and see how that goes. Ex. 3, I play each measure with a short hold, repeat and hold the last note as long as

teeth are naturally going into that closed, together set. There is actually a space between them, but the jaw is much more forward, which is great. And the biggest thing is that I am

switch to the next one! Freaky! ing great results!


44

Lesson 9 arm Up rmal routine: big breath, teeth closed, play as soft as you can (whisper), breathe through nose when necessary, keeping horn on your chops.

for 20 minutes (continuous G)

WNothePlay

Rest for 15 minutes (1) Play 5 times, one breath each time. Crescendo only to mf, hold last note until out of

air the last time. Teeth closed; breathing through the mouth is okay here.

Rest for 10 minutes (2) Play 5 times, softly (p). Articulate as marked. Tempo around 84 bpm to start,

increase as you progress. Breathe through the nose, teeth touching, keeping horn on the chops. Crescendo the last 6 bars to mf.

Rest for 10 minutes


45


(3) Play 5 times, softly (p), slowly (84 bpm), teeth closed, slight crescendos (to mf). Take the horn off your chops during the half rests and see if you can start the next phrase without thinking about where your embouchure is set. Last time throughold the double C as long as you can.

h,

u gain

aily Drills lay the flex page as far up as you can, going for your top note no more than 3 times. Rest,

and go on to your technical studies books, etc.

Rest for 20 minutes Whole Tone Scales Go to the next page and start on the whole tone scales. Moderate tempo, going as high as yocan without forcing. Go for your top note no more than 3 times. If you cant get there, try atomorrow. Rest 20 minutes. DP

46

Whole Tone Scales ld be looked at in two ways. First, as part of your Daily Drills in the final few

method, play each scale slowly and breathing through your nose, resting when you need to.

Check for accuracy, using your normal embouchure and breathing on the last two lines (half notes).

These shoulessons end of the book. Then, you can use it as part of your maintenance routine after you have finished all of the lessons. As with the rest of Cats deliberately, softly, with teeth touching,


47

Lesson 10 arm Up

WYou know what to do! Big breath, teeth closed, whisper, breathe through the nose, keep horn on chops. Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

Rest for 15 minutes

(1) Yes! Youve seen this one before! This time, play 10 times, softly, slowly, teeth closed, crescendo to forte on the E and hold it as long as you have air each time.

he final double C as long as possible. Rest a few minutes (5), then repeat it as if you were playing a tune on a gig. So, regular embouchure, breathing normally, and see if you can make it musical.

Rest for 15 minutes

(2) This is a composition more than an exercise. Take it at a comfortable speed, no more than mf. On the first pass, teeth closed, nose breaths, keeping horn on your chops (even on the long rests). Hold t


48


Rest for 20 minutes

This is a stamina exercise, so back to the soft, slow, teeth closed, nose breathing, chops on horn routine. Play 5 times, as written. Its not easy. Relax, and concentrate.

(3)

On the next page, were going to play Name that Tune. Its not one of Cats compositions, but it was written by someone he was associated with. Have fun with it. Play softly the first time, mf the second. If you want to play around with the embouchure change as in exercise 2, go for it. If not, thats fine. This just requires mental control. Youll know what the 3rd and 4th lines are supposed to sound like, so its just a matter of not getting overly excited or thinking jeez, thats high!

Rest for 20 minutes

49

Mystery Tune by ?

Whole Tone Scales and Daily Drills Keep working on these, rest, and go on to your technical studies, rehearsal music, etc. Conversations on Lesson 10 NG: Ok, this one is hard! I just finished my second day and WOW! In less 9, when I was doing #2, I wasnt holding out the last note as long as possible. Now that I started doing that I can only make it through 5 times before I poop out, rest one minute, then carry on. This will

prove, I know. In ex. 2, you really have to hear those pitches! Its even hard to play down an octave! I am about 40% accurate for now. The same goes for ex. 2! Forget about playing it 5 times in one sitting. I have to rest 30 seconds before repeating. That E actually came out a few times, but man, its hard to hear. Then Concerto for Cootie, after all that ear stretching on the previous exercises, this one is easy to play well, not exactly easy, but you know what I mean. This is where Cats method is different from all the rest; it really forces you to hear these notes before you play them. Hard, but effective. Plus, the teeth together thing is (I have found) the best way to get the jaw forward. I find now in my normal playing when I go into the upper register, my jaw moves forward by itself, and overall I am not playing nearly as hard or as loud as before, but projecting more.

