I admit that over the years I’ve let myself become bored with the daily warm-up routine. Somehow, playing scales over and over again in 20-30 minutes’ time reminds me of the first few years of playing trumpet: Correspondingly I find myself delivering less-than-musical results. So instead, I’ve started to challenge myself by using SmartMusic’s exercises.

While a B major scale is always annoying to do on trumpet, I thought I was pretty good, so I cranked up the Scale Exercise 89, set the tempo to 132 (the default is 66), set the Loop to Perfect 4th, and let fly. Things were going just great until Db major, where I received my comeuppance.

If you find yourself dreading the daily personal practice routine, head into SmartMusic’s exercises and push your own limits. This practice will enhance your familiarity with SmartMusic too!