The Endless Search for Perfection
We all face challenges each day. Some are brought on by our jobs, our life styles and in some cases are self-imposed as this post will reveal. Today completes our Spring season with a new musical in town called “All Hands On Deck”. I would consider this the most enjoyable…
Check Out This Young Man
What a nice cornet sound…..
David Mason and Penny Lane
thanks Warren
A Night Off
What do you do when you have finished a great week playing a show and you have nothing to do all evening? Well, what I did this evening was to play with one of my old toys from more than a half century back. I’m speaking of a little contraption…
To Plunge Or Not To Plunge, That Was The Question…
What looks good on a score sometimes does not work as well as one might anticipate as this situation illustrates. I ran into a challenge recently which made me look for a nontraditional solution. On one of my parts was the example below- At first glance, I thought it to…
Packing Your Essentials For A Job
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…
Using Technology to Improve Your Trumpet Playing- Using an oscilloscope
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…
The Trumpet Player’s Octave Key
Have you ever watched enviously as woodwind players sail up and down through their wide range by only depressing their octave key? With the slightest movement of the thumb of their left hand, clarinet players are able to jump octaves with ease and sax players effortlessly negotiate eight and sixteen…
Brass Players Obsession for “The Sound” Part 3- What Does A Full, Rich Sound Look Like?
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…
Brass Players Obsession for “The Sound” Part 2
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…