Category: Horn

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Being (or Feeling) Rushed Can Hurt Your Practice

Carrying on from my post a couple of weeks ago about finding time to practice (and just about anything else you need or want to do), this post from Bulletproof Musician illustrates some of the downsides of being rushed. The Iowa Gambling Task The article goes into more detail (definitely check it out), but basically…
Don’t want to practice? Listen to this instead.

If you’ve never heard of Seth Godin, and you’re in any type of entrepreneurial or customer-focused field (like musicians and teachers), you should check him out. His daily blog entries are both incredibly insightful and ridiculously short. Take this 7-sentence entry posted a few weeks ago as an example. Short, to-the-point, and incredibly insightful. A…
No time to practice? Here’s how to do it!

The past couple of years, I’ve been on a pretty big productivity kick. I’ve read books, blogs, downloaded apps, and watched Youtube videos, all in an effort to try to maximize my ability to do things quickly and effectively. I’m still pretty far from where I feel I should be – productivity wise – but…
Up Your Intonation Game With Drones

Playing in tune is one of the most fundamental skills for any wind or string player. However, in tune is not as simple as just getting a tuner needle to point straight up and setting your slides in one place. Different instrument tendencies, different tuning systems, temperature variations, and melodic vs. harmonic tuning, all affect how individual tones…
A New (To Me) Resource for Brass Players

I recently stumbled across TromboneTools.com, a website by David Vining. David Vining is the trombone professor at the University of Northern Arizona and a co-owner of Mountain Peak Music, as well as a member of the Flagstaff Symphony and a freelance trombonist. Although (obviously) geared toward trombone players, TromboneTools.com features lots of great resources and…
[UPDATE: Not Dead Yet] Moosewood Mouthpieces: Closed

Update: While it looks like Tom Greer (the creator of Moosewood Mouthpieces) may be backing out of the mouthpiece manufacturing game, Mark Atkinson and Atkinson Horns will be carrying on Tom’s fabulous line of mouthpieces. It looks like Tom’s excellent craftsmanship will continue to be available. Original Post: Some sad news for all sorts of…
Reducing Frustration and Rage Quitting During Practice

Like I mentioned in my post a few days ago about optimizing your practice sessions by using ship dates, the All-District auditions for Kentucky are happening over the next couple of weeks, with lots of playing tests and chair auditions occurring around the same time (and usually on the same music). Right after Thanksgiving, those students…
Practice Strategy: Use Ship Dates to Optimize Practice Time

It’s getting pretty close to All-District and All-State auditions here in Kentucky. That means that lots of students are starting to feel the pressure to get their audition music finalized. Of course, these students that are stressing most about the audition are the same students that have been practicing in an unorganized way (or not…
Electronic Music Readers – An Update

So, I’ve been using my Samsung Chromebook Pro as an electronic music reader for the past several months, and I thought a bit of an update from my original post was in order for those of you that may be curious or considering making the switch for yourself. Advantages Handy Music One the best things…
Electronic Music Readers – iPads, Android, and More

As both a classical musician and a fan of technology, I’m always looking for ways to combine these two to improve both my playing and my teaching. Since I destroyed a music bag last year by overloading it, I’ve been looking for a better way to carry around music for students without using a wheelbarrow…