Some swing, some try to swing and some cannot swing. Commercial musicians dread the thought of having a “Legit” musician in their section just as orchestral musicians shudder at the thought of having a “Jazzer” join their section. Each ensemble is capable of executing the proper articulation and emphasis with their own music but many times are incapable of applying the same elements to the other style and for that reason I have decided to explain and show the difference in this post. Let us begin with the hierarchy of the feeding trough; the orchestral play’s interpretation. Next on our…

This video was sent to me by one of our wonderful readers and I had to share it with you because of the segment on circular breathing (4:30). There may come a time in a performance when the phrase is longer than your air supply and having the ability to circular breath will get you through this situation. I have used this technique several times when doing long, slow brass choir numbers as well as some jazz situations. Even though it is a trick, it can be very useful. The first time I saw this technique used in a live…

Technology has advanced at an incredible rate in the past decade and with it has followed problems which will have to be addressed. Two such developments are the issues of copy right laws and printing E-Books transmitted over the Internet. Small cottage industries have begun to blossom all over the world with offers to show you how to grow bigger roses, find hidden gold and where to locate your long lost relative. Each of these instructional booklets are distributed through the Internet and the digital signal is sent to your personal computer to be downloaded and eventually printed. Welcome to…

Through most of my teaching I have preached the concept of “Rest As Much As You Play”. In this post not only will I illustrate the advantages of this practice, I will also offer a solo which has been broken down to illustrate this concept. The benefits of “Rest As Much As You Play” method will be felt after the first twenty minutes for this routine automatically guards against over taxing your embouchure which is one of the most degrading faults in our development. As the title indicates, “Rest As Much As You Play” lets you methodically build your chops…

This is the time of the school year when thousands of student musicians are spending countless hours in band rooms around the country trying to learn their solo for this year’s Solo Ensemble Contest. Anxieties are starting to set in and each performer wonders how they will play and what grade will they receive at contest. In order to help those faced with this nerve wrenching experience I will try to give a few hints as to how you can more productively spend your time preparing your solo. Here are a few of my observations when judging a young student…