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Wynton’s Twelve Ways to Practice
As a boy growing up in New Orleans, I remember my father, Ellis, a pianist, and his friends talking about “sheddin’.” When they got together, theyʼd say, “Man, you need to go shed,” or “I’ve been sheddin’ hard.” When I was around 11, I realized that sheddin’ meant getting to the woodshed – practicing. By…
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Halloween Jazz Tunes
If you have a jazz performance tonight, here’s a list of some Halloween Jazz tunes! Even if the sound of the tune isn’t scary or in a minor key, at least the titles are appropriate. There’s also 4 FREE Halloween jazz arrangements of very popular Halloween tunes you can download and use on your gig…
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Wycliffe Gordon Plunger Warm-Up
Here’s a great clip of Wycliffe Gordon demonstrating various warm-up techniques, sounds, rhythms, vocalizations and more. It’s not only an incredibly musical warm-up, but it inspires out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to making sounds on your own instrument – whatever it may be. Visit Wycliffe Gordon’s website for a ton of great music, videos, images,…
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How Jazz Makes Us Better Drivers
Jazz is a music of spirited, in-the-moment and consciously aware individuals making rapid fire decisions dedicated to creating a beautifully crafted and executed group performance. Jazz teaches and demands the ability to communicate sometimes opposing views in the spirit of discovering a soulful resolution. Jazz asks of the performers to effectively work together and to…
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Brazilian Chorinho
Do you know about the Brazilian choro? Choro, or chorinho, is an instrumental Brazilian popular music genre which originated in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Despite its name, the music often has a fast and happy rhythm. It is characterized by virtuosity, improvisation and subtle modulations, and is full of syncopation and counterpoint. It’s like…
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Miles Davis Practiced
Miles Davis’ music, his improvisations, his tone, his attacks on notes are all unique to Miles Davis. When you hear one note, you immediately know it is Miles. He’s gifted, some say a genius, some consider him a god, but what we often forget to remember is he worked extremely hard to achieve success on…
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Best Trumpet Books
Here’s a list of 25 of the Best Trumpet Books you need to become a great musician. Plus, there are free PDF downloads of Clarke studies, Charlier and Goldman – just look for the small links under the images. If there are other method books you think should be listed, let us know in the…
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Arnold Jacobs Almost Live
Brian Frederiksen, author of “Arnold Jacobs: Song and Wind“, has a lecture series showing incredible video of the great Arnold Jacobs giving masterclasses and discussing everything from breathing, embouchure, tongue position to performing. Arnold Jacobs Almost Live examines Mr. Jacobs’ extraordinary career and teachings. Below are a couple of videos Brian has offered freely for…
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Rex Richardson on Trumpet Flexibility
This is a brief instructional video for brass players with some suggestions for improving general trumpet flexibility. I love his concept of focusing on the sound you want and quality of execution you want and your body will figure out how to produce these results. He says to trust your ear and breathe vigorously, but…
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Paul Mayes plays Arban Study No.9
It always helps to hear a master play a piece and to hear where you want to be in your playing. No-one has tackled these 14 characteristic studies from the Arban more beautifully than Paul Mayes. His tone is brilliantly dark and his interpretations are extremely musical. Paul Mayes plays Arban Study No.9 in this…