ecarroll

TMers,

Following up on Wilmer's excellent thread and putting a slightly different slant on it, please tell me about NON TRUMPETERS that you have learned the most from working with (or simply by observing, having conversations with, reading them online, or *gasp* in print)?

I spent the afternoon with John Wallace today and I vividly remember a conversation that he and I had on a similar topic when John was head of brass at the Royal Academy of Music in London. More about that after a few of your responses are recorded here. . .

Best,
EC

bagmangood

A yogi (yoga teacher, not the bear or the baseball player) and body use person i worked with over the summer really helped me with sound production, getting air behind the horn and being efficient.

__________________
Bb: Courtois 305 "Elite"
C: Bach C180-239 (Akwright conversion),
Cornet: Conn Wonder (1900)
Picc: Selmer Paris, ~1971

nickpasternack

I broke my leg this past winter pretty bad (speedskating, feel free to ask....) I had to have surgery and do extensive rehab. My therapist taught me some really valuable things that have helped my playing. She helped me figure out how to "get in the zone" more easily than ever before. She also Showed me that although my seating position whilst playing is correct, my posture was a bit off. Glad to say that Those little tweaks have really added more color to my tone. I'm just wondering, has anyone spoken to a "zen" master or tai chi specialist? I have always wondered what their take on the mental state of performance is.

__________________
Its not that i lack in intelligence, its that you lack in stupid.....

Schilke S42L 2005
1938 King cleveland
Bach Tr300(in process of heavily modding)
Conn circus bore cornet 1890 (restored)
J.W. pepper and son shepherds crook cornet 1895(ish)
Getzen Eterna Flugel

scottcgr

John Belushi, from watching a good deal of old SNL episodes-seeing someone who puts his whole self into everything he does, and always making himself worth watching is inspiring for anyone who does anything.

In the same strain Andy Kaufman has always been an important figure for me-that kind of iconoclasm is not easy to come by, and often highly undervalued.

wiseone2

Marcel Moyse gave masterclasses at Marlboro for the wind players. I was one of the few trumpet players who ventured into woodwind territory. Moyse was very complementary, he said to the flutists that he loved my vibrato. He mentioned the power of the trumpet. Music is about the tonal palette in the hands of the player, Moyse was a master at drawing unexpected things from the music and from the musicians.

I played once for Marcel Tabuteau. He paid me a great compliment. He said, "Young man, you make the trumpet almost a musical instrument."
Wilmer

__________________
Be sure Brain is engaged before putting Mouthpiece in gear.
S.Suark 1951

Brass crusader

I rowed competitively for the top high school crew program in the U.S, as well as in Canada. I was forced out due to an injury, but one of my coaches taught me many things. His motto was "go slow to go fast". this applied not only to the race technique of a program that is rigorous and demanding physically and mentally, but also as a way of approaching anything that needs work. Music is one of those things. by settling down and realxing, I'm able to think things through and be more analytical. By slowing down throughout the approaches to music, I'm much more flexible later on. I've learned many things from many different teachers, both musical and otherwise. Everything you learn will help you at some point along the road.

Cheers

__________________
Yamaha Xeno Custom w/ reverse leadpipe
Conn "Vintage One" C tpt, raw brass prototype
'47 Olds Super Recording tpt
'47 Olds Special tpt
'52 Olds Ambassador cornet
'67 Olds Special cornet
70's Yamaha 631 Flugel w/ Rose brass bell
70's Conn 17b Coprion director
'29 Martin Handcraft "The New Master"
'35 Conn 22B NY Symphony Special tpt
'83 Callet New York Super Large Bore tpt.
'35 Conn 32H tbone
'60's Couesnon Flugel
'70 Bach Stradivarius 37 in lacquer
Kanstul French Besson
Courtois 4-valve picc

ecarroll

Wilmer,

I had a lesson with Marcel Moyse at his house years ago. I played Honegger for him and two hours passed quickly. I'm afraid, however, that I couldn't understand a single word he said (other than hahehe) :)

...true story and you'll understand when I say that it was a fabulous lesson. I played my butt off for him, purely out of respect for the man as a musician.

Best,
EC

ecarroll

Persichetti once commented to me, after turning in a less than stellar 3 part invention assignment, that "as a composer I make a hell of a trumpet player".

The bastard.

Cheers,
EC

ecarroll

Scott,

...want to wrestle me during your lesson on Sunday?

Best,
EC (will let you win)

siarr

Nick,

Since you asked...I've been a Zen student since my early 20s, and have had retreats and interviews with some really well respected Zen masters (Roshis). One of the fascinating things I learned about Zen (which is, after all, just a word, not the thing itself) is that we musicians practice "Zen" every day of our lives. In very simple terms, Zen is a state of undivided total awareness of This Very Instant, as it is, with nothing extra added by our restless monkey brains. Sounds simple, but deceptively so! The old cliché, "be one with everything" is actually pretty accurate, up to a point. When you are "in the zone," whether playing, driving, playing chess, whatever, you are utterly one with what you are doing - there is no subject-object dichotomy (which is itself a creation of the discursive mind). You "forget" the self and "become" the music, etc. Of course, reaching this state is a long and laborious process, but practicing Zazen (Zen sitting) is simply another expression of our True Nature, which is essentially boundless. I'm sure most musicians have had experiences where they were so into the music that there was nothing but sheer bliss - no horn, no body, no notes on paper, just...!!!! This is what we Buddhists refer to as "Nirvana," i.e., the "extinction of self and other, the eternal consciousness of here and now.

Best,
Chas