Marcus Reynolds is a signed Rath trombone artist, soloist, recording artist, clinician, embouchure specialist, tutor, lecturer for the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine and creator of the Stratos Embouchure System. Here Marcus shares his views on the brass player’s embouchure, what can go wrong and how to avoid the common pitfalls and problems.
Category: Advice
Do you want to improve your improvisation?
Jazz Etudes is a new resource that helps and supports students new to the world of jazz improvisation. The approach is centred around developing your jazz vocabulary and although primarily aimed at intermediate players, is receiving praise and endorsements from musicians at the top of their game. The creator of jazzetudes.net is Darren Lloyd, a professional player… Continue reading Do you want to improve your improvisation?
‘Listen and Learn’ from the ITG
The International Trumpet Guild’s Listen and Learn workshop is an online festival featuring five days of original performance and pedagogical videos by over 50 artists. This exciting event happened at the end of October 2020 but all resources are available on the ITG website indefinitely. And best of all, these resources are available for free to ITG members and non-members alike!
Trumpet Artist Profile : Eric Aubier
"During the lockdown we saw loads of people coming together to create virtual recordings. Videos of this type have invaded the web. I myself have initiated projects and participated in others. We have all done, and even now, lessons by videoconference on Zoom or whatever. Everyone had fun with it! However, is this the future of our profession? I am not sure … "
Trumpet Warmup
Trumpet Warmup is a great new online portal for trumpet players, allowing you to customise your routine with the aid of resources from top artists and educators. Sam Neufeld, the website's founder, speaks to me here about his exciting new venture. Can you give a little background to your relationship with the trumpet? At six… Continue reading Trumpet Warmup
Trumpet Artist Profile : John Eth
John Eth is a well-respected trumpeter, originally from Phoenix, Arizona. The Legends Brass artist was kind enough to give up his time to answer some questions below. Can you tell us a little about what got you started on the trumpet? I remember every weekend my father playing Harry James records all day Saturdays and… Continue reading Trumpet Artist Profile : John Eth
Trumpet Artist Profile : Charles Lazarus
Trumpeter Charles Lazarus is a multi-faceted performer, composer, producer and band leader whose career has included tenures in Dallas Brass, Meridian Arts Ensemble, Canadian Brass, and the Minnesota Orchestra. He has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras around the US and Canada, performed with the Empire Brass, New York Philharmonic Principal Brass, London Brass, Barry… Continue reading Trumpet Artist Profile : Charles Lazarus
Trumpet Artist Profile : Christopher Still
Chris Still is a renowned musician and educator, and I was delighted that he was able to find time to do this interview. He is currently a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the founder of ‘Honesty Pill’. Regular readers will have read Chris’ feature a couple of weeks ago - If you haven’t… Continue reading Trumpet Artist Profile : Christopher Still
‘Meet the Maker’ : Peter Pickett
Many top players have already turned to Pickett Brass and Blackburn Trumpets for mouthpieces and trumpets. At the helm is Peter Pickett who has kindly given up his time to answer some questions... Can you talk a little about the background to getting started on this trumpet craftsmanship journey? This entire journey to date in… Continue reading ‘Meet the Maker’ : Peter Pickett
Honesty Pill : In conversation with Christopher Still
Educator, clinician and coach (and also a trumpet player with the Los Angeles Philharmonic!) Chris Still has a really fascinating project that can benefit ALL musicians. I am extremely grateful for his time to chat about "Honesty Pill". Can you give a brief rundown of what Honesty Pill is all about? Sure. Honesty Pill is… Continue reading Honesty Pill : In conversation with Christopher Still
Design Innovations : Markus Arnold
The challenge of adding resistance to the mouthpiece buzz is one that a number of people have tackled, but always with big compromises to be made. German trumpet player, educator and designer, Markus Arnold talks to me here about his journey in designing the acclaimed 'Buzz-R'.
Trumpet Artist Profile: Randy Dunn
Randy Dunn is a trumpeter from Houston, TX with incredibly broad experience across diverse musical styles as a performer and educator. It was fascinating to interview him on a whole range of topics including his approach to playing and teaching as well as working on mouthpiece designs with Legends Brass.
Frate Precision : HM Cup Review
The Frate Precision HM cup Mouthpiece range is an excellent solution for trumpet players
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!
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.