Sleep apnea – What they don’t tell you! (Part 6)

written by Bruce Chidester on April 24, 2024

Do you have to use your machine every night? NO! Knowing that involuntary habits can actually be retrained made me wonder if the Bipap/Cpap therapy is something that needs to be continued indefinitely. My answer to that question (in my case) is an emphatic No! I began my test to find this important fact was true by discontinuing my nightly practice of lacing up my mask and pushing the start button on my machine. For two weeks I refrained from using my machine in order to establish a starting point with the number of episodes the first night I returned…

Sleep apnea – What they don’t tell you! (Part 5)

written by Bruce Chidester

#1 Complaint- Dry mouth After visiting with other sufferers of Sleep Apnea, the most consistent complaint seemed to be dry mouth. The dryness in my mouth each morning was so severe that I eventually developed a lesion in the back of my throat which progressed into a serious problem. After…

Sleep apnea – What they don’t tell you! (Part 4)

written by Bruce Chidester

Setting up the equipment The next step after gleaning this useless information was to receive your own machine which will solve all of your Sleep Apnea problems. My first question at that time was, “How can an involuntary action (apnea episodes) be retrained to become voluntary actions”? I was assured…

Sleep apnea – What they don’t tell you! (Part 3)

written by Bruce Chidester

Results not accurate My experience during my sleep test can only be described as exceedingly uncomfortable. Throughout the night, I was forcibly ventilated through the mask covering my mouth and nose. Repeatedly I was told that it would eventually normalize to my natural breathing pattern but unfortunately it never did.…

Easy Lip Control Exercise

written by Bruce Chidester

Being able to bend notes up and down can be very beneficial to a trumpet player. Adjusting notes a little in order to play them in tune as well as having the ability to bend notes in Jazz can be improved with this exercise. When practicing this exercise, try to…

Marshall Lytle (September 1, 1933 – May 25, 2013)

written by Bruce Chidester

To have had the opportunity to watch this legend of Rock and Roll history perform was memorable, but have had the opportunity to visit with him was a true blessing. The information listed below was excerpted from Wikipedia were you can read more about this true legend. As one of…

Famous Trumpet Solo, Little Known Trumpet Player

written by Bruce Chidester

When trumpet players think of the most famous trumpet solos, we most often mention Maynard Ferguson’s early recording of “MacArthur Park” (February, 1970). Others mention Bix Beiderbecke’s recording of Sweet Sue (1928) and still others will mention the wealth of great solos performed by the master of trumpet Raphael Mendez…

Do You Need A Music Riser?

written by Bruce Chidester

When I was first introduced to the MUSIC RISER I had no idea what it was. It was explained to me that it raises the music off the stand making it easier to read. My first question was, “Why can’t you just raise the music stand”? That seemed like a…

Do You Ever Suffer From Stiff Chops? Part #2

written by Bruce Chidester

Continuing with our discussion on the problem of stiff chops….. While teaching lessons at my university, I realized that many of our students were complaining about stiff chops or the lack of flexibility. Along with this problem invariably was the observation that their lips seldom felt good. After collecting information…

We Have A Winner! 11 Giant Steps for Mankind (Trumpet Duet)

written by Bruce Chidester

Here is your challenge! Congratulations to Josh for his continued research and investigation into the multiple connections of the title of this piece. Thanks to the others who participated and we will do this again from time to time when I can’t get to sleep and have the uncontrollable urge…

Do You Ever Suffer From Stiff Chops? Part #1

written by Bruce Chidester

The number of people complaining about stiff chops seems to be growing and for that reason, I thought it time to address the problem. Symptoms of “stiff chops”- 1. Each morning when you begin to practice, your lips seem to be leathery or inflexible. 2. Many times your tone quality…

Vibrato, Lip trills and Shakes made easy!

written by Bruce Chidester

You might wonder why these three techniques are grouped together. The reason I am discussing them as a group is because they are all three related. The shake is just an extension of a vibrato and the proper use of lip trills (tongue trills) is the bridge between an applied…

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

written by Bruce Chidester

In our never ending quest to bring to the surface brass ensembles worth watching, I thought you might enjoy this more recent offering which has its roots in a far off time and space. The time is the 1950’s and the space reference is Saturn where an important figure influenced…

Are you suffering from Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis?

written by Bruce Chidester

Recent studies have found that musicians are subjecting themselves to mold and/or bacteria which may lead to the development of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), a lung condition characterized by shortness of breath and cough. The mold or bacteria has been found in virtually every instrument tested by Dr. Mark Metersky (University…