Sleep apnea – What they don’t tell you! (Part 7)

written by Bruce Chidester on April 25, 2024

Short but helpful suggestions: Handling the hose- To keep from being strangled to death with your hose, run it from your machine over the back of the headboard and down to your pillow. In this way it is controlled and you will not fight it all night as you move around. Use the least amount of tension on the mask straps and still have an air tight seal. Those with stuffy noses from allergies can find relief with Vicks VapoRub. Each night I unscrew the lid, stick my nose into the jar just enough to feel the ointment, then draw…

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

written by Bruce Chidester

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…

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…

Join HI-YR-BY-A-THIRD today! Lesson 2 Review

written by Bruce Chidester

This completes the first full week on Lesson #2 of the Claude Gordon book and most of you have been finding some improvement. What have we learned? Some have reported that they have gained more range than they expected in one week. Some have reported that their range has remained…

Join HI-YR-BY-A-THIRD today! Lesson 2

written by Bruce Chidester

I have included two recorded samples with this lesson for two reasons. Most players who begin these exercises, have a difficult time keeping their notes in tune when playing pedal tones and when playing in the upper register, struggle with hearing the higher notes. For those reasons I have recorded…

Join HI-YR-BY-A-THIRD today! Lesson 1 (Part #3)

written by Bruce Chidester

We have spent a large amount of time explaining some of the ideas in the Claude Gordon “Systematic Approach To Daily Practice” and now it is time to start our weekly assignments. Please note that I am still making reference to “OUR” lessons for I am on this journey as…

Join HI-YR-BY-A-THIRD today! Lesson 1 (Part #2)

written by Bruce Chidester

Those that have been with us from the beginning of this project should be able now to play down into the pedal range with ease, at least down to the notes that make your lips a little puffy after you are finished. The reason you should not start playing right…

How Much Improvement Have We Made in Our First Week?

written by Bruce Chidester

Now that we have our material, downloaded our practice sheet, marked our highest note with the date and have begun to play and improve our pedal tones, it’s time now to see if we have made any improvement. I posted a recording which took us down from C, third space…

A Little Racial History

written by Bruce Chidester

I would like to thank a fellow trumpet player (*Michael Stewart* www.stewmuse.com) for sharing this video with us. There is more truth to this computer generated video than most will realize. As a person who had witnessed the “WHITES ONLY” years, sadness fills my heart for the injustice put upon…

Join HI-YR-BY-A-THIRD today! Material on page 12 only

written by Bruce Chidester

Now that you have tried playing pedal tones for the first time or continued to play them, some may have questions as to how they can be played more easily. This post will cover the art of playing pedal tones and by our next post, you should be able to…

Join HI-YR-BY-A-THIRD today! Lesson 1

written by Bruce Chidester

Now that you have your own Claude Gordon “Systematic Approach to Daily Practice” in front of you. Oh, you didn’t get yours yet? Well that’s why I posted the first lesson on my site. Some have ordered it and have not received it and some think they can take my…

Join HI-YR-BY-A-THIRD today!

written by Bruce Chidester

What is HI-R-BY-A-THIRD? HI-R-BY-A-THIRD stands for How to Increase Your Range By A Third This is a new support group just for high note wimps like me and it begins Today! • If you are tired of having other trumpet players laugh at you when you miss the high note…

When You Are Wrong, You Are Wrong

written by Bruce Chidester

I love it when someone proves me wrong. It tends to bring me back to earth and realize that even old people (especially old people) can learn a thing or two. In an earlier post, I questioned the quality and newness of any compositions created in the past few decades…