Category Archives: Uncategorized

This year I attended my first International Trumpet Guild conference, which was held in Salt Lake City in late May. This was the 49th annual conference, which is one shy of what I can only imagine will be a huge anniversary bash, but it was a good idea in retrospect to go to a slightlyContinue reading “My Time at the ITG 2025 Conference”

One thing I’ve noticed about music students that was probably always true, but seems extra evident in the modern era, is that most students don’t engage with the styles of music they practice away from the instrument. When I ask my trumpet students about their favourite artists, songs, and genres, I almost always get answersContinue reading “30 Trumpet Players to Listen To”

When I was in my fourth and final year of a general arts degree, which I had structured to basically be a less-intense Musicology major, I decided however foolishly that I wanted to pivot for grad school and shift my focus to Performance. I took an extra year between programmes, signing up as a non-degreeContinue reading “Endurance, Efficiency, Equipment”

Note from the author: I originally wrote this in the summer of 2022, and for some reason or another, I never got around to publishing it. I found this on my computer recently, and wasn’t going to bother posting it as it’s fairly outdated, but I decided to for two reasons: 1) because I thoughtContinue reading “Responding to some Published Problem Takes in Classical Music”

(This article is a companion to my in-class lecture on the trumpet’s usage in the Western classical tradition, but it can be enjoyed on its own just fine!) The trumpet is a very old instrument, with a fascinating history in the Western classical tradition. The oldest surviving trumpets are currently held in the Cairo MuseumContinue reading “The Trumpet’s History in Western Classical Music”

This post is written as a playlist for my younger students, especially those with little or no background in classical music or jazz. The tone’s a little lighter as a result, but hopefully no less informative! Welcome to the world of brass music! If you’re here, that probably means you’re learning a brass instrument (andContinue reading “The Wide and Wonderful World of Trumpet Music”

When you first start to learn the rudiments of music theory, everything seems pretty cut and dry. Less of music theory, and more of music fact. C to E is always a major third, G minor always has two flats, there are four dotted quarter notes in a bar of 12/8. When you get toContinue reading “Three Of My Favourite Topics In Music Theory Right Now”

This is the first entry in a multi-part series about how to use music theory as a performer. Links to future articles will be included here as they are published. Two of the most common sayings in our brass studio, that are intrinsically linked, are “if you can say it, you can play it” andContinue reading “How Solfege Makes You a Better Sightreader (And a Better Musician!)”