Practicing with Hakan

Check out this amazing documentary on the Swedish monster trumpet player Hakan Hardenberger:

I love how he opens this video – playing the same James Stamp lip bends that I do every day too:

“Every day is practice. Every day is slowly waking up and finding the point where it should vibrate like a violin bow finds the string. It’s almost like a meditation.”

YES! This is really how I view practice – especially that first session of the day: a form of meditation. Centering in on something and blocking everything else out. I always feel great after a good practice session. And for me a good practice session is one where I can truly allow my body to relax and allow my body to play the trumpet – and make music. And the music can be scales or slurs or exercises or it can be etudes or free playing or whatever (a teacher once told me to “find the music in it” – whatever “it” may be). When I’m finished with a good practice session I feel ready to go, inspired.

Hakan is a little bit older now and even better of a player and musician. He finds this balance and this perfection whenever he picks up his horn. That’s why he sounds the way he does. He’s a monster!

There is one thing he says in this video that I disagree with though. He says that the Golden Age of the Trumpet is the Baroque era. With all of the amazing players, teachers, and information that is available, I think the Golden Age is right now. We’re living in it, Hakan.