I suppose we all take our instruments for granted a little bit, we pick them up and blow them and a nice noise comes out (most of the time anyway!). But how much do we consider the materials we are … Continue reading Material matters for brass instruments

I know it probably sounds a bit odd to talk about summer practice just as the holidays end, but it is actually a good time to reflect on what we do over the holidays. Most people take a break and … Continue reading Summer practice!

As musicians we spend a lot of time practicing and rehearsing with bands and groups to get the notes, rhythms, tuning and ensemble sounding good but is that enough for it to be a good performance? A technically good performance … Continue reading What makes a good performance?

It seems pretty obvious how important breathing is for human beings. The movement of air into the lungs and its absorption into the blood to feed the body’s cells, is a fundamental requisite for life. But it is also the … Continue reading The importance of breathing

Following on from the previous post I now offer Back to rehearsals part 2 and my experience of returning to rehearsals with Worcester Concert Brass. The band is very fortunate in that their rehearsal room is a very large studio … Continue reading Back to rehearsals – Part 2 – as an MD

I will confess to a little nervousness, after all who doesn’t feel a bit apprehensive after the year we’ve had? But fourteen months after the Southwest Regional Brass Band contest in Torquay I once again made the journey to the … Continue reading Back to rehearsals – Part 1 – as a player

Few things cause more confusion when playing a brass instrument than warming up. Why is that? It is probably because everybody has a different routine, if they have one at all, and everybody has a different view on what they … Continue reading How to warm up

It’s over a year now since we performed in public, the last time I performed was the South West Brass Band regional competition in Torquay in March 2020. Whether that should have gone ahead is a matter of debate, but … Continue reading Video as a performance medium

Following on from last weeks blog on mouthpieces I thought that an explanation of the vast range of brass mutes might be of interest. There are lots of different mutes out there, but there are four that are of particular … Continue reading What are all these mutes for?

Players all over the world are forever searching for the perfect mouthpiece, the one that gives them a great sound, easy to blow, has a wide range and keeps in tune. But does such a thing exist? Probably not, mouthpieces … Continue reading What difference does a mouthpiece make?