Rest for 15 minutes

im


50

GW: Im afraid they dont get any eas progress report is what I was

oking for from you. I think this entire method has deliberately weird intervals for on the job to make sure youre not guessing when going for a note. I was listening to one of

a st 16 times in a row and never missed (and I think it was probably written that

This lesson is definitely fatiguing, so I really dont expect you to get it down in a week. And, I think youve found a secret. Theres a whole lot of difference between playing loud and projecting with intensity and focus. Good job! NG: (11 days later) Its been awhile; sorry I havent written. I have been religious with lesson 10. I have not missed a day. I wish my progress would be better in terms oline of ex. 2 is not there yet and endurance on ex. 3 isnt happening yet. I still need to take the

ow I can make it all then times in a row, softly. All that being said, my regular playing is still improving. Thats why Im not at all discouraged about this lesson. My accuracy in normal playing up to (double) C, C# and D has greatly improved and overall playing is much less work with more finesse. Im very curious about lesson 11, but my (inner voice) is telling me another solid week on #10, and even then, Im not sure Im really going to nail the whole thing. Should that be the goal? Like I said, my overall playing results are great even though Im not nailing the lesson, so Id lik GW: I think youre coming along just fine! Honestly, as I recall, I didnt make it through this

nt thi r anLeac correct, mainly because YOU arent satisfied yet, which is gratifying to me. NG: (7 days later) I have been practicing and gigging a lot. I havent missed a day with lesson 10, but my success or lack of with regard to making it through is directly related to what I did the day before. If Im a bit wasted from playing a hard gig, I notice it. On the good side, I have figured out that if my chops are a bit beat up and I try to do the lesson softer, the more I hold back and let the horn and mouthpiece do the work, the better the results go figure! Also, I just got the book, Troubleshooting Embouchure & Self Analysis, The Complete Stevens-Costello Embouchure Technique. Cats method and the Stevens-Costello approach are very similar, but I believe Cats is a much more sound approach. All that being said, Im ready for lesson 11 (although I think I could spend a year on #10!!).

ier from here! But this loear trainingDukes Sacred Concerts the other day and Cat repeatedly glissed from an Eb on the staff todouble Eb at leaway!).

f accuracy. The last

horn off the face between each run through. The most progress I have made is with ex. 1. N

e to work on it another week.

lesson in the time I had between lessons with Cat. We had to match up schedules, and I donk 3 weeks was enough (for me) on this. It didnt seem to concern him when we got togethed said I was coming along great. sson 10, in my mind, is an endurance builder, and is for muscle memory to develop curacy. I know it can get frustrating but I think youre little trumpet voice is


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Lesson 11 Warm Up Big breath, teeth touching, whisper soft, horn on chops, breathe through the nose when necessary. Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

Rest for 15 minutes

(1) Play as written, teeth closed, softly (p), 84 bpm, breathe through the nose at the rests and after the hold. Take the cadenza at whatever speed you want as long as all the notes are there. Hold the last note until out of air. Take a breath and go to #2.

(2) Play as is in the same manner as #1. Notice you have only one rest to take in air

until the repeat.

Rest for 15 minutes

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(3) This is a bit different. First time through: Softy (p), slowly, teeth closed, take a nose breath at each hash mark. Do not take the horn off your chops. This can be more of a mental exercise, as you may feel that you want to push for the octave instead of staying relaxed and let it go there at the same volume. If you dont make it to double C immediately, I wouldnt dwell on it. Itll get there. Stop when you cant go any higher after two tries and rest 5 to 10 minutes. The second time through, mezzo forte, normal embouchure, bring the tempo up slightly, and take in air through your mouth quickly at each hash mark without breaking tempo. See how accurate you are.

