Williams – Concerto

Title Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra For Bb or C trumpet and piano (1996) By John Williams Biographical Info “Given a background of playing trombone and trumpet as a teen, and after writing so much brass music for films and for ceremonial pieces, you can imagine my pleasure when the Cleveland Orchestra asked me to write a concerto for their newly appointed principal trumpeter, Michael…

Adolph Herseth, part 1

In May of 2005, I hosted a trumpet conference that featured the former principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony, the great, Adolph Herseth.  It was a three-day event that not only showcased him in recital with none-other than Doc Severinsen, but featured him in a number of educational settings.  What follows is an article written by a former student, Jerod Sommerfeldt, and myself that appeared…

Bach – the Unaccompanied Suites

Title Unaccompanied Suites originally for CelloJohann Sebastian BachEdited and Arranged by David Cooper Biographical Info Bach composed the cello suites while he was employed at the court of Cöthen (1717-1723) as capellmeister and director of chamber music.  At this time, he devoted his efforts to instrumental music in which he set up perfect models and guides to professional musicians,…

Recital Programming

Most universities require that their music majors perform a half recital (20-30 min) their junior year and a full recital (45+ min) their senior year.  Here are some thoughts and strategies I have on programming. Programming Strategy Your first recital can be a nervous endeavor.  Like many of us, when nerves come in to play, our endurance suffers.  I encourage my students doing junior half…

Scales are Neighborhoods

This is my mantra with my private and university students.  (Actually, one of my many mantras.)  Another favorite is: Scales are Useless!  -until they’re memorized. My problem with typical scale work is that everybody practices them the same way.  (Click the scale images to enlarge them.  Then, your "back" button to come back.) Here is an analogy.  Say you were to have to come to my…

Jazz Break: It Could Happen To You

I’m going to break from the norm of this site for a moment and offer up a musical selection.  I know this may not be following the educational and informational direction of this blog but I came across this mp3 the other day and just thought I would share it. The Setup A few years ago saxophonist Tom Gullion, called some musicians together to play on a recording project of his.  The night…

A Word about Mutes

Here’s the bottom line with mutes; for the most part - You Get What You Pay For. Q.           What makes one mute worth more than another?A.            Consistent intonation in all registers.  Often lesser mutes will make you sharp in the lower register and flat in the upper register.A.            Intonation to the instrument; meaning, how far do you have to pull your slide when you put the…

Jens Lindemann on Mouthpieces

Here is an email-article that I read written by Jens Lindemann.  For those of you new to the trumpet world, Jens is one of the greats.  Actually, I would put him in the top 10 living all-round players.  He is one of the few trumpet players making a living as an international soloist. This was originally written a few years ago and I see on his website that he is now endorsing GR mouthpieces.…

Ornamentation

One of the things I find myself discussing often with students is how to make a trill, or general ornamentation guidelines.  It’s actually pretty involved, aside from the part about making a finger go up and down… First a little historical (hysterical) context: The Quantz View Noted musicologist Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773), on ornamentation, particularly trills. It must be noted that…

On Role Playing

Those of you that know me know that I have a passion for playing many musical styles as deeply and sincerely as I can.  In fact, I think the main thrust of this AllThingsTrumpet blog is geared for the versatile cross-over player.  All that being said; I would like to convey some thoughts on a musical situation that recently got me thinking. A more subtle cross-over playing situation My…