Trumpet Matters

Winning an audition is not about staying calm and avoiding mistakes.  It's about presenting an impressive musical product, one that wi...

Got an audition coming up?  Tired of fretting and wondering what the committee will think of you?  You know what?  Who cares! Try injectin...

Does your practice room feel like a prison cell?  Is your espressivo about as exciting as Buster Keaton's deadpan stare?  Need a get-...

Too much thinking about your playing can be just as bad as too little. Both can end poorly. A performance can be crippled by over-thinking...

  Piccolo Trumpet Studies - 106 short etudes from easy to moderate difficulty, each with the purpose of gradually b...

What's a good antidote or two for stage fright? Try getting angry or try getting sleepy . It's hard to be nervous when you're...

When your final performances have ended, and your last notes have all been played, how will you be remembered?  Will you have made the Hig...

What makes a great student?  What turns tons of input into profitable output? Is success attributed to genes, willpower, personality, a co...

What's the purpose of practicing?  Is the purpose of playing just to practice?  And should we continue plowing through that same check...

Remember King Midas? He was the king who got what he wished for, that everything he touched would instantly turn to solid gold. He quickly...

"During every practice I spend time imagining myself playing in the game so when the actual game comes it's no big deal because...

The CCM Philharmonia will perform Mahler 5 on Friday evening October 10.  Auditions for the trumpet section will be held next week. As w...

The second most obvious issue at the auditions:  There was some cause for pause this week in evaluating the CCM trumpet placement auditi...

A wonderful break through happened the other day during the lesson of a tenth grade trumpet student!  As a result of just one word, his so...

Professor: Come on in, you're next!   Student: Hi, Professor Mahler. Professor: I hope you're warmed up, because I've go...

Rather than another long and familiar list of the usual must-haves for success, here are some obvious must-not-haves to consider. These ...

A great student is not necessarily the best player, the most talented, or the most intelligent.  Successful students at any level are able...

The road to the stage goes through the trenches.  Because the journey of grunt work never ends, we might as well learn to treasure the g...

With so much music to rehearse and so little time, how do you respond? Is it going to be another one of those frenzied, aimless practice s...

Picture two very different scenarios.  One is a boring cinder block practice cubicle, the other is a spectacular concert hall.  The next ...