Rest for 20 minutes

(4) Back to the soft, slow, teeth closed, nasal breathing routine. Initially, play each line as written with repeats. Hold the final note out as long as you have air, second time(s) only. Rest about a minute between parts. After you become comfortable with them, start combining them (i.e., part a+b, rest, part c, rest, part d, then a+b+c, rest, then d, and finally all together), resting a little longer after each group.

(a)


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(b)

(c)

with him, that he was sorry and had something pecial in mind for us.

re he

(d)

Rest 20 minutes (when a, b, c & d are combined) The Wrath of Cat I was a senior in high school and had had about three or four lessons with Cat at that point. I brought along a friend, Larry Meregillano (who is now a monster player in the L.A. area), who was a junior at the time, but a very competent player who wanted to come with me and sharethe cost of the lesson. Larry had not done any of the lessons that I had done up to then and at one point during the lesson, he passed out and fell on top of Cats new radio, breaking it! I had never seen Cat lose his temper up to that point, but he went slightly over the edge and started in on Larry about his brand new radio. This went on for a few minutes and needless to say, the lesson was cut short. Cat soon calmed down and was embarrassed by his outburst and told us to pack up and get in the carsWe got into his Lincoln and within a few minutes we were at the gate of A&M studios, whegot his horn out of the trunk and walked us into what was a rehearsal for Quincy Joness bandfor a performance the next weekend at the Monterey Jazz Festival! It turned out to be one of


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the greatest days we had ever had, being able to listen to this incredible all-star group and meet Quincy and several other players, as well as sitting next to all the singers in the 5th Dimension, who were all wonderful and practically catered to us, bringing us drinks and snacks

empo, with your normal embouchure, mf.

fter a ng on.

as we watched. And, no charge for the lesson, either! .

(5) Play this as written, moderate waltz tFigure the tune out first, then play it adding your own dynamics with a slow crescendo on the final F to a forte without breaking your tone, staying intense and centered.

Rest 10 minutes Daily Drills Begin playing the following pages, Major and Minor Arpeggios as part of your Daily Drills, and alternate them with the Whole Tone Scales, Flexibilities, and so on. Continue along rest period with your tech studies, rehearsal music, and whatever else youre worki

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Major and Minor Arpeggios cises are part of your Daily Drills starting at Lesson 11, and are also used as part

en increase your speed. Crescendo and hold the final note until out of air. Always matic should be done in one breath.

These exerof your maintenance routine when you complete the book. Take them slowly at first for accuracy, threst when you get tired. The final chro


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57

Lesson 12 Warm Up As always; big breath, teeth closed, whisper soft, dont take horn off chops, breathe through the nose when necessary. Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

Rest for 15 minutes If you think you need a further warm up before continuing, go to page 15 and do ex. 3.

(1) Play the entire page, softly (mp), with your regular embouchure. However, still breathe through your nose and dont take the horn off of your chops.


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Rest for 20 minutes

(2) Play the entire exercise in the same manner as exercise 1 until you get to the holds on the last 3 lines. Hold each note as long as possible, take the horn off your chops, rest 4 beats, oral breath, and play the next note. If you miss one, try it only once more and dont try and readjust your chops just to hit it. If you miss, go to the next note. (Treat the first line as a cadenza, nose breath after the hold before continuing.) This is kind of brutal!


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Rest for 30 minutes

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(3) Treat this as if it were a ballad, using your regular embouchure and breathing. Youll want to take it slowly at first to get the notes down. After youre comfortable, pick up the tempo slightly and make music out of it. No more than mezzo forte for the whole piece. Strive for accuracy. Hold the final note until out of air.

