Visitors to the City of London (London's main financial district) will be accustomed to the glass-fronted homes of high finance and over-priced coffee. They may well have also come across the interestingly named 'Trump Street' and thought it to be a nod to our friends over the pond. They would however be wrong! I recently… Continue reading What’s the story behind Trump Street?
Author: John Hutchinson
Musician & Blogger
Vhizzper : Mute Review
So, here is a really interesting new product that I have been sent through for review… The Vhizzper mute is the brainchild of Christoph Baerwind, trumpeter in ‘German Brass’ and ‘Der Orchester der Hamburgischen Staatsoper’. The essential concept is a practice mute that can also be used as a mouthpiece mute. This is not something that I have encountered before so was fascinated to give it a try.
Frate Precision : Mouthpiece Review
Since 2006 Dario Frate has been designing and making mouthpieces from his base in Lombardy, Italy. The aim across the entire range is to give the player richness of sound, fluidity, and to do it as easily as possible. These are certainly noble ambitions and I was very keen to try some mouthpieces for myself!
Trumpet Artist Profile: Mario Guarneri
Mario Guarneri will be known to many readers as a performer and educator of the highest calibre. A former member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mario is also in demand as educator and lecturer on the pedagogical concepts involved with his groundbreaking designs and the trumpet in general. Here he shares with me some thoughts on approaching different stylistic challenges both as a player and a teacher.
The Bob Reeves Interview
When you talk about getting your trumpets adjusted so that they respond perfectly to you or matching and adjusting a mouthpiece so that it works perfectly with your horn, you are probably already thinking about Bob Reeves!
Johnny Thirkell : Horn Camp 2019
Johnny Thirkell is one of the great unsung heroes of the music industry. With a truly prolific recording output, his trumpet features on thousands of hits over the past thirty odd years. To find out more about Johnny, please follow this link to read this great interview (even if I do say so myself!) that… Continue reading Johnny Thirkell : Horn Camp 2019
Van Laar Trumpets : Interview and Instrument Overview
Interview with Hub Van Laar (June 2018 @ ITG Conference, San Antonio) What made you want to play brass in the first place? As a child you had 2 options in my village. I began by playing football, and in my first game I scored 3 goals… in the wrong direction! It was then decided… Continue reading Van Laar Trumpets : Interview and Instrument Overview
Buying Guide : Practice Mutes
Practice Mutes have become accepted as a necessary evil for brass players. They are not an ideal way of preparing yourself, however there are times where we all accept that you just need to practice or warm-up quietly. Listed below are a number of mutes currently available that will all do the job. They will all have different strengths though, so I have tried to demystify them somewhat with this ‘Buying Guide’.
Trumpet Artist Profile: Marvin Stamm
Marvin Stamm is a colossus of the music world, having performed and recorded with many jazz legends throughout his illustrious career. At 79-years-young, he is still going strong and and has many interesting thoughts here on adapting to change, both musically and physiologically over the years. There is sound and compelling advice here for musicians of all instruments and of all ages!
Professional Development : Kate Amrine
When I left music college (nearly) 20 years ago, the approach to building a healthy portfolio of freelance work as a trumpeter was rather different to now: Face-to-face networking; Being in “the right place at the right time” with the right people; Backing up any opportunities by being a “good guy to have around” and a good player. This was the limit to one’s self-marketing. It struck me at the time that even when things were busy, and the diary was booked up a couple of months ahead, there was never a feeling of being in control and having ‘ownership’ (this seems to be the buzz word) of your career. This is what led me to start to explore other things that I could do alongside the trumpet-playing that could bring me more of a sense of control over my own career. Speaking to younger professionals now, I see quite a different picture. The opportunities that the internet has brought are vast, and musicians are quickly learning how to maximise what it has to offer. Players now have limitless control over their own image and career. This series looks at this in more detail: Next up in 'Part 2' to help me look at this in more depth is Kate Amrine. Kate is a trumpet player and educator based in New York City. She currently freelances in many different genres from Orchestra to Broadway, and also is an active soloist, currently working on her second album. Music entrepreneurship has always been an interest and she recently presented her "Designing your Career in Music" masterclass at New York University where Kate has been an Adjunct Professor since 2013.
Mouthpiece Online 