Few people have realized the importance of my recent discovery of the perfect item of support for every musician. But don’t let that upset you for most people do not understand many of the things I do or say. Ask my wife. This is an update to my first post on the perfect stool/chair and not only do I still believe the benefits of this stool, I have also broadened its virtues to something even more of you may not try or understand. After switching to my backless chair, I have noticed several changes in my life. 1. My posture…

One of the most common offense to the trumpet occurs when a player over compensates when playing notes. When I speak of overcompensating I’m directing my criticism to mainly the embouchure area. When most players attempt to reach a high note, the mindset is usually “give it your all” and when doing so, the player exerts too much energy to attain their top note. This became clear to me a few years ago when I watched one of our best trumpet players playing a show in town. I was amazed at how effortlessly he maneuvered among his notes; seemingly unconcerned…

We have been very busy responding to your comments on the subject of improving tone quality and this makes me very pleased for all musicians should be concerned with their sound. In this the third installment on the subject of a focused sound, we will be addressing two related and equally important elements in producing an impressive sound. The first will be the size of the aperture between your lips and the second will be direction of the air stream through your instrument. 1. Aperture size and shape. How often have you thought about the size and shape of the…