Getting a gig is just part of the music business. Keeping the gig and keeping the audience happy is also a part of it.

This Video Ebook is about the concept of AIS. Ass in the Seats.

The ability to keep the audience’s Ass in the Seats (AIS) might be the most important thing a player can learn.

We get very caught up in ME.
MY art,
MY music,
MY dream…

College to some extent even promotes this. However; there is a difference between college and the real world.

In college, your art doesn’t have to provide you with an income. In the real world; music is either a drain on your finances, or it makes money.

The difference between those 2 ideas is Ass In Seats.

Music is NOT about YOU or ME.
It IS about AIS
Ass In Seats.

This is a 14 page Multimedia Ebook with 26 minutes of Video of Andrea Tofanelli talking about how to please an audience.

I like this book. Everything is there to dissolve the common misconceptions that entrap the young musician into not seeing the reality of things in the music world. There was a point when I asked myself why I was on stage. My answer confirmed that it was time for me to take a break. When we start playing for ourselves and not caring what the audience is after then we are shooting ourself in the foot.
Gene Rountree

The post A.I.S.: Keep their ass in the seats appeared first on BBTrumpet.

This is a complete embouchure change shown on this video.
The student goes from a more open aperture embouchure to a Lip Curl Embouchure like the Stevens.

It features Eugene Rountree III and me (Clint ‘Pops’ McLaughlin)..

These clips are from REAL lessons.
You hear and see the playing problem
and I walk them through a new technique and then you hear and see the new result.

The clips in the multimedia book have NOT been edited so you see what works, when and how it works.

I learned the Stevens when I was in High School. My teacher had 80+ lessons from Roy Stevens.

I take Gene through a modified version That I have taught for 20+ years.

I teach them how to make curl and let them get a feel for how to set and relax.

Then I start using the curl and a lip buzz. The buzz is so that they can learn a repeatable set faster. Once we find the note that they buzz with the right amount of curl for them; then they can always find the set.

Then we have to learn control.

This shows you how to do those things. It has 40 minutes of video instruction and 9 pages of text instruction. All for 25 dollars.

Because it is downloaded and because not everyone has broadband; I made the videos low resolution. Here are 2 examples.

1st review.
Wow,
I just finished watching it and reading all of the text. This is pretty damn amazing. I haven’t played much lately from work and will be starting to more so this is going to help me! The last clips were pretty sweet too. You may have outdone yourself on this one. I think that it is well put together as I can see and hear the quality improve throughout the book. Watching this makes me want to come down some time for a week of intense training.

Trumpet Embouchure Technique – Lip Curl Method

There are a range of factors that affect the way a trumpet player’s sound is produced, his range and endurance throughout long periods of practice, but ultimately it all comes down to embouchure technique. One of the embouchure techniques that teachers and musicians have used and discussed is the lip curl. This technique focuses on how the lips naturally orient against the mouthpiece in support of a clear, concentrated tone.

Two commonly used techniques you may have heard of are the Stevens technique and the Costello technique.

The post Lip curl embouchure: The Stevens or Costello embouchures appeared first on BBTrumpet.

This is a complete Improv video course.

There are 2 hours and 45 minutes of video, 8 pages of instruction and 60 pages of music.

It features Keith Wood and me (Clint ‘Pops’ McLaughlin).

Getting from step A to step B without falling down can be difficult.

The 1st time someone is asked to improvise they are a little afraid. There is theory and then there is doing it. Usually players feel like they were thrown into the deep end of the pool.

After years and years of covering this with students, I finally decided to do a video course on getting from step A to step B without falling down. Keith and I both have tested the Video EBook with High School students, College students and Comeback Players. All groups were able to take the examples and learn from them.

We cover the topics that they simply don’t have time to do in a classroom. We take the time to not only show you patterns but to explain how they are constructed.

We discuss different aspects of improv, give an example and use it in a solo. We talk about the difference between real life applications and a college course.

We talk about melodies, rhythms, rests, whole notes, musicality and the difference between a so-so solo and something that people will remember you by.

