5 Areas Where Most Trumpet Players Go Wrong- #2 Air

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5 Areas Where Most Trumpet Players Go Wrong- #2 Air Why is such a simple function of the body so difficult to understand? Why are there so many hypotheses on how the respiratory system works? Why do trumpet players hold this simple “in / out” process so high in importance? Why are most teachers of the trumpet wrong in what they are teaching? “Breathing is as simple as breathing in and breathing out”. To illustrate some of these grossly incorrect ideas, I will list just a few that I have heard from brass instructors through the years. “First fill your…

5 Areas Where Most Trumpet Players Go Wrong- #1 Chops

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Foremost on the list of trumpet player complaints is the condition of their embouchure or “chops”. Every trumpet player I have ever known complains about the performance and/or condition of their only contact with this sound producing area in playing the instrument. Why is this? Here are a few reasons why we gripe and complain. We don’t have the range we would like. We don’t have the endurance we need. We don’t like our tone quality. We are unsatisfied with our consistency. And the list goes on and on……….. When taking all of our needs into consideration, several reasons can…

5 Areas Where Most Trumpet Players Go Wrong.

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Obviously the first mistake trumpet players make is that they chose the trumpet! But setting that aside, most trumpet players can identify 5 areas in their playing that usually give them problems, and they are- Chops Air Tone Tonguing Fingering In the next series of posts I will focus on each of these five areas and point out five reasons in each as well as five solutions to these stumbling blocks. Check back for even I can’t wait to hear what I have to say.

Using Meditation To Advance Your Chordal Recognition Ability.

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Have you ever wanted to improve your ability to recognize notes within a chord? be able to hear a chord and distinguish its name and function? spend some quality time relaxing in an easy chair? block out the noise, stress and commotion of your daily lives? leave the noise and tension of the world around you and visit a more stress free environment with nothing but slow moving thoughts of pleasant places? If you vote for the affirmative on any or all of these conditions, I have just the place for you to visit.

How Can I Learn to Play My Scales?

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This question was just sent to our site recently and has been an issue through the ages for most musicians. The easiest answer and unfortunately the most often suggested remedy is…. “Practice playing them”! When we began studying our instrument, one of the features of most method book was the slow and gradual introduction of increasingly more difficult scales. This has been the practice for decades and most players adhered to this routine. Many years ago I started our youngest son on trumpet and began to introduce the different keys in a less orthodox way. His first key was C…

A Couple Helpful Suggestions On Cleaning Your Trumpet

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We have already posted several entries on how to clean your trumpet (see below) and why you need to regularly clean your instrument but this post adds to these suggestions. Recently I have found a couple new suggestions for improving your health as well as improving your instrument’s performance. When flushing clean water through you valve slides during cleaning, be sure to open the water keys if they are present. Deposits collect in the water key area and as the “snake” passes through the tubing, it forces debris into the channel where the condensation exits, making the water key area…

So… You Would Like To Double?

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So… You Would Like To Double? When musician speak of doubling, they are not speaking of playing bridge. Doubling, as most of you know is the act of playing more than one instrument. For a woodwind player, this is much easier for the mouthpiece, read and fingering are much the same among the woodwinds. Obviously the flute is one exception. For trumpet players we have a similar situation in that the mouthpiece and fingering among the members of the trumpet/flugel horn/cornet family are again very similar. But what I will be addressing here is the possibility of doubling on trombone;…

The Best $19.97 You Will Ever Spend!

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With all of the advertising on the Internet and television it is hard to believe that such a small amount of money could make such a difference in your trumpet playing. For $19.97 you can send for vacuum cleaners, power drills, combat flash lights and a dozen other miraculous products which will totally change your life. So why is this $19.97 product so different? The answer to that question is defined below. TRUMPET LESSONS ON LINE “Improve Your Trumpet Playing Today” Testimonials “I am an 80 year old come back player after a long layoff. Your videos and information is…

Patriotic Transposition Study

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Transposition sometimes is required for trumpet players. It most often occurs while playing in an orchestral setting but can surface in other venues such as reading out of a Fake Book, transposing from a hymnal or working with bad singers. To a younger player this can be a shock and for that reason I have included this study which uses a melody everyone should be familiar with and in a range most players will feel comfortable. Remember to use your eyes first and if your melody goes astray, your ears will guide you. Eyes first! Ears second! Patriotic Transposition Study

With A Little Help From My Friends Contest!

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From time to time our readers submit very helpful information to our site as exemplified by this one from Jen Houck – Bath tub for washing trumpets and another more recently from Felice Sobrero – External mute.. I enjoy learning from others and for that reason, I will be hosting a contest which some of you may be interested in participating. It is called “With A Little Help From My Friends Contest”! Due to the fact that we are all in this together (trumpet playing) it would be a benefit to us all to learn some of the tricks, hints,…