Blog

Playing by accident I’m sure that at some point you have experienced an accidental success in trumpet playing. Such as suddenly hitting a high note without meaning to, or playing a perfect rhythm without even noticing. This is what I call playing by accident. When students routinely play by accident, they move through the motionsRead more

Impatience is your enemy For me, finding ways to dissect difficult passages in music has become a habit and I will share three ways to practice a difficult lick with you. But first, let’s talk about patience. If there is any one area I could say almost all of my students over the years haveRead more

Get better at sight-reading with these tips Last week we talked about why sight-reading is an important skill to have. This week I will let you in on the simplest, yet most effective techniques to up your sight-reading game. Sight-read a little daily Although sight-reading should be fairly easy at the beginner/intermediate levels, the majorityRead more

Let’s face it, developing sight-reading skills is tough and this is why most people ignore working on the skill. Most beginner and intermediate players see it as an “extra” skill that can be cast aside since they don’t really need it right at this moment. Let me tell why you should be sight-reading daily.

Sometimes you’ve been doing something for so long and you’ve dug a hole so big, that you have to work 20 times harder to get out and never fall back in. But like an old teacher once told me, do something everyday for 3 weeks and you will be on the right track. Avoid these bad habits and watch your playing grow.

When I was little I listened to a bunch of trumpet music, particularly Rafael Mendez, and that was my first lesson on how to play more musically. I loved the fun music he played, his virtuosic trumpet playing was mesmerizing. I knew all his music really well, and still to this day, can hum mostRead more

“Can you explain what is concert pitch and major pitch please?” I get this question at least once a week by YouTube and Instagram followers, which I find perfectly understandable. To a beginner trumpet player it can be confusing to hear “play B flat concert” and start the scale on C . Why don’t weRead more

Playing high notes on the trumpet is one of those things that is consistently at the highest demand from beginners and intermediate players, mostly because they see others do it and they want to join in. Probably the same reason why I always buy a cupcake after watching someone else enjoy one. First off, byRead more

This one is tricky because “expensive” means different things to different people. To a millionaire a $10,000 couch is no biggie, but to a regular person…well let’s just say that couch better grow gold. One thing that you can rely on is that cheap teachers will be a lot less experienced than the more expensive teachers,Read more

You know you’re not the only one making them, yet you’re still scared that you will miss a note at your next solo performance. Whether it be a 2 measure spotlight at a wind ensemble concert, a Latin blast at marching band competition or a tricky spot in your all-state etude, most players experience someRead more