My 7th student of this school year is a fourth grader in an alternative elementary school in Seattle. The Band meets only one day a week, and the Band Director is already telling him to play ahead of the rest of the band in the school music workbook. There are no formal homework assignments, yet he sits down and practices every week just for the fun of it. He likes trumpet! We began his private lessons today. His tone is very solid, and his articulation is clean. These techniques seem to come naturally to him. What more could a trumpet instructor ask for?–a motivated, talented student! It will be my pleasure to help him become his best. I’m a lucky man.
Posts Tagged ‘trumpet’
7th Trumpet Student Wants to Learn Faster Than the Band
Posted by glennled on April 19, 2010
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 7th, articulation, band, elementary, lessons, school, tone, trumpet | 4 Comments »
Kamiakin Junior High School Band Concert in Kirkland
Posted by glennled on February 19, 2010
Last night, I attended an excellent band concert at Kamiakin Junior High School in Kirkland, where one of my 6th grade students plays trumpet in the Intermediate Band. What fun! First came the Beginning Band (80 students), then the Intermediate Band (~50), then the Symphonic Band, and finally the 8th Grade Band–four bands! They were all well-rehearsed and well-behaved. And they played well! All totaled, there must have been about 35-40 young trumpeters on stage. The stands were filled with about 300-400 parents, siblings, grandparents and other relatives, friends, and other interested parties like me. Soloists, duets, and trios also played and were given medals for doing so. It’s one of the strongest band programs I have seen and is a great credit to the enthusiastic, energetic, pleasant, and obviously competent Band Director. Congratulations!
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: band, concert, director, Eastside, Jr. High, trumpet, trumpeters | 4 Comments »
Sixth Student–Man from New York!
Posted by glennled on January 7, 2010
Last weekend, J.S. found me on www.TeachStreet.com and enrolled in my class for private trumpet lessons. It turned out that during the holidays he was in New York, where he was raised, visiting his parents who are in their 80’s. A child of the 1960’s, he grew up listening to Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass, and he’s always liked mariachi music. A jazz song, “Minnie the Moocher,” featuring a muted trumpet, is a big favorite of his–it’s the “He-De-Ho” song by Cab Calloway, first recorded in 1931 during the Great Depression–very fun to listen to and sing along with. Try it (free) at www.lala.com. It’s a good example of why I claim that the trumpet is the most expressive of all brass instruments.
J.S. always wanted to play an instrument. Flute, guitar and trumpet appealed most to him. Now, at age 49, he’s making the time and effort to do it–bully-bully for him! And naturally, the trumpet stood the tests of time and imagination and won out. 😉
When he returned to Seattle this week, where he and his wife have lived downtown almost six years, we got together and talked things over. Next week, we start working on the horn and his dream. It’s his goal to play for his parents when he returns to New York for another visit next summer. We’ll see if an adult man can learn trumpet faster than my four other beginning students who are 10 to 12 years old. By next July, if we were to unite them all to form a trumpet quintet, who would be sitting first chair? We’ll see. Now really, they’re only in competition in my own head. It’s a fun mind-game for me. “Become your BEST!” is my slogan. That’s really what I want for every student. And now I want to recruit two more–of any age, at any skill level.
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: Cab Calloway, Herb Alpert, lala.com, lessons, mariachi, Minnie the Moocher, New York, sixth, TeachStreet, Tijuana Brass, trumpet | Leave a Comment »
Kirkland Girl Loves Trumpet!
Posted by glennled on November 25, 2009
Yesterday, I met my 5th new student of this school year for our first lesson–“It’s a Girl!” A 6th grader, she’s kinda shy but wants to improve her trumpet playing, so…she’s having to get used to me! 😀 Last year, she had a few lessons from another instructor, but their schedules didn’t work out. The instructor teaches only at a studio, and it proved too difficult for her to make it to his location reliably. So now I’m going to her home in Kirkland immediately following my lesson with my Bothell student. That’s an easy hop and a skip–works well for both of us. Her mom, an attorney, says she likes playing trumpet, is sticking with it, and wants to get better. So here we go!
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 5th, 6th, attorney, Bothell, Kirkland, lesson, shy, studio, trumpet | 4 Comments »
Sweet Tones from 6th Grader
Posted by glennled on November 18, 2009
This afternoon during our first private trumpet lesson, I heard my newest student, the 4th of this school year, play the sweetest tones on his trumpet! Trouble is, he cannot yet read music fluently. He’s sort of stuck at that stage where he still has to think about the name of each note and then recall the fingering. But when he finally blows, his attack is clean and his tone is big, solid, full, round and fat! It’s so natural to him.
