The Youth Trumpet & Taps Corps

The Youth Trumpet & Taps Corps is a service organization for high school and college trumpet players to use their musical gifts to serve others. Their main project is volunteering to play Taps at veterans’ funerals to help with the shortage of military buglers. Due to this shortage, most veterans are laid to rest with a tape recording of Taps instead of a live performance. They believe that those who serve our country and fight for our freedom deserve more than just a recording. The Youth Trumpet & Taps Corps was founded by Katie Prior as her Girl Scout Gold…

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Music Business Definitions‏

No explanations needed…. AGENT: a character who resents performers getting 90% of his salary. ARRANGER: a guy who writes to support a drinking habit. BALLET: an art form for people with eating disorders. BANDSTAND: the area furthest away from an electrical outlet. BIG BAND: nowadays, an aggregation consisting of two musicians. BROADWAY PIT JOB: a prison sentence disguised as a gig. CABARET: a venue where singers do songs from shows that closed out of town. CATERER: a man whose hatred for musicians is unrivaled. CHANTEUSE: a singer with an accent and no time. CLASSICAL COMPOSER: a man ahead of his…

The struggling Cornet

The suppression experienced by our lowly cornet has been present for many, many years as indicated by this famous letter from Herbert L. Clark, sent to Elden L.Benge dated January 13, 1921. Additional cornet enthusiasts have drug their feet in supporting the modern trumpet as stated by cornet enthusiast professor A.O. Peterson who is quoted in this booklet the Cornet, “The trumpet will never become more popular than the cornet because of its strident tone and piercing characteristics”.

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Trumpeter Rolf Smedvig Dies Suddenly- Another loss to the trumpet world

The name Rolf Smedvig may not be on many peoples lips but his reputation among trumpet players is well known. Flamboyant, at times self-centered and overly confident were characteristics we all saw in him. His talents as a great trumpet player were also well known and envied by most of us who came in contact with him. His reputation as a member of the Empire Brass quintet was also well known for as the founder of this fine ensemble, he seemed at times to be offering new recordings every week. His recordings were legendary and we all loved to hear…

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Beverly Sills – 1977- “Let the Bright Seraphim” w/Doc Severinsen

I wanted to share this you you only because the possibility of having these two great musicians together is extremely rare and it also demonstrates that a “Jazzer” can sometimes step up to the occasion when called upon. As you can see, Doc realized the situation he was in and was not completely comfortable with the experience. And he did it on a Bb trumpet, not a D trumpet. To most trumpet players who have perform this number, we realize why we choose to play it on a D and not a Bb.

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A Little Trumpet Insanity- Pete Barbutti

This may be only entertaining to the older set but to those of us who have lived through the latter part of the Big Band years, these videos will bring back some memories, both good and bad. Pete Barbutti was the comic humorist for every musician and was able to tell the musicians side of the stories better than anyone.

Can I Play Cornet Solos On My Trumpet?

Of course you can. And you could hunt elephants with a 22 caliber rifle also, but I wouldn’t recommend either. How are cornet solos different from trumpet solos? Literature which has been written especially to be performed on a cornet usually follows these characteristics- • Melodies are most often very lyrical and smooth. • Traditionally more vibrato is used in cornet solos. • Cornet solos many times have drastic tempo changes with grandiose retards and sudden accelerandi. • The cornet solo gives more liberties in the musical interpretation than in the trumpet literature. • Most cornet solos draw from a…

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Advancements in Trumpet Design

The changes made in the design, materials and construction of new trumpets has exploded in the past decade. The change has been so sudden and drastic that it is difficult to keep up with the advancements. The reason for this dramatic change is highly debatable but for what ever the reason, our trumpet world is shifting tradition to its breaking point. Are all these changes beneficial? Only time will tell. I do remember how earth shaking it was to have one of the “new” Rose colored liquored Olds Recording cornet. We were at the cutting edge of decadence. And to think…

The Cornet. Give It A Break!

Why is the cornet such a misunderstood and under-appreciated instrument? Is it from the fact that many students were started on the cornet and the trumpet is what you play when you “grow up”? Is it because we seldom see a cornet in our media today? Is it because the instrument manufacturers feel that they can make more money building and selling trumpets rather than cornets? Has the need for beautiful tone and musical stylings been replaced by the trumpet’s brighter sound and commanding image? Where have those beautiful cornet solos gone and why have they been replaced by such…