We discuss real plans on what to do if you get lost and help you to create your own escape hatches. (These are phrases that help you get unstuck when playing.)

The video clips in this Ebook can help unlock the music that is locked up inside your head.

These are simple ideas that are easy to apply to your daily playing.

Many players get a college degree and still can’t do improv.

We talk about why that happens and how we need to key on some different ideas to jump start the improv process.

This shows you how to do those things. It has 2 hours and 45 minutes of video instruction and 8 pages of text instruction. There is also 60 pages of music. I wrote out 2 note patterns, 3 note patterns 4 note patterns, Major and minor Pentatonics and note patterns in the pentatonics. I did this in EVERY key so you have them handy.

Because it is downloaded and because not everyone has broadband; I made the videos low resolution.Here are 2 examples.

Note pattern form Clarke Technical Studies in Improv.

Pentatonic Scale in Improv.

Music Improvisation Course – Unlock Creativity

So many musicians can read notes and play exercises, yet only feel uncertain when asked to improvise. It’s less about random notes, and more about translating the ideas in your head to be manifested through sound. It helps players find that spontaneous connection and get confidence in it, refreshing the idea of creative playing.

If you learn a few fundamentals, musicians can start to more naturally express themselves when practicing or performing.

The post No Nonsense Improv: How to unlock the music inside your head appeared first on BBTrumpet.

This is a trumpet video course.
It has 15 video clips (1 hour 5 minutes) all in an Ebook and all delivered by email link instantly.

It features Keith Fiala (formerly with Maynard Ferguson) and Keith Wood..

The subject of High Gear Embouchure, embouchure shifts … often comes up in forums.
I decided to do a book to address this issue. The largest book so far had 5 pages of instructions, 2 pages of pictures and some music.

This book has over 1 hour of video showing you the main ways that pro players use the idea of High/Low Sets to play.

It gives all of the pros and cons to this idea and gives you the info you need to do it wisely.

Video about the book.

I know that many of you will say. “Pops you teach about Lip Setpoint (TM).”
I do teach that as a step to being a great player. It is vital to have a solid low gear for the high gear/low gear idea to work. You have to crawl, then walk and then run.

This book has written instruction from pros like Walt Johnson and Nick Drozdoff, who tell you how they do the high gear / low gear sets for playing.

This book could really set your playing on fire.

If you can’t play above the staff; this won’t help. You have to have enough range that the high and low gear have an overlap.
A range of High C will work fine. A range of top line F would fail badly. They would shift 50 times a song (25 going up and 25 coming down) because of how many notes F and above that they have to play. A range of High C they may only have to shift 2-4 times for the same song.
Using the shift 2-4 times would be easy but doing it 50 times a song and everyone would notice it.

Because it is downloaded and because not everyone has broadband; I made the videos low resolution. Here are some examples of them. These have been shortened.

Trumpet Practice Techniques – High Gear and Low Gear

All trumpet players develop habits in their practice, but not all practice methods yield equivalent outcomes. Which is why I went back and corrected to 1st gear, 5th gear practice. I learned that knowing how to move between those two approaches can make practice times much more effective and less exhausting.

Rather than practice everything at a breakneck pace, players learn to balance the intensity with control.

The post High Gear / Low Gear: What gear do you use? appeared first on BBTrumpet.

This is part 5 of my complete trumpet video course series.

It features Andrea Tofanelli, Keith Wood, Rex Merriweather, Keith Fiala and Greg Kuehn.

This Multi-Media work is the best trumpet course I have ever seen. I started this project 6 years before I finished it. (A few of the clips are from 2004 and the latest clips are from 2010) I kept changing things to make the ideas easier to learn.

These clips are from REAL lessons.
You hear and see the playing problem
and I walk them through a new technique and then you hear and see the new result.

The clips in the multimedia book have NOT been edited so you see what works, when and how it works.

Part 5 covers:

• Practice
• Pencil exercise
• Mouthpiece pressure
• Sound models
• Mental problems concerning range
• How to tear down your brick wall

This covers a lot of things that every player wonders about. Every want to reduce pressure but wondered how? Or wanted to change your sound but couldn’t?

