New Flow Studies Material- Part I

written by Bruce Chidester on July 21, 2016

To older trumpet players the title Flow Studies brings up fond memories of one of the great trumpet players of our time. The younger practitioners of the tromba may not be familiar with the name Vincent Cichowicz but to the more seasoned, the name represents one of the finest trumpet performers and teachers of our life time. The name Cichowicz represents the Chicago Symphony when the likes of the following represented the Chicago Symphony dynasty in the mid 1960s. Cichowicz, Vincent Trumpet 1952 – 1974 Clevenger, Dale Horn (Principal) 1966 – 2013 Farkas, Philip Horn (Principal) 1947 – 1960 Gilbertsen,…

trumpetlessonsonline.com and Claude Gordon- All you need to become a professional trumpet player! Part 5

written by Bruce Chidester on July 20, 2016

Warm up and Cool Down In this free lesson, I have included a couple interesting and helpful posts which will more fully explain the importance of a regular warm up and cool down. The video speaks of my daily routine of warming up with chromatic scales; first starting at the bottom and gradually adding octaves as I ascend. The benefit of chromaticism is that each note is only a one half step from the previous note and this very gradual increase is almost unnoticeable. Due to the minimum distance between notes, only a minimum amount of embouchure change should be…

trumpetlessonsonline.com and Claude Gordon- All you need to become a professional trumpet player! Part 3

written by Bruce Chidester on July 15, 2016

Now we will complete my review of the Claude Gordon “Systematic Approach to Daily Practice”. As I stated on my first post when speaking of this method, I mentioned that it is a complete and structured outline of what you need to do to become an accomplished musician on a trumpet. Everything is there and is explained in a very simple yet effective manner. If you follow his instructions as indicated, you should continue to develop your trumpet playing skill in the following areas- • Range • Flexibility • Valve control • Air usage • Tone • Articulation • Endurance…

trumpetlessonsonline.com and Claude Gordon- All you need to become a professional trumpet player! Part 1

written by Bruce Chidester on July 11, 2016

So many try to complicate life with new ideas and “all you need to know” sites. And some may have value while most turn out to be less than helpful. So why do I think the combination of my trumpetlessonsonline.com is any better than the others you might ask? Well I will tell you….. After playing and teaching trumpet for over seven decades, you’ve got to learn something! I have tried many concepts, methods, tricks, routines, patterns and methods which have been interesting and sometimes helpful to my trumpet career. But after a considerable amount of contemplation, I was able…

What Are Orchestral Excerpts and Where Can I Get Some?

written by Bruce Chidester on July 8, 2016

Sections of major orchestral works which are written for a particular instrument are called excerpts. When performing a major piece in an orchestra, you may have to count measures rest for many minutes and eventually get to the “meat” of the part far down the road. These short, yet vitally important fragments of a composition can be extracted for easier viewing and practicing and this collection is call an Orchestral Excerpt Book. A very helpful post on the Internet can be found at this location.. Orchestral Excerpts for Trumpet Not only are you able to print off the musical example,…

Looking for a New Metronome?

written by Bruce Chidester on July 6, 2016

Check this out first…….. Metronomicsapp And how to purchase it.

Two Essentials In Your Trumpet Bag

written by Bruce Chidester on June 27, 2016

Now that you have your instrument and a few of the immediately required accessories, it is time to continue adding to your collection of great toys. The two pieces of equipment which I will address here would be your tuner/metronome and your audio and/or video recorder. The importance of a metronome/tuner It is essential that you own and use a metronome and tuner for these two accessories are vitally important to your success as a musician. If you play out of tune, no one will want to play with you. If you don’t know the tempo of a piece, you…

Kanstul Instruments

written by Bruce Chidester on June 23, 2016

Kanstul Musical Instruments, Inc., located one mile east of Disneyland in Anaheim, California manufactures a complete line of brass musical instruments renowned worldwide for their quality and sound. Founded by legendary music executive and artisan Zig Kanstul and managed by his sons Jack and Mark, this family business is an inspirational “Made in America” success story, living up to their company slogan, “Nothing Resonates Like a Kanstul.” For information and factory tours visit www.Kanstul.com The Kanstul Flugel Horn owned and played by one of the members of my Branson Trumpet Ensemble is the best Flugel I have ever played! Check…

A Night Off

written by Bruce Chidester on May 23, 2016

What do you do when you have finished a great week playing a show and you have nothing to do all evening? Well, what I did this evening was to play with one of my old toys from more than a half century back. I’m speaking of a little contraption called an Octavoice I Ampliphonic which was produced by King Vox many, many, many, many years ago. The model I have is for a Clarinet and due to the fact that the person (student) who sold it to me did not have a pickup for a trumpet, I had to…

Free Mute Holder!

written by Bruce Chidester on March 6, 2016

After checking every mute holder on the market today, I decided I could do better than what was available on line and in the stores. If you need your mutes available in a short amount of time, you may be interested in my solution. I got the music for a new musical in town just a few days ago and after looking through the material, I realized that the number of quick mute changes was going to be a problem. No matter how close you get your mutes, it always puts pressure on these quick changes and I don’t enjoy…