About playingbrass.com
PlayingBrass Website: A Deep Dive into Brass Playing Resources
Overall Theme: The website serves as a comprehensive resource hub for brass instrument players of all levels, from beginners to seasoned musicians. It offers practical advice, downloadable resources, and insightful articles covering various aspects of brass playing.
Key Content Categories & Highlights:
Instrument-Specific Guidance:
- Trombone focus: the site has a particular emphasis on the trombone, with articles such as Trombone Slide Positions: Getting the Coordination Right, Demystifying Slide Positions for Double Trigger Trombones and Trombone Trigger.
- Bass trombone: Bass Trombone: How Is It Different? explores what makes the bass trombone unique, and Role of the Bass Trombone in a Big Band covers its job in a big band.
Technical Aspects of Playing:
- Mouthpiece selection: The Mouthpiece Maze explains how the mouthpiece shapes your sound, and why trying too many can lead to confusion and frustration.
- Playing techniques: Lip Trills, Playing Low Notes and Playing High Notes give practical tips and exercises for improving technique.
- Breathing: The Importance of Proper Breathing Techniques for Brass Players covers the foundation of every good brass sound.
- Articulation and tone: Using Articulation to Shape Sound and Develop Your Own Sound show how these shape your musicality.
Performance & Practice:
- Overcoming stage fright: How to Overcome Stage Fright offers strategies for managing performance anxiety.
- Audition preparation: Mastering the Audition: A Comprehensive Guide helps musicians prepare for auditions.
- Effective practice: Practice Time and Practice Imperfectly focus on quality over quantity and getting the most from your practice time.
- Sight-reading: The Importance of Sight-Reading Well breaks down the skills behind confident sight-reading.
Music Education & Wellbeing:
- Benefits of music education: The Benefits of Music Education for Children: A Research-Based Insight looks at the research on how music helps children develop.
- Psychological benefits: The Psychological Benefits of Playing Brass Instruments explores the often-overlooked mental health benefits of playing.
- Ageing and playing: Ageing Effects on Brass Players: Navigating the Golden Years addresses the challenges older players face, and how to keep playing well.
Additional Resources & Information:
- Free downloads: the free How to Play Trombone ebook and the free Lesson and Practice Journal. You can also download the complete Arban’s Method free.
- Instrument care: Care of Your Instrument gives practical advice on keeping your instrument in good condition.
- Brass instrument history: Evolution of Brass Instruments gives a historical overview of how brass instruments developed.
- Music and AI: How AI Is Impacting the Music Industry looks at how artificial intelligence is changing the music industry.
Target Audience:
The website caters to a broad audience, including:
- Aspiring and current brass players seeking to improve their technique, musicality, and performance skills.
- Parents and educators looking for resources and guidance to support young musicians.
- Individuals interested in the broader benefits and historical context of playing brass instruments.
Overall Impression:
“Playing Brass” provides a valuable and easily accessible collection of resources for the brass playing community. The website’s strength lies in its blend of practical advice, technical insights, and attention to the multifaceted aspects of musicianship, including performance anxiety, practice strategies, and the overall well-being of musicians.
About Me
I began playing brass instruments at the age of 11 in Sydney, Australia. It was completely unplanned. Bands didn’t exist in my school but my mother thought it would be a good idea for me to join an adult brass band since my cousin was already playing cornet with them. They needed a euphonium player, so that’s what I was given to play. It felt enormous compared to me.
Most of my initial learning was via osmosis – watching experienced players around me cringe as I stumbled through various valve combinations on my quest for notes that would fit with the piece the rest of the band was playing. By the time I found them, the rest of the band had usually moved on to the next bar. The chicken scratches on the paper in front of me weren’t much help.
A year passed and I switched to an old discarded trombone in the band closet. (Kids these days have no appreciation!) I stuck with trombone and under the guidance of some top teachers I began to improve. I quickly fell in love with the sound and characteristics of the trombone, buying up as many ‘trombone’ recordings as I could.
At the age of 16, I became a founding member of the Young Northside Big Band which was inspired by the enormously popular Daly-Wilson Big Band – run by Warren Daly and Ed Wilson. The highlight of my time with the Northside band was performing at the 1979 Monterey Jazz Festival in the US.
On a visit to Australia, we accosted Count Basie backstage at the Sydney Opera House and thrust our recently recorded album, “Quiet Breaker”, into his hands. He graciously listened to it and arranged for us to perform at the famous jazz festival.
It was there that we met and watched all the jazz greats – Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Woody Herman – they were all there. And we were on the same program! Little did they suspect; we had brought along our secret weapon – James Morrison!
I went on to study trombone at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as part of the Jazz Diploma course run by Don Burrows and was soon earning a respectable living as a professional musician – teaching and playing music. In those days, the clubs reigned supreme and their micro economy supported an ecosystem of performers who required backing bands – so there was plenty of work. Musical stage shows, such as “Cats” and “They’re Playing My Song” provided me with additional paid performing opportunities.
In my early 20’s, Warren Daly invited me to play in his big band. I spent 5 years playing and touring with his band, playing lead trombone. This was one of my childhood ambitions realised.
Fast-forward 30 years and I am still actively playing euphonium, trombone and more recently, bass trombone (yes, it’s a different beast to a tenor trombone and it requires taming) – and I’m still loving it!
Over the years I tutored many young players, in the hope that some of my experience would be useful to them as they embarked on their own journey.
Being able to play music is a skill that the player will appreciate throughout life.
Start early, start right and your early commitment will soon bring great enjoyment and continue to deliver rewards well into your twilight years.
Contact
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