This shows you how to do those things. It has 53 minutes of video instruction and 4 pages of text instruction.

Trumpet Range Exercises – Be Your Own Teacher

And many trumpet players reach a point where extending their range becomes a chief aim. Singing higher notes is thrilling, but a lot of musicians resort to excessive pressure or tension trying to force something out. The Be Your Own Teacher approach emphasizes developing range progressively through better practice habits and greater focus on technique.

Instead of pressing increasingly harder, players learn to trust airflow, balance and control.

The post Be your own teacher: Part 5 – Practice, pressure and range appeared first on BBTrumpet.

This is part 4 of my complete trumpet video course series.

It features Andrea Tofanelli, Keith Wood, Rex Merriweather, Keith Fiala and Greg Kuehn.

This Multi-Media work is the best trumpet course I have ever seen. I started this project 6 years before I finished it. (A few of the clips are from 2004 and the latest clips are from 2010) I kept changing things to make the ideas easier to learn.

These clips are from REAL lessons.
You hear and see the playing problem
and I walk them through a new technique and then you hear and see the new result.

The clips in the multimedia book have NOT been edited so you see what works, when and how it works.

Part 4 covers:

• Lip buzzing to correct open embouchures
• Learning to set an embouchure
• Mouthpiece buzzing for accuracy
• Improving tone and resonance FAST
• The aperture tunnel (TM).

Buzzing has a place for all players BUT there are several ways to do it. Each way corrects a different issue. It is used to learn a new embouchure, or work note placement, tone…

This guides you through the process. It has 21 minutes of video instruction and 4 pages of written instruction.

Trumpet Mouthpiece Buzzing – Aperture Tunnel

Buzzing your lips on the mouthpiece is one of the simplest, but most powerful ways to learn how sound begins on trumpet. When players buzz accurately, the lips vibrate unimpeded as air flows effortlessly through the mouthpiece. Musicians also need to visualize how this airflow travels between the lips, and into the instrument, and hopefully the concept of the aperture tunnel can help them with that.

Students who practice on this path are able to develop better tone and control overall!

The post Be your own teacher: Part 4 – Buzzing and the aperture tunnel appeared first on BBTrumpet.

This is part 3 of my complete trumpet video course series.

It features Andrea Tofanelli, Keith Wood, Rex Merriweather, Keith Fiala and Greg Kuehn.

This Multi-Media work is the best trumpet course I have ever seen. I started this project 6 years before I finished it. (A few of the clips are from 2004 and the latest clips are from 2010) I kept changing things to make the ideas easier to learn.

These clips are from REAL lessons.
You hear and see the playing problem
and I walk them through a new technique and then you hear and see the new result.

The clips in the multimedia book have NOT been edited so you see what works, when and how it works.

Part 3 covers:

• Lip Setpoint (TM)
• Making the high and low range connect
• Breath support for every register

The reason why a players range is not always the same is because they don’t always set the same way. Start above the staff and the high notes are good but the low ones are bad. Start below the staff and the low notes are good but the high ones are bad.

The reason is that you use different embouchure sets.

This guides you through the problem and solves it. It has 46 minutes of video instruction and 4 pages of text instruction.

Trumpet Embouchure Technique – Be Your Own Teacher

For trumpet players, embouchure — how the lips interact with the mouthpiece — is a primary aspect of sound production. Even minor adjustments in lip position can impact tone, endurance and general control. A lip set point is the area range of where a player’s lips naturally function and vibrate best, so the player can blow into their instrument with more efficiency and consistency.

This technique encourages musicians to see what the lips can do as they practice, rather than forcing a muscle that refuses to move.

The post Be your own teacher: Part 3 – Lip setpoint appeared first on BBTrumpet.

The post Be your own teacher: Part 2 – Tongue arch appeared first on BBTrumpet.

This is part 1 of my complete trumpet video course series.

It features Andrea Tofanelli, Keith Wood, Rex Merriweather, Keith Fiala and Greg Kuehn.