He’s been thrown into a 6th grade band class, handed a band book, and told to go learn to play Exercise __ or Song __ on pages __ with little or no guidance or instruction about the horn and technique. It’s forced “do it yourself” learning. Well, with this teaching approach, what results does the band director at this north Seattle elementary school expect?! Struggles, frustration, and a probable band drop-out someday.
It is my pleasure to help this gentle boy overcome these obstacles. Let’s give the kid some successes! and who knows? maybe we’ll be listening to him play in the jazz, concert and marching bands soon…maybe in the symphony or opera orchestras someday…maybe on some CDs or in the movies when he’s that good. Let him dream! Help him dream! Help him achieve his potential. Or maybe he’ll simply enjoy playing in the school band with his friends for a few years and never take it any further…that’s fine, too. You find good people in bands. Good memories accumulate with the many events, and lifetime friendships often form–even marriages!
Thanks to his Mom for giving me the opportunity to help him come to love music and the trumpet. Let’s motivate him to practice more. Let’s have fun while we work hard. Let’s see what he can do, if he really wants to.
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 4th, 6th, attack, band, CDs, concert, director, dream, fingering, grade, grader, jazz, lesson, marching, movies, opera, orchestra, sweet, sweetest, symphony, technique, tone, trumpet | 2 Comments »
11-Year-Old Boy Starts Fast!
Posted by glennled on November 16, 2009
My 3rd student of the new school year got a late start—he just recently signed up for band class, and the other trumpeters have about a two-month head start! They’re all in 6th grade at the same elementary school between Woodinville and Snohomish, so he’s had to get off to a fast start to chase down the leaders. He’s taking weekly one-hour trumpet lessons (instead of half-hour). He’s got the family support, he’s got the interest, he’s got the desire, he’s a quick learner, and he’s a hard worker. If he were a racehorse, I’d say those other horses better watch out! This steed is gaining ground with every stride.
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 3rd, 6th, band, elementary, lessons, racehorse, school, Snohomish, steed, trumpet, trumpeters, Woodinville | Leave a Comment »
New Student from Bothell
Posted by glennled on October 5, 2009
My 2nd new trumpet student of the 2009 school year commenced lessons with me this month. He’s a 9th grader in middle school, where he’s already an award-winning musician among his peers, and yet he has never had a private lesson until now. His prime interest is jazz. I can tell he’s going to go far!–just the kind of motivated, talented student every instructor loves to have.
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 2nd, 9th, Bothell, jazz, lessons, middle school, trumpet | Leave a Comment »
Mills Music Store, Lynnwood
Posted by glennled on September 9, 2009
Recently, I met the highly personable, enthusiastic Dan Niven, manager of the Mills Music Store in Lynnwood. Turns out that he plays trombone in the Husky Alumni Band at UW football games. It’s organized by the Husky Marching Band Alumni Association (HMBAA), www.hmbaa.org. I’m a “Hum’-ba” member, too, and am looking forward to playing at the Arizona game at Husky Stadium on 10 October. “See you at the Horseshoe!” he says to me. At the store, there are studios where instructors teach private lessons. For those students who prefer it, we can meet there for our sessions. It is located at 20505 Highway 99 (east side of the road), telephone 425-775-6500. Great place to rent or buy your instrument, music books, supplies and accessories. It’s one of 11 Mills Music stores. Try them!
Posted in HMBAA - Husky Alumni Band | Tagged: 99, Arizona, band, cornet, Dan, football, games, HMBAA, horseshoe, Husky, instruction, lessons, Lynnwood, marching, Mills, music, Niven, private, stadium, store, studio, trumpet, UW | 2 Comments »
School’s Almost Here–Get Ready!
Posted by glennled on August 14, 2009
My first new student for the new school year lives in Ballard and is already on the horn, taking weekly lessons, practicing and having fun learning new techniques and songs! He’s gonna be good, if he keeps it up. He’s a quick learner, has a natural emboucher, likes music, is curious about how his cornet works and should be maintained, and is excited about playing it. Watch out, he’s improving fast!
Remember: wherever you are on the learning curve, you can always improve, and with help, you can improve faster than trying to do it alone. The better you are, the more fun it is. The composers wrote the music, your horn can perform it…now, can you play it? Say yes!
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: Ballard, cornet, first, instruction, lessons, music, school, student, trumpet | Leave a Comment »
Hello, World!
Posted by glennled on February 16, 2009
Hi! Welcome to Glenn’s blog about gaining control over your trumpet or cornet…making it do the things you want it to do, making it sound the way you want it to sound, making it play as it is meant to be played. We already know the horn can do it, so we only have to train the player. Be a player! Become your best! Let’s mix in some good work with some fun music. Let’s get together and get started.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: blog, cornet, horn, lessons, music, player, sound, trumpet | Leave a Comment »
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 