An Interesting Dilemma Revisited

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Problem Solved. After going through the arsenal of trumpet mouthpieces I have collected through several decades, I finally stumbled upon one which has been shelved for more years than I can remember; my old Purviance 5*K4. Today I played the first half of the show on my usual Bobby Shew…

An Interesting Dilemma

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I pride myself as a very competent second chair trumpet player. Making this confession does not come easily for declaring that you are comfortable being a “second chair player” is against all trumpet player’s egos. But, as I told Mr. Bobby Shew one day, “we are the players that make…

Upward Slurs Made Easier

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I would like to give the late Mr. John Beer (former trumpet Prof. at the University of Iowa) credit for this helpful hint for improving your percentage of success with upward slurs. During one of my lesson with my good friend at the University of Iowa, John pointed out the…

Fine Tuning Your Fingers

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When the topic of tuning comes up, it usually pertains to an intonation situation but in this case, I’m talking about the coordination of your valve fingers. Lately I have been noticing that my low D, Eb and Ab in the staff have been so sounding unclean and today I…

Have You Missed Me?

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After posting every day for six years on my two Internet sites, I finally took a week off to have two stents implanted in my heart area. It seems that a couple months ago, while performing a show, I had a mild heart attack and didn’t know it. The reason…