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trumpetmike · 02-19-2006, 06:17 AM

Well, Manny already started a thread quite similar to this, but let's see if we can all come up with something a little different in here.

I was born at a very early age (1974, for those that are interested in age).
My parents were both musical (they met singing in a jazz choir) and I was singing from quite an early age, joining the church choir when I was 7. At school, recorder was the first instrument that most of us started on (aged about 6), but that only lasted a couple of years, apparently I was making a little progress (I knew which end to blow in

), but I honestly can't remember too much from back then (I didn't enjoy school much - I have managed to block a lot of it from my mind).
When I was 8 a local trumpet teacher came round the schools and demonstrated the various brass instruments. Apparently I went home and announced to my parents that I was going to be playing trumpet. They didn't run away screaming, but found me an old beat-up B&M Champion to start on.
This teacher had a rather unique way of making sure you played the correct notes - he would stand with a pencil above your head - any wrong notes and the pencil would jab in your skull

At that time, he was taller than I was (and you were allowed to do that sort of thing). I still work alongside him occasionally in a couple of groups - I am now a LOT taller than he is - when I reminded him about this, he suddenly looked rather worried

Unfortunately (or fortunately for my head), this teacher didn't stick around for long. He was in the army bands and got posted to Germany. This was quite a common problem during my early years of teaching (I lived very close to where the army bands were based, many of my teachers were military) and by the time I had reached 18 I am guessing I had probably had 12 teachers - most of whom were not trumpet players, but brass players (often trombonists). This meant that many bad habits were not always picked up.

I was not the greatest trumpet student ever (and I am not afraid to admit it). I was able to play high, but nobody ever taught me about tone or musicianship. Whilst I was studying for my A Levels (the major academic examinations that UK students take before university, aged 18) the group I was working with happened to feature players of the solo instruments of Brandenburg 2, which was also one of our set study pieces. It seemed rude not to try the piece out, so before I had gone to university I had clocked up 3 performances of Brandenburg. It is worth noting that at this point I did not own a piccolo trumpet. I had done all of the rehearsals on my Bb (yes, at pitch) and borrowed a piccolo for about a week beforehand. The concerts went rather well and I discovered a passion that is still with me - the piccolo trumpet.
I do not say the story of Brandenburg to sound big headed, I am not saying that I was ready, musically, for the piece - it just happened that I could play the notes, so we performed it.
I approach it very differently now than I did then (then I wasn't afraid of it - now I treat it with a lot of respect).

I went on to study at Huddersfield University. This was easily the musical highlight of my life and is what has made me what I am now.
I studied trumpet with Richard Martin, who I confidently expect not a lot of people to have heard of. He started his musical life with the Salvation Army and has recorded a number of times with various staff bands, both as a section player and as a soloist (on cornet, despite being a trumpeter). His day job is Principal Trumpet with the Northern Sinfonia orchestra. This is not one of the "big" UK orchestras, yet has a growing reputation for playing beautifully and musically. He has been offered jobs with some of the very big UK (and international) groups and yet prefers to stay with the Sinfonia - a regular salaried position in an area that he can afford to live well.
Richard was hugely influential upon my playing. He picked up each of the faults I had developed in my playing and helped me alter my playing to work with my equipment, rather than fighting against it.
He is responsible for just about every aspect of my playing and I owe him a HUGE amount. I had the chance to meet up with him a few months ago and it was great to be able to thank him again. He set me on the true path and I am grateful every day for his work (which I know can't have been easy).

By the time I left university, I was playing principal in the university orchestra (not too mean a feat, especially when you consider that in my year alone there were 15 trumpets, along with 8 cornet players and a soprano cornet player - Huddersfield is in the centre of the brass band world and had two of the greatest ever cornet players, Philip McCann and Jim Shepherd, teaching there), principal trumpet (and co-founder) of the university brass ensemble, playing in a local professional orchestra, was first dep for two local amateur groups and playing in local brass bands (helping out 1st and Championship section bands when they were short).