This Multi-Media work is the best trumpet course I have ever seen. I started this project 6 years before I finished it. (A few of the clips are from 2004 and the latest clips are from 2010) I kept changing things to make the ideas easier to learn.

These clips are from REAL lessons.
You hear and see the playing problem
and I walk them through a new technique and then you hear and see the new result.

The clips in the multimedia book have NOT been edited so you see what works, when and how it works.

Part 1 covers:

• Is about HOW our problems started
• How to break the tension habit
• Using a didgeridoo or tuba mouthpiece to relax
• Find your relaxed facial set
• Learning to get around on the trumpet relaxed

Tension is the biggest factor in poor endurance and weak sound in trumpet playing. We all start as kids by using tension (tighten up). But as we develop nobody helps us replace the habit with one that works well for the longer playing demands and higher range.

This video book does that. There are 14 minutes of video lessons, 15 minutes of audio lessons and 12 pages of written instruction that guide you through the process of breaking excess tension.

Trumpet Relaxation Techniques – Be Your Own Teacher

Many trumpet players strive to broaden their range and increase power, only to inadvertently build tension that restricts the expansion. Stiff shoulders, tight breath, or too much mouthpiece pressure register quickly on tone and endurance. Learning how to do nothing when playing is one of the most useful abilities a musician can acquire.

The post Be your own teacher: Part 1 – Relax tension appeared first on BBTrumpet.

This is a complete trumpet course.

It has 70 video clips (3 hours an 12 minutes of video), some audio clips, written music, all in an Ebook and all delivered by email link instantly.

It features Andrea Tofanelli, Keith Wood, Rex Merriweather, Keith Fiala and Greg Kuehn.

365 lessons a year for life.

That was my idea behind doing by “Be Your Own Teacher” video course. It has 70 video clips and you could have lessons every day, forever.

There is a great benefit from repetition. We absorb and incorporate ideas incrementally. We key in on pieces of the process and add to it every time we go over the topic again.

Because of this; a 1 time lesson doesn’t get the results that multiple lessons get. A video series is actually multiple lessons. Also with a video you have the ability to watch it hundreds of times; if needed.

You can watch me talk a student through learning tongue arch and then play exercises with the video. You can practice your lips slurs with Keith Fiala.

You can watch me talk about breath support and then play exercises with Andrea Tofanelli. (OK Andrea takes it up some. LOL)

Many of my long time students have this EBook and they say it is like taking lessons but you can do them over and over to get all of the info.

How it works and what it is.

This Multi-Media work is the best trumpet course I have ever seen. I started this project 6 years before I finished it.  A few of the clips are from 2004 and the latest clips are from 2010. I kept changing things to make the ideas easier to learn.

These clips are from REAL lessons.
You hear and see the playing problem
and I walk them through a new technique and then you hear and see the new result.

The clips in the multimedia book have NOT been edited so you see what works, when and how it works. With the music in the book you can work on some the same basic exercises.

It covers topics like:

• Lip Setpoint (TM)
• Aperture Tunnel (TM)
• Relaxing
• Tension
• Tongue arch
• Breath Support
• Lip Buzzing
• Mouthpiece Buzzing
• Pressure
• Sound Models
• Resonance
• Flexibility
• Range
• Accuracy
• Endurance
• And others

There is something in this Video Ebook for everyone at every playing level.

Because it is downloaded and because not everyone has broadband; I made the videos low resolution. Here are some examples of them. These have been shortened.

There is a LOT more of this but here is a short example of this clip working on the 2nd Brandenburg.

Hey Pops,
EXCELLENT!
Wow it’s like having a lesson with you. Good idea for visual folks like me. I had no issues in downloading. I learned so much my head was spinning.

Trumpet Embouchure Correction – Video Course

A lot of trumpet players seem to hit an impasse at some point. Usually the problem is not practice time but embouchure habits that formed early in their playing. Minor inefficiencies in lip placement, airflow or mouthpiece pressure can have a great impact on tone, endurance and range. This video course will help players identify those habits and develop their embouchure over time with guided instruction.

By filming demonstrations step by step, the lessons help visualize how subtle changes lead to significant improvements in sound and control.

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