Packing Your Essentials For A Job

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Some gigs require your horn and a mouthpiece while others require planning and forethought. My present job has special requirements which I will address in this post. The “All Hands on Deck Show” is all-new to Branson, fresh off a national tour. Themed as an All-American 1942 Roadshow, audiences are treated to singing, dancing, a 9-piece orchestra, funny skits, and 42 of the greatest American songs ever written. Celebrate the American way of life, and honor our veterans who have made it all possible at this patriotic Branson show. Some of the extra equipment in this show are the following…

Using Technology to Improve Your Trumpet Playing- Using an oscilloscope

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Visualizing Your Sound Many times I am asked , “Who do you think has the best trumpet sound?” Some would say Clifford Brown, some would offer the name Maurice André, Bud Herseth or “Bix” Beiderbecke. Everyone has an opinion but the real question should be, “Why do they have the sound we strive for”? Some say the secret to a good tone quality lies in the equipment used and some believe that the resonating chamber in each person is the reason. Whatever the reason and whoever you are speaking of, one thing is a known fact, through technology, we can…

Brass Players Obsession for “The Sound” Part 3- What Does A Full, Rich Sound Look Like?

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When trying to describe a tone produced by any vibratory agent, one needs to graphically represent its elements in a way everyone can see and compare. To do this, I will record three different trumpet pitches and compared each as it is represented on a computer screen. As some of you may already know, I am a strong advocate for a simple and inexpensive (free) program called Audacity. It is with this software that I have record our examples and if you do not already have Audacity on your computer, why are you waiting? 1. Our first examples will illustrate…

Brass Players Obsession for “The Sound” Part 2

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What Is The Perfect Tone? If you ask a dozen trumpet players this question you will get many different descriptions for each player has been influenced by their past likes and dislikes. To a die-hard cool jazz musician, his/her leanings would be more toward the darker side illustrated by the styling of Miles Davis but to a traditional jazz follower, the tone of Louis Armstrong would be more appealing. Most symphonic trumpet performers would agree that the tone of Mr. “Bud” Herseth would be ideal and yet there are some who would prefer a different principle chair player. It would…

The Perfect Practice, Rehearsal, Recording Studio- Part 2

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Now that we have the basic room and have found it to be sound (pun intended), we will need to fill it with equipment. If you were expecting a long list of the ultimate recording equipment in both hardware/software, let me remind you that I am a retired professor of music and not a wealthier member of society. This studio was done on a budget and for those of you who are in the same financial situation; you may be surprised at what can be done with limited funds. Recording equipment- Analog- Yes, there are people still using tape for…

The Perfect Practice, Rehearsal, Recording Studio- Part 1

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If you hear of one, please let me know. Until then, let me show you the best I have ever designed and built. To construct the best of all worlds in these areas is imposable for each requires its own elements. The best recording studio may not have the correct attributes needed for the best rehearsal hall. The very best practice area may not work well as a recording studio but I have been very pleased with the room I call home for most of my work. Some of the strengths were planned and some were accidents. Let me share…

Free Mute Holder!

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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…

So You Want A Career in Music? Part 1

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So You Want A Career in Music? Part 1 So do tens-of-thousands of other people. Wanting something does not necessarily make it happen. Even with all the “If you want it badly enough, it will happen” believers propagating all their wonderful and deceptive rantings. In order to focus on a career in music, we must first limit and identify our particular area of interest in order to understand what is necessary to accomplish our goal. What are a few areas a musician can be a part of? 1. Performer Becoming a musician is a lot of hard work and few…

Selecting the Best Music School- Part 3

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What to Expect from Your Teacher When you visit your local physician with an ailment, you expect to leave with a solution to your problem. If you visit your dentist with a tooth ache, you expect to leave his/her office with relief, but too often trumpet students leave a trumpet studio with the idea that they (the student) has been granted a great privilege to be in the company of this almighty guru. Too many students worship their instructor and in a few cases it is justified for helpful teachers are to be revered. When you study an instrument, you…

Selecting the Best Music School- Part 2

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The first part of this post dealt with issues related to terms and your direction in your musical career. This post will focus on an area that I know well and that would be the study of an instrument (in my case the trumpet). No matter what your area of performance, trumpet, sax. piano, bagpipes or voice, the following information will apply to you. What to Look for in a Teacher The selection of your applied teacher is more important than the selection of a school. This may sound odd but when you consider that you will have more personal…