I haven’t played my trumpet in months.

I’m sure many people would cringe at the sight of that sentence.  For a long time, I felt guilty about it myself.  Why would I throw away 5 years of hard work in college practicing the trumpet?  Why would I let myself slip away from my trumpet playing prime?  The easy answer would be that I’m lazy, but I think quite the opposite is true.  I’ve been keeping real busy the past few months.  So what gives?

I have always been a very broad person.  Here is a short list of my strange (but very serious) hobbies: yo-yoing, juggling, skateboarding, video games, theoretical physics, roller coasters, fans (don’t ask), and meteorology.  The same idea applies to me with music.  I was a senior in high school when I decided to pursue music in college.  I thought about doing trumpet performance for no more than 30 seconds.  My interest in music extended far beyond just playing the trumpet.  And now, I have time to explore these other interests. 

I am composing and arranging a lot more.  I enjoy it because it engages my creativity and curiosity the most.  Even though I’m not playing an instrument, composing and arranging strongly engage my musicianship.  I am constantly making musical decisions that affect how the listener is going to react to the piece.  In addition, I am listening to a lot of music.  I’ve listened to Mahler’s first three symphonies and finally have a better conception of his music. 

I’m playing lots of piano.  I’m mediocre, but I’m pushing to get way better.  Have you ever played another instrument and felt an instant connection with it?  That was me and piano.  I am a visual learner, so being able to see the keys and visualize music theory is a big plus for me (unlike the trumpet, where you can’t see what your lips are doing).  I have good hand-eye coordination, which is what also drew me to juggling and video games when I was younger.  I can compose a lot more easily with piano since I can accompany myself with chords.  The issues I had playing trumpet (range, embouchure, warming up) don’t apply to piano.  Finally, and most importantly, I don’t need a rigid practice schedule to play piano.  If I take a week off trumpet, I’m sunk.  If I take a week off piano, it’s like nothing ever happened (granted I’m only a mediocre player and it’s probably different for professionals).  As a future teacher, it will be very hard to keep up an instrument that requires a daily routine. 

If I had the chance, would I go back in time and choose to play a different instrument?  Probably not.  Even though I had no idea why the hell I picked to play the trumpet in 5^th grade, I wouldn’t have been put on the same life path without it.  I am incredibly thankful for how far the trumpet has taken me.  The way I look at it, the trumpet has been the key to the door of the musical kingdom.  Now I am here in this vast world of music with so many opportunities in front of me.  I want some time to explore now.  My relationship with my trumpet will be similar to the ones you share with life-long friends.  Your relationship with come and go, separated by both geography and time.  But whenever there is a chance to reconnect in the future, it feels as if you were never apart.

Someone once asked me (I think it was you Mike) if it was slightly hypocritical that I will be telling future students to practice their instruments when I won’t be practicing mine.  Damn good point.  That one did get me to scratch my head for a while...here is my answer.  Everyone has a different philosophy of how and why music should be taught.  Mine is that musicianship extends beyond the instrument you are playing.  The trumpet is only one way for me to communicate my inner musician.  There are many other ways to keep pushing my musicianship besides just playing the trumpet.  I want to instill my students with the same idea. 

For me, it’s a matter of catering to multiple intelligences.  Yes, I do want to push my students to be great players.  But the screw off percussion player may be a gifted composer.  The lazy saxophone player might be able to critically listen to all the nuances in alterative rock (which is a skill majorly taken for granted).  The autistic trombone player might be a music theory wizard, able to dive into a composer’s head and deconstruct a piece from the inside.  The bassoon player might be an expert in Chopin and discuss the rich history and culture that contextualized his music.  Aren’t all these talents valid, and don’t they all need to be nurtured?  These are all actual cases from my student teaching experience, by the way.

And for the record, I am playing a little bit of trumpet now.  I’m about to teach a band camp in 2 weeks, so I actually have been bringing back my trumpet chops so I can play with the students and model passages of music.  I can almost play above the staff.  The musician in me is screaming.