Trumpet Tools & Guides – Page 4

Preparing For Your First Gig

written by Bruce Chidester on August 29, 2021

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…

Gap or Not To Gap, That is a Question- Part II

written by Bruce Chidester on April 8, 2021

As if the previous post was not more information than needed on mouthpiece gap, here is another element to consider.

Comeback Player Questions

written by Bruce Chidester on March 30, 2021

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…

Historically (Hysterically) Important Advice for Cornet/Trumpet Players- Part #2

written by Bruce Chidester on February 21, 2021

This is part #2 from the advice given in the duet collection Celebrated Practice Duets by Arthur Amsden. Don’t fail to pour water through your cornet before beginning the day’s work; never mind WHY, just DO IT and note the benefit of this simple advice. allow yourself to acquire a tremolo in your tone; nothing can be more objectionable than a cheap, shivery, trembling tone “a goat-stop” tone is a performers worst asset. hold your instrument too high or too low, and by all means don’t hold it sideways, that’s an unmistakable sign that you’re a novice. beat time with…

An Old Toy Gets A Look-Over

written by Bruce Chidester on July 5, 2020

To admit that a product of the 60s is still interesting to anyone is a surprise. But after rummaging through my bin of “the old and discarded,” I ran across a friend I had not seen in decades (many, many decades). Let me introduce you to the Vox Octavoice I. I acquired my Octavoice one day while giving a trumpet lesson at our university. The student mention that he had a device that I might be interested in and because of the fact that many people were experimenting with many things (fill in you own thoughts about that comment) at…

Could Meditation Help In Playing the Trumpet? Part 2

written by Bruce Chidester on June 28, 2020

Starting to Meditate Now that you have decided on a mantra to use, we will now begin our crash course in general meditation. I am in no way instructing you to use the Transcendental meditation form for I am not a qualified instructor and to do so would be against my better judgment. What I will share with you is a similar exercise which has been published in magazines and newspapers around the world. This is a very general yet effective exercise which can be used by anyone. 1. Sit comfortably in a chair which is for the time isolated…

Could Meditation Help In Playing the Trumpet?

written by Bruce Chidester on June 25, 2020

A Little Information and History about Meditating Meditation is many things to many people. Some think it is a religious experience. Some think it is a cult. And some, including your author are aware of its benefits to better health. I will try to summarize the technique and benefits of meditation as completely as I can in this post. Meditation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The term meditation refers to a broad variety of practices (much like the term sports), which range from techniques designed to promote relaxation, contacting spiritual guides, building internal energy (chi, ki, prana, etc.), receiving psychic…

How to Get Established in a New Area

written by Bruce Chidester on June 19, 2020

After relocating to a new area, whether it be for employment, school, or just to move, we are faced with a similar problem- How do I get established in this new area? For a musician to get established is different from other activities. If you want to play baseball, you visit the cities Recreation Department. If you were active in your local Boy Scouts programs, you make calls to that organization. But where do you go and who do you contact to start playing music with others on your instrument in these new surroundings? To a seasoned veteran, we have…

Make Your Own Mouthpiece Buzzing Adapter

written by Bruce Chidester on May 17, 2020

As you can see from the photo, my first Mouthpiece Buzzing Adapter was assembled many years ago, long before the more popular ones came on the market. I ran across mine this morning by accident and thought it would be an interesting project for you do-it-your-selfers out there. As close as I can remember, I put this one together about 30 years ago out of old trumpet parts. At that time, it was the only one that I knew of and it worked very well, and still does. There are commercially designed and manufactured models of the basic concept and…

A Simple Solution to your Coronavirus Boredom…Start practicing again!

written by Bruce Chidester on April 9, 2020

Trumpet Tools & Guides

The first of the year I started a long series of exercises to get back in shape after many years of health issues. It was very successful and now we seem to be in a similar situation although this time the virus is the reason. I had to cancel several rehearsals and performances because of the quarantine and this lack of performing has resulted in a lack of practicing. If this is your situation, let me suggest that we begin the 30 day practice routine I posted at the beginning of the year. We all need something to look forward…