Rest for 20 minutes

aily Drills, Whole Tone Scales or Major - Minor Arpeggios, technical studies, etc. D


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Lesson 13 This lesson is longer than it looks, because you repeat the whole lesson!

Play for 20 minutes (continuous G)

h at

Rest for 10 minutes

(2) As written, 84 bpm, teeth touching, nose breaths as the quarter rests to keep your chops set.

Rest for 15 minutes

Warm Up You know what to do!

Rest for 15 minutes

(1) Play softly (pp) and slowly (84 bpm), teeth touching. You can take an oral breatthe measure of rest, but take a nose breath before repeating.


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(3) Play as written with your normal embouchure and breathing. Tempo about 104 bmp, piano. Do not crescendo on the gliss to the double D (this is tricky and takes a lot of control). Rest a few seconds before you repeat. The second time, play at mf, and try making it musical. You can crescendo on the gliss this time, but stay in control with no miscellaneous notes popping in on the way up.

Rest 20 30 minutes Cat stuff Cat called me up one day and told me the Ellington orchestra was playing a free concert in a shopping center the same day as my next lesson, and asked if I wanted to go see it with him. I wasnt going to say no to that, of course. It turned out that he hadnt seen the band since Mercer Ellington had taken over. That night, he wanted to stay in the back of the crowd, just to listen, and after the band started he didnt say a word, just staring at the group. After the fourth song, he shook his head, not being able to hide his disappointment and said, Its just not the same, Geoff. I need to go. We got back in his car and he never spoke about it the rest of the night. Lesson continues on the next page


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(4) Take this at a comfortable tempo, normal embouchure and breathing, softly (mp) the first time. Take a short rest before repeating at mf. Dont crescendo as you go up (which is harder). Strive for a double C thats as clear & rounded as your high C.

Rest 30 minutes, then repeat the entire lesson (seriously!). Daily Drills Major & Minor Arpeggios and/or Whole Tone Scales, plus your other technical routines, etc. This was the final lesson! I hope you have gotten something out of this version of Cats book and that your range is far greater than when you started. Congratulations on sticking with it! There is nothing easy about this book. You can come back to this book at any time to keep your chops in shape. Go back to places where youve had trouble and try and get them down. Theres always something to learn or improve upon.

he next page has suggestions for a Maintenance routine. However, I think by now that you now what works for you and what may still need work. Keep at it!

Tk


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Maintenance Congratulations! Youve made it through this book! Im going to guess, though, that youve had difficulty with some exercises, but in general youre range is much greater than when you started. The most important thing, I believe, is maintaining a daily routine that starts with The Warm Up. I know several people who swear by their 20 minute G (including me!) and have maintained that for years, no matter what else theyve studied. So, heres a general maintenance routine:

Preliminary Lesson, warm up, exs 1 and 2 All of Lesson 3, without the warm up, including the flexibility Daily Drills Whole Tone Scales or Major & Minor Arpeggios (switch daily) Any other exercises that you found difficult or beneficial You still need to do a majority of your practicing softly, with teeth closed, nose

breathing, etc. Always rest as much as you play. You achieve more in several short practice sessions

than you do in one long session. Always look for new stuff to take up an octave. I like Charles Colin Complete Modern Trumpet Method, Arbans, Mitchell on Trumpet, etc., for playing technical and flexibility exercises if Im bored with the exercises presented here. Play them as if it were a lesson out of this book: soft, slow, teeth touching, nasal breathing and horn on your chops all the way on long-tones, scales and chord studies. Take songs up an octave that are in other books you have. You cant play double Cs all night if you dont practice them during the day! So keep at it! No matter what you end up doing in life, keep playing! It keeps your brain sharp, maintains balance and discipline, and gives you the personal satisfaction of accomplishment. Whether youre a pro or an amateur you will always make good, lifelong friends when youve got somewhere to play.

truly hope youve gotten something out of this book. I have tried to present it as simply and oroughly as I can so you can get the results that Cat intended!

eoff Winstead

I th G


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The Real Way to Play