Trumpet Matters

"That  sounds like it's really hard to play!"  That was the response after my valiant attempt at the difficult slow passage ne...

"Great trumpet players can play soft!" That was the advice from one of the most powerful players on the planet, Mel Broiles, first...

  A disaster of monumental proportions was about to happen to me in the summer of 1966 at the Interlochen Music Camp. It was time for our we...

The Promenade from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is the trumpet player's signature excerpt and the one usually heard first ...

  The conductor looked annoyed and kept tugging at his ear as he glared at the trumpets. Finally, he stopped the rehearsal and said: "O...

The problem with the trumpet! It is unmusical, it has no sound, rhythm or brains. It's dumb! It just lies there lifelessly in its ca...

I once asked a veteran oboe player in the Cleveland Orchestra how often he felt good about his playing. I expected a response like, "ev...

"Greatness is the perfect mixture of technique and artistry."  Related thoughts: Guarantee purity! Secure your technique for the p...

Sometimes it only takes one lesson to make a lasting impact.  In 1974 John Ware played a two-octave scale up and down for me. That was all I...

Great news! The NERVE MONSTER is not invincible! The dreaded adversary can be overcome or rendered ineffective and no longer a dangerous opp...

Stop! Hold on! Slow down and listen!  You  need to play the Floating Fermata Game! Imagine a fermata hovering over each line of your music a...

"You are spraying the air with thousands of notes of highly questionable value!" (Mel Broiles) Quality beats quantity. Quality win...

As a junior in high school, I was super excited about my first lesson with William Vacchiano. On my new C trumpet, I had prepared #6,  molto...

What should the serious trumpet student have in common with a rabbit, a mouse, and a fish?  Answer:  HUNGER.  The rabbit is drawn to the...

" Would you mind playing that again, please?" Thomas Schippers asked that question in the Cincinnati trumpet audition in 1975. It ...

  "Try not to sound like a student!"    Nothing wrong with being a student! Who isn't one?  This advice years ago really helpe...

What does a xylophone have to do with trumpet playing? Not a lot, except when taking a closer look at the mallets.  The "ping" pro...

Mel Broiles had just demonstrated how one of those opera arias in Arban's The Art of Phrasing should sound. Then it was my turn. (Yes pr...

"Every piece of music has an important octave in it." (William Vacchiano) That simple statement should launch a search for all th...

"You must be able to come "bustin' in" at any time." Armando Ghitalla said in one sentence what was needed to chase ...