Trumpet Stand Shoot Out!

As sometimes happens to musicians, I recently left my trumpet stand at my last job and soon relocated in Texas. The thought of driving back eight hours to pick it up was not something I would have enjoyed and decided to replace the one I lost. I have always purchased the K&M 5-Leg In-Bell Trumpet Stands- $23.99 for they have served me well through many years of playing but when I ran a search for other stands on line, one new product caught my eye……“Correction” the price of this product caught my eye. Titan In-Bell Trumpet Stand – $9.95. I…

Starting Over…..again. Part 5

“VB70G. Sound Blankets Producers Choice* did as advertised”. After a simple installation of 5 heavy duty hooks, all I had to do was hang the blanket over the window. After checking the sound level at the curb, in front of our home, we decided that the amount of transferred trumpet sound had been reduced by 90% which I feel is adequate for my taste as well as my neighbors. This sound blanket comes with one side white in color and the other black which worked for me very well. The Texas Summer sun will be warming the front of our…

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Starting Over…..again. Part 4

While still continuing to find a workable solution to my noise problem in our new house, it dawned on me to search the internet for remedies. Within seconds I had many suggestions as to how to deaden the sound transfer traveling through my large front windows. These choices ranged from foam to cotton, from fiberglass to cardboard and as I deciphered each claim, I narrowed my choices down to one constant fact; cotton seemed to be the best at deadening my sound. Before I shelled out an exorbitant amount of currency, I first had to be convinced that a cotton…

Which Comes First, Technique or Musicality?

This question is much like the chicken or the egg issue. Which should be taught first? One camp believes that without technique, nothing can be played and the other camp asks the question “what good is technique if it isn’t musical”. Both have their cases and in this post I will try to bring the two sides to a happy mid point. Most of my early teaching was geared to the technical approach but as I increase candles on my birthday cake I must admit, all technique can have its disadvantages. One student who stands out as the most gifted…

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Happy Pappy Popper Pills- “The Musicians Answer For Success”

Finally we have advanced to a stage in our musical lives where practicing is no longer required to become a successful musician. Throughout most of my life I have voiced the opinion that I would love to be able to take a pill which would eliminate the boredom of practicing. And finally it has happened! Let me introduce you to the new wonder pill of the musical world- “Happy Pappy Popper Pills” No longer will you be required to spend endless hours slaving over orchestral excerpts, jazz transcriptions and one more variation of the Carnival Of Venice. One amazing pill…

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“Free Trumpet Sheet Music” Update

I wanted to keep everyone up to date with our free trumpet sheet music section. At the present time we have 40 free arrangements which you can download at this time. So far we have had 10,777 downloads from this free section. Wouldn’t you like to make it and even 10,778? Check it out at.. http://www.trumpetensemblemusic.com/ and enter “free sheet music” in the search box.

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Christmas Arrangements For Sale!

It’s time again to stock up on your Holiday trumpet arrangements and to help speed your selection along, we have listed just a few! This post includes only our Christmas Solos and Duets. In our next post we will try to get in the trios, quartets and trumpet choir arrangements. Yes, this has been a very busy year and we hope you can find what you are looking for. Each link will take you to the page describing the arrangement as well as a recording so that you will know how your arrangement will sound. Merry Christmas from Branson, Missouri…

Mute Holder Revisited

This very simple, cheap and easy device has saved us on more than occassion. The number of must changes is tremendous in this show and sometimes we have only two or three beats to get a mute in. Having the mutes resting at the end of my bell makes the change possible. Check out my first posting on this $2.97 mute holder which will make your life much easier. http://www.thetrumpetblog.com/free-mute-holder/

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