Note shapes is a
very important part of what makes up a player's style. It's never good enough just to play the notes. It's never good
enough just to play in tune. The notes need to have a shape which is
appropriate for the music.
What is "Note Shape"?
Basically we are talking about the dynamic curvature of the
notes. In old fashioned "Electronic Music" classes twenty-five
years ago we were
taught that every note had an A.D.S.R. A.D.S.R. stands for Attack, Delay, Sustain
and Release. For us as trumpet players, we also have attack, sustain,
delay and release. This is what gives a note its shape.
I remember when I was in school, long before recording
studios went digital, when the teachers used hand drawn shapes to give us
an idea of what a good note should "look" like. Nine times out
of ten a good trumpet note should look something like this:
Notice the general shape looks something like a rocket.
There's a burst of air at the beginning of the note, followed by the main
body of the note and then a smooth release.
This is NOT the only stylistically correct note shape.
It depends on the musical context. But it IS the most common note
shape and also possibly the most difficult to master. That's why we put so
much emphasis on it as teachers.
There is an historical context for this particular note
shape. Trumpets were traditionally teamed with drums and even read the
same parts as drums in the earliest history of our instruments. This
rocket shaped note is consistent with the natural note shape of a drum.
Only, it's not as natural for the trumpet to play this way.
With the revolution of digital recording, we now have
the ability to see these note shapes visually in the studio. I remember
the first day I saw my own note shapes on the computer screen. It was a
proud moment. I smiled as I recognized the very same shape my teachers
taught me to use in my playing. On the computer screen it looks something like this:
Today, as a contractor (the person recording artists will
call to hire musicians to record), I can easily see who is playing
with the right note shapes and who is not. If I see that a player's tracks
look like this:
Then I know this player doesn't have the skills I'm
looking for as a contractor and I won't hire
them again. This is something they should have learned when they were
still students and isn't really anything they can fix in the
studio.
So it's time now for all of you to start working on
these note shapes. We will talk about this in our lessons for sure, but
think about it between now and then. See if you can recognize these note
shapes in the players in your band. See if you can distinguish the ones
with drum shapes from those who with waw - waw note shapes.
