Double Tonguing: Revisited

Hello Fellow Reading Mariacheros,

The mastery of double tonguing is essential for any Mariachi Trumpetero; without a solid foundation, of this technique, it may become difficult to replicate the aggressive, bright, and voluminous, trumpet sound (I speak briefly about double tonguing in my post regarding triple tongue--check post archive, for more info). 

My biggest goal, regarding double tonguing, is the eventual elimination of a muddy sounding execution of this technique; to be more specific, the first half of the double-tonguing, "tu," is great, but the "ku," or second half of my double-tonguing, is the main culprit of my current frustration. 

The 'Trail Solution:"

With the help of "Arbans," I am going to concentrate my studies on lesson numbers 91 through 99 of its method, in the Double-Tonguing section. 

Respecting the proper tempo signature, while utilizing a metronome, I am going to work toward the limit of the tempo. If I can get my double-tonguing to sound like a normal single-tongue attack, I'll be happy.

 

As Of Right Now, Only Nine (9) People Have Made Their Voice Heard: What Is Your Favorite Mariachi Group?

Greetings follow reading Mariacheros, 

I am a little sad to report that, so far, as of 9 a.m. pst, there have only been nine (9) Reading Mariacheros who have made their voice heard on the pole that is on this Blog. I am simply asking the question; 

What Mariachi is dominating you music playlist, right now?

Mariacheros: I know that we can do a better showing than just NINE votes. 

I am hoping that when this pole ends, roughly, in about 7 days, we can do something, or me--depending on what is going on , or rather, any comments that I receive via email or Blog comments--for the mariachi group that is named the winner of the pole. 

Currently in the process, I am thinking about possible 'prizes,' which are the following:

1. T-Shirts; I have been fiddling around with a motto, catchphrase, double entendre, or whatever else comes to mind--it would be great to hear suggestions from the Reading Mariacheros of this blog. 

2. Signed Memento Instrument; I have a couple of instruments--which are no longer being used--that I can modify to create a mariachi memento for the winning group. We can try to see how many people we can get to sign this thing.

3. "Wild Card;" I reserve this third prize for additional gift suggestions, exclusively, for my fellow Reading Mariacheros; give us your best idea, if you have any. There are no dumb suggestions.

Well, if you have anything else to add, please let me know. 

Until next time...

Running; A Trumpet Players Best Friend

I started running, for the first time since June of 2008. I knew that I wasn't going to have the proper endurance, in order to return to my old form. However, I am going to try to work on that. This being said, running had me thinking about its correlation with the Trumpet; more specifically, as it relates to el trompetero. 

I remember my time spent in Sacramento. I had a decent relationship with all of the Trumpet players in the area. Many of them had one thing in common; the apparent love of food--to a certain extent, cerveza, as well (however,  the former observation is merely anecdotal)--and their lack of interest in cardio exercises. I am not a physical fitness buff, by any means; nonetheless, I am willing to do anything that is going improve my performance, with minimal effort. Is that too much to ask? My father, also a trumpet player, never had, or has, time to go jogging or any other personal activity. Much like the majority of the mariachi trumpet players, making a living by gigging on the weekends, the Sacramento group of trumpet players simply didn't have time to work on the physical aspect of their craft; they are too busy trying to make ends meet, running is probably the last thing, presumably, on their minds. 

For the people who do have the privilege to continue working on their musicianship, it is imperative not to ignore one's physical aspects of one' s instrument. Without it, honestly, one is half a musician. Yesterday, I think I ran, or jogged, rather, for four miles. Today, I think I am going to repeat that feat, right after I gloss my poor legs over with Bengay.