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…
Springs have sprung
To make sure your valves come back up after you press them down, manufacturers have furnished us with a set of springs which work very well for most of the time. Sometimes we are faced with valves which seem to hang up every so often and it usually happens at…
Easy Lip Control Exercise
Being able to bend notes up and down can be very beneficial to a trumpet player. Adjusting notes a little in order to play them in tune as well as having the ability to bend notes in Jazz can be improved with this exercise. When practicing this exercise, try to…
Marshall Lytle (September 1, 1933 – May 25, 2013)
To have had the opportunity to watch this legend of Rock and Roll history perform was memorable, but have had the opportunity to visit with him was a true blessing. The information listed below was excerpted from Wikipedia were you can read more about this true legend. As one of…
Famous Trumpet Solo, Little Known Trumpet Player
When trumpet players think of the most famous trumpet solos, we most often mention Maynard Ferguson’s early recording of “MacArthur Park” (February, 1970). Others mention Bix Beiderbecke’s recording of Sweet Sue (1928) and still others will mention the wealth of great solos performed by the master of trumpet Raphael Mendez…
Do You Need A Music Riser?
When I was first introduced to the MUSIC RISER I had no idea what it was. It was explained to me that it raises the music off the stand making it easier to read. My first question was, “Why can’t you just raise the music stand”? That seemed like a…
Do You Ever Suffer From Stiff Chops? Part #2
Continuing with our discussion on the problem of stiff chops….. While teaching lessons at my university, I realized that many of our students were complaining about stiff chops or the lack of flexibility. Along with this problem invariably was the observation that their lips seldom felt good. After collecting information…
We Have A Winner! 11 Giant Steps for Mankind (Trumpet Duet)
Here is your challenge! Congratulations to Josh for his continued research and investigation into the multiple connections of the title of this piece. Thanks to the others who participated and we will do this again from time to time when I can’t get to sleep and have the uncontrollable urge…
Do You Ever Suffer From Stiff Chops? Part #1
The number of people complaining about stiff chops seems to be growing and for that reason, I thought it time to address the problem. Symptoms of “stiff chops”- 1. Each morning when you begin to practice, your lips seem to be leathery or inflexible. 2. Many times your tone quality…
Vibrato, Lip trills and Shakes made easy!
You might wonder why these three techniques are grouped together. The reason I am discussing them as a group is because they are all three related. The shake is just an extension of a vibrato and the proper use of lip trills (tongue trills) is the bridge between an applied…
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
In our never ending quest to bring to the surface brass ensembles worth watching, I thought you might enjoy this more recent offering which has its roots in a far off time and space. The time is the 1950’s and the space reference is Saturn where an important figure influenced…