Brass Musician | The online magazine for brass players

Improve Your Game – Trumpet, iBook version released

Danish TV trumpet celebrity Jan Glaesel's new "Improve Your Game" books are now available at the iTunes store! This is good news for those of us that enjoy using these books, but don't enjoy carrying around excess baggage. To download this modern 416 page method book, click here and press "View in iTunes" to get "Improve Your Game" from your local iTunes Store in your local currency. Instead of carrying a heavy hardcopy book - you can now just include it in your iBooks Library - great!! Improve your game on BrassMusician: here More info about the method: here Book in iTunes: here

Andy Scott shortlisted for British Composer Award

Andy Scott’s Spirit of Mingus has been shortlisted for a British Composer Award 2012 in the Wind Band or Brass Band category. The work beat off stiff competition from some of the UK’s leading contemporary composers to make it on to the shortlist of only three selected works revealed on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune on 25 October. Andy Scott has gained a strong international reputation for his innovative and powerful works for brass band over the last five years, success which is reflected in this nomination. Spirit of Mingus was commissioned by Foden’s Band in 2011 as the latest stage ...

Brass Clinic: Developing a Beautiful Brass Sound

This discussion was developed for horn students, but works well for all brass. Sound is the first thing we notice and the last thing we remember about any performance. Tone is the most important aspect of our playing. Every note we play demonstrates our sound, good or bad. Our sound is a critical aspect of our musical personality and fingerprint. The following ideas will help develop a beautiful brass sound. TONE CONCEPT We must have a very definite concept of a beautiful tone in order to produce a great sound. Conception of tone is a mental memory, aural visualization, imagination or recollection ...

Art and architecture inspire trumpeter / composer Erik Jekabson’s “Anti-mass”

Anti-Mass, a chamber-jazz concept album by trumpeter/composer Erik Jekabson, features his String-tet playing music inspired by artwork from the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco. The impressive list of sideman includes Dayna Stephens, tenor sax; Mads Tolling, violin; Charith Premawardhana, viola,; John Wiitala, bass; Smith Dobson on drums and vibraphone; and Jekabson on trumpet and flugelhorn. “I'm a trumpeter, composer and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area,” says Erik. “Back in 2007, I decided to put together a new ensemble, which I have more recently called my String-tet. I had just graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a Master's Degree in composition, and wanted to combine some of the ...

The HSU Brass Chamber Music Workshop Annual Composition Contest

Original previously unpublished works for brass 2013 Contest Information Composition should be an original, unpublished, multi-movement work for the following complement: brass septet (2221) – 2 trumpets (cornets, flugelhorns), 2 horns (in F), 2 trombones (bass clef), and tuba. You may write for trumpets in any key, but please include B-flat trumpet parts. The composition should be 8-10 minutes in length. Composer's original material written for another complement and adapted for brass is acceptable. First Prize: $2000 | Second Prize: $1000 | Third Prize: $500 The BCMW staff will judge all works. Winners’ works will be performed during the July 2013 Brass Chamber Music Workshop, held in ...

Lawrence University Student Wins International Tuba Competition

APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University student Trevor Litsey earned first-place honors in the recent International Tuba and Euphonium Association's "Mock Orchestra Audition Competition" held at the Brucknerhaus in Linz, Austria. A junior tuba performance major from Birmingham, Ala., Litsey was chosen the winner from among four finalists, earning a first-place prize of 600 euros. He later performed in concert with the North Austrian Wind Ensemble during the ITEA’s international conference. Litsey was one of 20 musicians invited to Austria from among nearly 60 applicants worldwide who auditioned originally via taped recording. The semifinals and finals were adjudicated by judges representing orchestras in ...

Improve Your Game – coming soon!

Over the past weeks, I've been helping Danish trumpet TV star Jan Glaesel get his new "IMPROVE YOUR GAME" method book series for trumpet ready for publication. This is a method like no other. With over 400 pages of new, intelligent and musical exercises, tunes, and real-world advice from a pro who's been in the trumpet game for over 40 years, "IMPROVE YOUR GAME" is a must have for any trumpet player - student, amateur or professional. Unlike other big trumpet instructional books, Glaesel's method is divided into 4 portable volumes of just over 100 pages each. This makes for ease of use ...

Music conservatories: How to get ahead as a freshman

5 tips for new music conservatory students Starting out as a 1st year or 'freshman' at a music conservatory or music department at a university can certainly be a daunting prospect. It may seem like preparing for and winning entrance auditions was a huge task, but now, the real work (and fun!) begins. More and more students are being accepted at music conservatories and university music departments around the world. So how can you get ahead as a freshman at your chosen school of music? Here are 5 tips: 1) Establish a routine As a freshman at a conservatory of music or university music ...