I Think ≠ It Is
A recent note from a concerned parent:
Please forgive my naive questions, what about xxxx for trumpets,...
Play the Notes - Not the Rests
One of the drawbacks of written musical notation is that the rests are often more visually predominant than the...
Explaining Brass Instruments - 3. More Notes
The notes of the Harmonic series are fine for bugle calls and trumpet calls:
However playing...
Explaining Brass Instruments - 2. The Notes
In the previous article “Explaining Brass Instruments - 1. The Basics” I wrote:
The player activates the...
Brass Instruments are Not Pneumatic circuits
This:
Not This:Brass instruments are resonant tubes not pneumatic circuits. The essential function...
Explaining Brass Instruments - 1. The Basics
This is the first in a planned series of brief articles explaining brass instruments.
Brass instruments...
Why do scales go up?
Why do scales go up?
When you ask someone to sing or play a scale why do they always perform an ascending...
Difference between String and Wind Instruments
Have you ever wondered about the different key preferences of string and wind players?
It is common...
Filling a Large bore trumpet?
Addressing the Testosteronic Myth
How difficult is it to fill a large bore trumpet?
I would...
Ivan's Waiata
This collection of Waiata (Maori for "song") entries, based on my philosophy, is aimed towards the advancement of music making in general, and trumpet playing in particular. Several have been written as a direct result of readers’ questions.
Seventy five or so previous posts have been collected and published by The Recreational Musician in the book My Friend the Trumpet available on this website.
It is organic; changing all the time. I invite you to check back often, or follow us on Facebook.
Articles