- The ideal is to perfectly balance fundamental exercises and repertoire practice, but time is limited, making it realistically difficult
- When preparing for music university entrance exams or competitions, it is crucial to establish clear priorities between fundamentals and repertoire
- Efficient improvement is achievable through a step-by-step practice approach and appropriate use of different study materials
- By systematically addressing your teacher's advice one point at a time, balancing fundamentals and repertoire becomes possible
For trumpet players, balancing fundamental exercises and repertoire practice is an eternal challenge. Ideally, you would want to master both etudes and repertoire perfectly, but in reality, time is limited and practice tends to lean toward one or the other. Especially when preparing for music university entrance exams or competitions, you need to achieve a balance between fundamentals and repertoire within a limited timeframe. Risa Mimura has overcome this gap between ideals and reality through a step-by-step practice approach and appropriate use of different study materials.
Balancing Fundamentals and Repertoire: Ideals vs. Reality
The ideal that many trumpet players hold is to master both fundamental exercises and repertoire practice perfectly. Honing your technique through etudes while simultaneously polishing your repertoire. If this ideal could be realized, both technique and expressiveness would improve, enabling you to achieve results in competitions and exams.
However, in reality, time is limited, and practice tends to lean toward one or the other. During music university exam preparation, you need to practice etudes and repertoire in parallel, but it is difficult to master everything perfectly. After entering the university, while focusing mainly on repertoire practice, you may feel that fundamentals are also important, yet find yourself in a situation where repertoire practice takes up all your time and fundamentals are neglected.
Practice Steps
To effectively balance fundamentals and repertoire, it is important to follow a step-by-step practice approach. By establishing clear priorities and understanding the key focus points at each stage, you can improve efficiently. Drawing from Risa Mimura's experience, we will explain concrete steps for achieving a balance between fundamentals and repertoire, referencing her practice methods during exam preparation and after university enrollment.
Step 1: Practice Fundamentals and Repertoire in Parallel During Exam Preparation, with Mental Preparation
During music university exam preparation, you need to practice etudes and repertoire in parallel. It is important to continue practicing etudes consistently as part of exam preparation while simultaneously working on your repertoire. However, technical practice alone is not enough, and mental preparation for performances is also a crucial element.
For mental preparation, it is recommended to actively participate in even small competitions. By entering many competitions with the goal of gaining stage experience, you can reduce performance anxiety and create an environment where you can demonstrate your true abilities. By preparing both technically and mentally, your chances of success in exams increase significantly.
Step 2: Focus Mainly on Repertoire After Enrollment, While Continuing Fundamentals
After entering the university, the amount of repertoire increases significantly and competitions are frequent, so you will focus mainly on repertoire practice. However, you must not forget that fundamentals are also important. If practice becomes too repertoire-heavy, your fundamentals weaken, potentially hindering long-term progress.
What matters most is taking lessons with your teacher and systematically addressing the advice you receive. By improving the points your teacher identifies one by one and practicing with the mindset of mastering each one, balancing fundamentals and repertoire becomes possible. It is important to create a cycle where you stay mindful of fundamental techniques during repertoire practice and apply the skills gained from fundamental practice to your repertoire.
Step 3: Practice Efficiently by Using the Right Study Materials
To achieve a balance between fundamentals and repertoire, using the right study materials appropriately is important. The materials Risa Mimura recommends are the Arban method book, Kopprasch, and James Stamp's Warm-Ups. Each material serves a different purpose, and using them according to your goals enables efficient practice.
The Arban method book is used daily as the most widely recognized fundamental study material. Kopprasch is also used as audition repertoire for Tokyo University of the Arts entrance exams and is a study material that covers all categories including tonguing and lip slurs. James Stamp's Warm-Ups contains detailed explanations and focuses heavily on lip slurs, and since lip slurs are the most important fundamental for trumpet, it is ideal for strengthening your foundation.
Step 4: Systematically Address Your Teacher's Advice
The most important factor in achieving a balance between fundamentals and repertoire is taking lessons with your teacher and systematically addressing the advice you receive. By not trying to fix everything at once, but focusing and prioritizing your efforts, you can make steady improvements. Resolving fundamental challenges improves your repertoire expressiveness, and resolving repertoire challenges improves your fundamental technique, creating a synergistic effect.
- During exam preparation, practice etudes and repertoire in parallel, and actively participate in even small competitions for mental preparation
- After enrollment, focus mainly on repertoire practice while continuing to practice fundamentals consistently
- Use appropriate study materials such as Arban, Kopprasch, and James Stamp according to your specific goals
- Take lessons with your teacher and systematically address the advice you receive
- Rather than trying to fix everything at once, focus and prioritize your efforts
Conclusion
For trumpet players, balancing fundamental exercises and repertoire practice is an eternal challenge. While the ideal is to master both perfectly, time is limited in reality, and practice tends to lean toward one or the other. However, through a step-by-step practice approach and appropriate use of different study materials, you can improve efficiently.
By establishing clear priorities and taking a step-by-step approach, balancing fundamentals and repertoire becomes possible. By systematically addressing your teacher's advice, you can resolve both fundamental and repertoire challenges simultaneously, leading to improvement through synergistic effects.