When university finished I made the choice to return to my home area (Farnham, near Guildford, in Surrey - just South of London). I had been offered some regular work with a brass ensemble and had a small handful of students lined up.
The brass ensemble didn't last, unfortunately. We managed a couple of gigs, then four of the members left (nothing personal, they had got jobs that moved them inot other areas of the country, one heading abroad).
Luckily, my teaching was picking up and I was starting to get some playing work as well.

I now find myself teaching during the week and playing most weekends, purely classically (to the frustration of my parents - both of whom would have preferred me to be a jazz player) and usually on the piccolo. I don't play for any of the big orchestras, there are so many students (and ex-students) in London that the vast majority of that work is taken by players using their students. I have auditioned for a few groups and have usually played so badly that I have taken this as a guide that this is probably not where I should be heading (I can play the excerpts fine, then everything goes wrong on the day).
My teaching is based heavily upon what Richard Martin taught me at university, with additional influences from Murray Greig, David Hickman, Pat Harbison, Rex Richardson and anybody else I have chatted to or heard at ITG conferences. Having explored the various "schools" that seem to exist in the US, I am not sure that I follow any of them completely. All I do know is that what I teach seems to work quite well, having had three students go on to study music at university, four others to win scholarships to further study and having had students sit in principal seats of most of the local youth bands and orchestras.
I never claim to have all the answers, but I have had to change so much in my own playing that I have often got an idea of what has worked for me.
I do not believe, however, that one method works for everybody - the joy of having chatted to some of the big names, at ITG, is that I have found that I can have a few different methods for helping a student with certain problems.

As well as teaching and playing, I am also often found in the R&D work for Denis Wick. We have recently redesigned the regular trumpet mouthpiece and they are now playing better than they ever have (I still prefer my Warbrton for most playing, but that is fine - as Denis says, you can't have one mouthpiece that works for everybody). I was also involved in the research for the Eb cup mute - a simply beautiful mute. We are currently looking into a range of cornet mouthpieces with a more trumpet like C cup.

And then there are the forums

Those of you who are regular visitors elsewhere will almost certainly recognise my name - I am currently a regular visitor to four different online forums. Through them I have got to know some great guys & gals (at least a couple of which have helped me out in a big way, either with my own playing or with something completey unplaying related).
Each of them has something to offer and I often find that you can get different approaches by looking in different places. I would guess that I spend most of my time on Trumpet Herald (take a look at the number of posts - that is the giveaway

), but I don't believe in restricting myself to one place only - variety is the spice of life (and regular readers will know how much I like spice

).

The problem with listing equipment is that it keeps changing. I will try to remember what I am currently using.

Bb Trumpet - Yamaha 6335HS, with a Najoom leadpipe and an M/K tuning slide. I am currently trialling an M/K leadpipe, but have not yet decided.
C Trumpet - F Besson (interchangeable leadpipe model) with a Najoom leadpipe
Piccolo Trumpets - F Besson (for just about everything) and Couesnon 3 valve (fun

- perfect for those clarinet style parts)
D/Eb Trumpet - Yamaha 6610S
G Piccolo - Scherzer
Cornet - Yamaha Maestro
Soprano Cornets - Getzen Eterna (long model) and Besson 700 (allegedly student model - but it has a gorgeous tone - terrible intonation though)
Rotary Bb - Yamaha (can't remember the model number

)
Flugel - Eclipse Copper (the only flugel I have ever played that made me sound like a flugel player)

That's it for the regularly used instruments, I think.
As for mouthpieces - Warburton 1 width (with D, MD and MC depths depending what I am playing) and Denis Wick 1X series (and the new Maurice Murphy 1 size).
And please don't ask about mutes - I emptied my mute bag for another thread and packing it was a serious challenge

If you have made it this far, well done - grab yourself a beer

Let's hope that other guys & gals make their more interesting and exciting than mine is.

