What Is A Neti Pot And How Can It Help My Trumpet Playing?

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Neti Pot is its name and NASTY POT is what I call it. The agony and humiliation I go through while using this instrument of torture cannot be overstated. Now that we have addressed all the positives connected with this helpful little item, I will share with you its benefits and the history as to how and why I am currently putting myself through this agony twice a day. It all started when I moved to the Branson, Missouri area. If you are not aware, Branson is located in the Ozark Mountains and surrounded by a National forest. Trees have…

Why Doesn’t The Air Go Out My Nose?

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I have been asked through the years, “Why, when I play a note on a brass instrument, doesn’t the air come out my nose”€? Rather than explain the function of the flexible pallet, it is much easier to use an visual illustration and for that reason, please view the following videos.

Practicing In Front of a Computer Screen

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More trumpet players are beginning to read their music off computer screens and this new trend has advantages as well as disadvantages as we will address. More players are beginning to take advantage of on line lessons through Skype as well as other programs and many times their material is sent to them as PDF files. Some may choose to download and print this material so that they are able to practice in the conventional manner, using their music stand to display their material. Some, on the other hand have begun to read their material off the computer screen, thereby…

Musician’s Eye Chart

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While visiting my doctor today, I noticed the eye chart hanging on his wall and decided to modify it for our use. I hope you  all can read it and for all you jazzers out there, just add a lowered 5th and raised 9th and you will be fine.

The Worst Instructional Video On The Internet

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Continuing in my limited series of disturbing videos I have selected this gem. YouTube has an ever increasing library of self help videos which strive to inform our world on various subjects. Many of these are very helpful and in some cases, they can be very destructive as in the case of this video- Please read this post completely before trying the above instructions. This could possible be the worst instructional video on the internet! If these instructions are followed as described in the video, I can guarantee that you will have ruined your instrument and for that reason, I…

Why Do We Make Misstakes? Part #6

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Fatigue Athletes work to stem off fatigue and in doing so increase their endurance. Trumpet players are similar in that without strong chops or embouchure, a player’s amount of time being able to play music is limited. What I have noticed since beginning to play trombone is that most trumpet players tire much more quickly than do trombone players. I’m not saying that trombone players don’t complain of tired embouchures for they do, but the trumpet embouchure tires more quickly than does the trombone embouchure. Fatigue can be seen not only in the lip muscles but also in the back,…

WHY DO WE MAKE MISSTAKES? PART #5

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Equipment failure Fortunately the number of equipment failures can be listed on one hand so solving these issues can be easy to cover. List of possible equipment failures- 1. Valves will stick, period (THIS IS A RECENTLY USED WORD REVIVED FROM OBSQURITY BY YOUR PRESIDENT). The number of times a valve has hung up a trumpet player would be hard to estimate but I’m sure it is in the tens of thousands when you consider the number of trumpet players performing. A stuck or “hung-up” valve can not only produce the wrong note but will also hang on the players…

Why Do We Make Misstakes? Part #4

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Distractions As I stated earlier, distraction and the lack of concentration are usually related. The distractions I am going to cover here are the ones that creep into your playing even when you are concentrating to your fullest during a performance. #1. Where did my music go? You have practiced your part and are able to play it perfectly 10 times in a row with no errors. You are concentrating as you have never concentrated before. You are physically on top of your game and suddenly the music blows off the stand with a sudden gust of wind. This is…

Learn to Bag IT!

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In an earlier post, (The Perfect “Free” Mute Bag) I mentioned the benefits of a beautiful bag which could be used to protect your metal mutes. The bag comes from Crown Royal & Company and can be secured free of charge from anyone involved with the sale or distribution of this fine product. Today, I made use of the same bag to solve a situation in a show which required a very somber trumpet rendition of the Marines Hymn. At a very sad and sensitive scene in the show, the trumpet has an almost unaccompanied solo playing the familiar service…