This episode is about the three books I like to call “Xtreme” trumpet method books that can possibly take you to the next level if your progress has stagnated physically, particularly, if you are constantly struggling with range and endurance (they tend to go hand in hand). Links; The Balanced Embouchure by Jeff Smiley Embouchure…
Your vacation is supposed to be fun, relaxing, and a joyful occasion. However, let’s say you are headed off on a plane to some exotic island and you are unable to bring your trumpet either because of bag limitations, you don’t have a flight case, you are staying with friends or relatives that definitely don’t…
What does it mean to be a professional trumpet player? I guess I became a professional trumpet player when I was 16 years old. That is when I got my first paying job. It was a church gig in San Jose California that payed $80. Ever since then, my goal was to make money playing…
Trumpet players are “different”! We have a different set of “rules” when it comes to practice. We have a whole set of fundamentals we like to hit on a daily basis. Those fundamentals include; warming up, lip buzzing, breathing, mouthpiece buzzing, long tones, tone, lip slurs, scales, tonguing, multiple tonguing, range, endurance, intervals, etudes,…
Everything you’ve ever learned about how to act on a gig, you learned in kindergarten. Things like; sharing, be nice to others, don’t say mean things, and don’t hog all the solos! Ha! But seriously, sometimes I think we forget why we got into playing in the first place, remember, it’s because playing is fun! …
To buzz, or not to buzz, that is the question. Some players swear by it and others never do it. The question is, have you tried it and does it help you? Personally, I am down for experimenting with any type of exercise that may help in any way shape or form. If it…
In my opinion. your trumpet embouchure is one of the most important aspects of your playing. Set it the “wrong” way, and you will be set to struggle for life! There are many different “types” of embouchures. Many even have names, such as, the “Farkas”, “Stevens”, “Gordon”, and “Maggio” etc. To roll in or roll…
Here’s how most young trumpet players progress over time (ok, you already know, it’s how I progressed). And, it goes something like this….. It’s fourth grade, it’s time for you to choose an instrument, you really want to play drums, but realize you have to start on a pad and decide forget that! In lieu…