02-19-2006, 06:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
trumpetmike Forte User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Farnham (a place too smal Posts: 1,202	Well, you asked Well, Manny already started a thread quite similar to this, but let's see if we can all come up with something a little different in here. I was born at a very early age (1974, for those that are interested in age). My parents were both musical (they met singing in a jazz choir) and I was singing from quite an early age, joining the church choir when I was 7. At school, recorder was the first instrument that most of us started on (aged about 6), but that only lasted a couple of years, apparently I was making a little progress (I knew which end to blow in ), but I honestly can't remember too much from back then (I didn't enjoy school much - I have managed to block a lot of it from my mind). When I was 8 a local trumpet teacher came round the schools and demonstrated the various brass instruments. Apparently I went home and announced to my parents that I was going to be playing trumpet. They didn't run away screaming, but found me an old beat-up B&M Champion to start on. This teacher had a rather unique way of making sure you played the correct notes - he would stand with a pencil above your head - any wrong notes and the pencil would jab in your skull At that time, he was taller than I was (and you were allowed to do that sort of thing). I still work alongside him occasionally in a couple of groups - I am now a LOT taller than he is - when I reminded him about this, he suddenly looked rather worried Unfortunately (or fortunately for my head), this teacher didn't stick around for long. He was in the army bands and got posted to Germany. This was quite a common problem during my early years of teaching (I lived very close to where the army bands were based, many of my teachers were military) and by the time I had reached 18 I am guessing I had probably had 12 teachers - most of whom were not trumpet players, but brass players (often trombonists). This meant that many bad habits were not always picked up. I was not the greatest trumpet student ever (and I am not afraid to admit it). I was able to play high, but nobody ever taught me about tone or musicianship. Whilst I was studying for my A Levels (the major academic examinations that UK students take before university, aged 18) the group I was working with happened to feature players of the solo instruments of Brandenburg 2, which was also one of our set study pieces. It seemed rude not to try the piece out, so before I had gone to university I had clocked up 3 performances of Brandenburg. It is worth noting that at this point I did not own a piccolo trumpet. I had done all of the rehearsals on my Bb (yes, at pitch) and borrowed a piccolo for about a week beforehand. The concerts went rather well and I discovered a passion that is still with me - the piccolo trumpet. I do not say the story of Brandenburg to sound big headed, I am not saying that I was ready, musically, for the piece - it just happened that I could play the notes, so we performed it. I approach it very differently now than I did then (then I wasn't afraid of it - now I treat it with a lot of respect). I went on to study at Huddersfield University. This was easily the musical highlight of my life and is what has made me what I am now. I studied trumpet with Richard Martin, who I confidently expect not a lot of people to have heard of. He started his musical life with the Salvation Army and has recorded a number of times with various staff bands, both as a section player and as a soloist (on cornet, despite being a trumpeter). His day job is Principal Trumpet with the Northern Sinfonia orchestra. This is not one of the "big" UK orchestras, yet has a growing reputation for playing beautifully and musically. He has been offered jobs with some of the very big UK (and international) groups and yet prefers to stay with the Sinfonia - a regular salaried position in an area that he can afford to live well. Richard was hugely influential upon my playing. He picked up each of the faults I had developed in my playing and helped me alter my playing to work with my equipment, rather than fighting against it. He is responsible for just about every aspect of my playing and I owe him a HUGE amount. I had the chance to meet up with him a few months ago and it was great to be able to thank him again. He set me on the true path and I am grateful every day for his work (which I know can't have been easy). By the time I left university, I was playing principal in the university orchestra (not too mean a feat, especially when you consider that in my year alone there were 15 trumpets, along with 8 cornet players and a soprano cornet player - Huddersfield is in the centre of the brass band world and had two of the greatest ever cornet players, Philip McCann and Jim Shepherd, teaching there), principal