The Perfect Lesson Plan #1 “Absolute Beginner”

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When first beginning to play trumpet, your expectations are usually high and the amount of energy spent also indicates your desire to succeed. Unfortunately ones desires and expectations sometimes are higher than ones ability. Too many times we are told, “You can do anything if you try hard enough”, which unfortunately many times is inaccurate. I could try the remainder of my life to be able to fly but “it ain’t going to happen”! Before we begin on your lesson plan, I wanted to say that if you are interested in playing trumpet, I encourage you to begin, and with…

How To Place Your Mouthpiece In Your Horn

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Have you ever heard or read something that does not make any sense to you at all and then you set out to prove it wrong only to find that it is actually true? This happened to me this past week and even though it is an embarrassment, I will swallow my pride for the betterment of the brass world. This past week I read a post on one of the brass bulletin boards which stated that this person claimed that the rotation of the mouthpiece could actually change how the instrument responded when played. Just the thought of someone…

The Trumpet Player’s Octave Key

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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 note intervals with no additional effort while we brass players continue to struggle to perform the same skips. Well fellow tube buzzers, there is hope. We will also soar with the eagles for we now have an octave key and we should use it proudly. It is located just below…

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

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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 to share information relating to our changing views of the most popular instruments at the time. 1900 During this period in our history, our musical taste leaned heavily toward a new music called Ragtime. The well known composer Scott Joplin led the way to this early example of jazz and…

Selecting An Instrument To Study Part 3- Late Bloomers

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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 sixty-ninth birthday while playing a seven day a week show in Branson. The trombone player asked me how old I was and when I told him, he stared intensely at me and said, “That’s amazing”. I’m not sure what he really meant but I took it as a compliment to…

Selecting An Instrument To Study Part 2-Traditional Students

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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 their lives (both child and parent) for some time and the thought of the added expense of the instrument, the lessons and the travel to and from the lessons can be intimidating. Fortunately most of us have lived through the experience and are on hand to give the less experienced…

Selecting An Instrument To Study

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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 all the important issues. After careful consideration I have decided to tackle the topic anyway. I have never been accused of shying away from the imposable so please realize that I will try to structure this topic from several views and in doing so, the number of post will be…

The Most Important 24 Notes You May Ever Play

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As most of you know, Branson is possibly the most dedicated city in the nation to honor of our service men and women. This week has been designated as Veterans Week and every store, show and business has welcomed thousands of our veterans to Branson to give recognition for their dedication to the protection of our country. This evening I have the privilege of performing Taps at the formal Marine Corps. dinner and in their honor and for that reason, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate this post to the preparation going into this performance. The history- The…

What You Need To Know About Hearing Loss- Part 2

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If you have read my first post on reasons for hearing loss, you may be interested in some information  I have collected which could help you to select some tools to help prolong your current hearing condition. Are earplugs the solution to attacks on your hearing? The use of ear plugs have saved untold numbers of people who are faced with the constant barrage of high volume noises in their daily work. Factory workers, sheet metal shop owners as well as rock musicians are all face with the same dilemma- the need to protect ones hearing in a very inhospitable…

What You Need To Know About Hearing Loss- Part 1

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Warning- The Following Information May Change Your Life! We spend a great amount of money on equipment which we feel is necessary to become fine musicians and there is little doubt that good equipment can help us reach that goal. But how much concern do we have for preserving an essential element which we already possess?  And that essential element would be our hearing. As performers, we are expected to have what they call in the recording industry, “big ears”. This term has nothing to do with the size or shape of our ears. It has to do with how…