How to Play in Tune

written by Bruce Chidester on April 29, 2024

Before we get to the “How Do I’s”, I need to address a few questions which are seldom asked but are equally important: Why is it important to play in tune? Playing “out of tune hurts”. It doesn’t hurt the player but it certainly hurts the listener. If you watch television programs such as “American Idol” or “So You Think You’ve Got Talent” or some equally popular show, you have experienced the horror of amateur singers trying to make it big. When they land on an out of tune note for any length of time, we all seem to have…

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

written by Bruce Chidester

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…

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…

Free Mute Holder!

written by Bruce Chidester

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…

The Westerlies- Possibly the Best Brass Ensemble….Period!

written by Bruce Chidester

When choosing these words, I have taken a lot of time to consider my final choice for one benefit of being old is that I have seen and heard many brass ensembles through the years. I have listed below many of the most outstanding brass ensembles and how they stack…

And here is another! CHOPS T.I.C.

written by Bruce Chidester

In our never ending quest for the perfect lip cream, this was shared by a good friend and I thought you might want to try this one. CHOPS T.I.C.

More on Lip Creams

written by Bruce Chidester

Apparently we have a large number of players with dry lips and for that reason I have included some information on what I use regularly on my lips….not that means anything. This is what I have been using for years after a friend recommended it. It is a little more…

Chop Saver by Gosling (Update)

written by Bruce Chidester

In our previous post, we featured the product “Chop Saver” by Gosling and received several questions as to how effective it is. To answer these inquiries I can only say that the product works as well as Chap Stick and other products I have used through the years. The outstanding…

Chop Saver by Gosling

written by Bruce Chidester

Several weeks ago, one of our readers wanted to know if the product Chop Savers by Gosling was any good. At the time I had no idea as to its merits for I had never heard of it. So, in order to be semi “hip” with the trumpet world I…

Selecting An Instrument To Study- Part 4: Social, Economic And Political Influences

written by Bruce Chidester

You may wonder what social, economic and political influences have to do with the selection of our children’s instruments but you must realize that our surroundings have a great impact on many decisions in our lives. This posting addresses all three influences from an historic standpoint and it was written…

Selecting An Instrument To Study Part 3- Late Bloomers

written by Bruce Chidester

Whether you have played an instrument before or you are a first timer, learning or relearning an instrument can be exciting and fun. There are many advantages to being in the twilight years of your life. One advantage is that no one expects much out of you. I celebrated my…

Selecting An Instrument To Study Part 2-Traditional Students

written by Bruce Chidester

A student is most often faced with the dilemma of instrument selection around the fourth grade and this experience is usually more of a trauma for the parents than it is for the student. Parents are faced with the pressures of guiding their child into an area that will affect…

Selecting An Instrument To Study

written by Bruce Chidester

When my wife first suggested this topic, I was very excited for I realized how important this subject could be. Then, after thinking about the mass of information and the myriad of directions one could approach this post, I realized that an entire book would be needed to touch on…