trumpet (and co-founder) of the university brass ensemble, playing in a local professional orchestra, was first dep for two local amateur groups and playing in local brass bands (helping out 1st and Championship section bands when they were short). When university finished I made the choice to return to my home area (Farnham, near Guildford, in Surrey - just South of London). I had been offered some regular work with a brass ensemble and had a small handful of students lined up. The brass ensemble didn't last, unfortunately. We managed a couple of gigs, then four of the members left (nothing personal, they had got jobs that moved them inot other areas of the country, one heading abroad). Luckily, my teaching was picking up and I was starting to get some playing work as well. I now find myself teaching during the week and playing most weekends, purely classically (to the frustration of my parents - both of whom would have preferred me to be a jazz player) and usually on the piccolo. I don't play for any of the big orchestras, there are so many students (and ex-students) in London that the vast majority of that work is taken by players using their students. I have auditioned for a few groups and have usually played so badly that I have taken this as a guide that this is probably not where I should be heading (I can play the excerpts fine, then everything goes wrong on the day). My teaching is based heavily upon what Richard Martin taught me at university, with additional influences from Murray Greig, David Hickman, Pat Harbison, Rex Richardson and anybody else I have chatted to or heard at ITG conferences. Having explored the various "schools" that seem to exist in the US, I am not sure that I follow any of them completely. All I do know is that what I teach seems to work quite well, having had three students go on to study music at university, four others to win scholarships to further study and having had students sit in principal seats of most of the local youth bands and orchestras. I never claim to have all the answers, but I have had to change so much in my own playing that I have often got an idea of what has worked for me. I do not believe, however, that one method works for everybody - the joy of having chatted to some of the big names, at ITG, is that I have found that I can have a few different methods for helping a student with certain problems. As well as teaching and playing, I am also often found in the R&D work for Denis Wick. We have recently redesigned the regular trumpet mouthpiece and they are now playing better than they ever have (I still prefer my Warbrton for most playing, but that is fine - as Denis says, you can't have one mouthpiece that works for everybody). I was also involved in the research for the Eb cup mute - a simply beautiful mute. We are currently looking into a range of cornet mouthpieces with a more trumpet like C cup. And then there are the forums Those of you who are regular visitors elsewhere will almost certainly recognise my name - I am currently a regular visitor to four different online forums. Through them I have got to know some great guys & gals (at least a couple of which have helped me out in a big way, either with my own playing or with something completey unplaying related). Each of them has something to offer and I often find that you can get different approaches by looking in different places. I would guess that I spend most of my time on Trumpet Herald (take a look at the number of posts - that is the giveaway ), but I don't believe in restricting myself to one place only - variety is the spice of life (and regular readers will know how much I like spice ). The problem with listing equipment is that it keeps changing. I will try to remember what I am currently using. Bb Trumpet - Yamaha 6335HS, with a Najoom leadpipe and an M/K tuning slide. I am currently trialling an M/K leadpipe, but have not yet decided. C Trumpet - F Besson (interchangeable leadpipe model) with a Najoom leadpipe Piccolo Trumpets - F Besson (for just about everything) and Couesnon 3 valve (fun - perfect for those clarinet style parts) D/Eb Trumpet - Yamaha 6610S G Piccolo - Scherzer Cornet - Yamaha Maestro Soprano Cornets - Getzen Eterna (long model) and Besson 700 (allegedly student model - but it has a gorgeous tone - terrible intonation though) Rotary Bb - Yamaha (can't remember the model number ) Flugel - Eclipse Copper (the only flugel I have ever played that made me sound like a flugel player) That's it for the regularly used instruments, I think. As for mouthpieces - Warburton 1 width (with D, MD and MC depths depending what I am playing) and Denis Wick 1X series (and the new Maurice Murphy 1 size). And please don't ask about mutes - I emptied my mute bag for another thread and packing it was a serious challenge If you have made it this far, well done - grab yourself a beer Let's hope that other guys & gals make their more interesting and exciting than mine is.