A Fast and Easy Way To Improve Your Intonation Problems

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Tuner Ninja – Online Instrument Tuner What is this? This is a chromatic instrument tuner which is using your microphone to record and detect pitch of musical notes played on your instrument. Why Tuner Ninja? Most of other tuners are either not working, or working only on specific devices. Ninja Tuner is cross platform tuner accessible from wide range of devices. It works on almost every new browser across all operating systems. Users on Android device can add it to their homescreen, and it will take less than 1MB of the device storage. Privacy Your audio is processed in your…

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Steroids And Trumpet Playing- Reprinted from August 19, 2012

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Be sure to visit our sister site…… Trumpet Ensemble Music for all of your solo, ensemble and study material needs. ______________________________________ After being diagnosed as having a bad case of Poison Ivy, I was given a steroid shot to solve the problem. The second day after the shot, I was surprised to find that my high range had jumped from an F# above high C to double high C! The F# had been my best for many weeks and to have that much, and sudden increase made me wonder if the shot had anything to do with the range change.…

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Preparing For Your First Gig

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Be sure to visit our sister site…… Trumpet Ensemble Music for all of your solo, ensemble and study material needs. ______________________________________ I distinctly remember my first real paying gig. It was at the Officers Club at the Rock Island Arsenal base and I was in high school. Fortunate for me I was a better player than anyone else on the job. It was a New Year’s Eve dance and the book (music) was easy although hard to read from all the spilled beer and cross outs on the one-hundred year old manuscript. But enough about my first time, let’s see…

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The Trumpet Players Ultimate Problem Solving Check List (Re-Posted from Nov. 2013- and still good)

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Disclaimer: There ain’t no such thing, but this is as close to one as you will find. This is a product born by need and a very sleepless night. It is my intent to list the most common problems facing trumpet players today and I will offer a few suggestions as to how these problems may be solved or at least improved. For one person to profess to have the knowledge to solve every problem a trumpet player may face would be an example of simple stupidity. Even though I have run into many problems myself as well as observed…

How To Increase Strength and Speed In Your Valve Fingers

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This trick came to me by way of the great cornet player and leader of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Mr. Merle Evans. While enjoying the very infrequent resting period during one of the circus performances, I asked Mr. Evans if he knew any tricks to improve strength and speed in working ones valves. The following information was gleaned from the conversation. This conversion needs only to be temporary for after a few days you will notice an improvement in both your speed and strength in your valve fingers. Materials required for conversion- three extra valve springs.…

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Things to Consider After You Get the Job

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Don’t complain about your leader/conductor- at least where he/she can hear you. Don’t give advice unless you are asked. Never hire a sub better than yourself. If play a second part in an ensemble, never criticize the first chair player. When warming up, never try to see how high you can play. Never change the music to “the way it should have been written”. Never out blow the lead player under any circumstance. Never play a note at the end of a number which is higher than the lead player unless he/she has requested it. Be sure to cash all…

What Does it Take to Become a Professional Musician?

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What Constitutes a Professional Musician? A professional musician is one who plays an instrument or several instruments proficiently; performing is their primary source of income. What Constitutes an Amateur Musician? An amateur musician is one who loves playing music or one who cultivates something as a pastime. If you happen to be described by the second definition (amateur musician) and would like to upgrade to the next level, you might find the following information interesting. Recently I was asked, “How do you become a professional musician”?… and my response was, “Why would you ever want to become a professional musician”? It isn’t that I didn’t or don’t enjoy playing…

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Comeback Player Questions

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I received this message this past week and because of the house full of family I am a little behind on my posts. I would like to thank this gentleman for his questions and due to the fact that many have indicated that they were also “comeback” players, I thought I would share with you my thoughts on this big move. As always, my comments are in BOLD type and our reader’s comments are in regular type. Went social security in 2010, and part time on my job. Within a couple months, decided it was time to get back to…