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The Brass Junkies

The Brass Junkies, hosted by former Boston Brass tuba player Andrew Hitz and a rotating cast of characters, features interviews with the best and brightest brass players in the world. Subject matter includes everything from the serious to the ridiculous, just like the music business.
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Now displaying: March, 2020
Mar 31, 2020
TBJ134: Rex Martin on online lessons, Arnold Jacobs and tuba mute hatred. Master pedagogue (and Andrew's former teacher) and tuba soloist Rex Martin shares stories and insights with Andrew & Lance from his new home in Bern, Switzerland.
 
From his Wikipedia Page:
 
Rex Martin is one of the world's virtuoso tuba players, appearing on over 70 symphony orchestra recordings. He primarily studied under Edward Livingston and Arnold Jacobs, though he also took lessons with Edward Kleinhammer.
 
Martin is Professor of Tuba at the Bern University of the Arts in Bern, Switzerland, and Professor of Music Emeritus at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
 
He was raised in Stronghurst, Illinois and graduated from high school in Chillicothe, Illinois. He married Margreth Trümpi of Ennenda, Switzerland in 1989.
 
In this fun and lively discussion, we cover:
  • Andrew's fear of a future grade
  • The bursar's office
  • Phish tickets
  • Retirement from Northwestern
  • Wife/Life in Bern, Switzerland
  •  Teaching at the Bern University of the Arts
  • Joining faculty at the Royal Academy in London (Distinguished International Professor of Brass)
  • Dean Martin
  • Gold Diggers
  • Andrew late for his lesson story
  • Rex hates lateness
  • Rex and Arnold Jacobs
  • Studying with Ed Livingston at Illinois State
  • "But let's work on your tone"
  • The disconnect between Arnold Jacob's legend and Rex's experience
  • High standards and psychology
  • Developing the ability to hear low pitches
  • The influence of Bud Herseth and Ed Kleinhammer
  • "Tonight you can have as many beers as you want!"
  • Andrew playing for Mallorie Thompson
  • Ed Livingston's influence
  • Andrew hearing Rex playing the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto
  • Muted tuba
  • Mean Rex
  • Mike Roylance international online tuba hang
  • Teaching online (what works and what doesn't)
  • Gr8
  • In online lessons, the use of scales and deep listening assignments
  • Knuckleheads practicing on Facebook
  • Tokyo 7-11 and Tom Waits
  • Jen Snow
  • Keeping time as a tuba player

Want to help the show? Here are some ways:

Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.

 
 
Mar 17, 2020

TBJ133: Christopher Bill on his amazing and amazingly powerful guide to remote music education. And bidets. Christopher is back for another interview with a deep dive discussion of how to learn and teach in the age of social isolation.

To save you some scrolling, here's a link to the oft-mentioned documents:

From his bio:

Christopher is best known as the most subscribed brass musician on YouTube. He’s a trombonist, singer, and multi-instrumentalist based outside of NYC.

Christopher’s YouTube Channel of all-trombone arrangements of popular songs has been gaining popularity since the spring of 2014 when a cover of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” where Christopher uses a looping station to compose the song on the spot went viral. His videos have amassed over 35 million views and a following of over 250,000 subscribers. In April of 2014, Christopher independently released his first cover album, Breakthrough, which was followed by his Christmas album, Smiling’s My Favorite. More recently, Christopher released an original pop album called Half Man, Half Machine which mixes acoustic sounds with electronic instruments. He is the Youth Workshop Coordinator of the International Trombone Festival and a marketing consultant for the International Trombone Association. In 2018, his collaboration with the International Trombone Festival of Bohemian Rhapsody went viral.

He has been playing piano since he was 6 years old, trombone since he was 10, and he has been composing/arranging since he was 12. Christopher has a Bachelor of Music for classical trombone performance from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music in New York. While at the conservatory he studied with critically acclaimed trombonists Weston Sprott (Metropolitan Opera), Denson Paul-Pollard (Metropolitan Opera), John Fedchock (Grammy Nominated Jazz Trombonist), and the absolutely incomparable Timothy Albright (Atlantic Brass Quintet).

Christopher enjoys a busy schedule of performances, clinics, and masterclasses. In addition to producing a new video every Saturday for his YouTube Channel, he often performs at festivals such as the American Trombone Workshop, Midwest Clinic, Texas Bandmasters Association, Con Brio Festivals, Conn-Selmer Institute, Western International Band Clinic, TMEA, the NAMM Show, and the International Trombone Festival.

In this fun and lively discussion, we cover:

  • Herds of Antelope
  • 5 year olds
  • Impact of the virus on our lives
  • Impact of the virus on music careers
  • Bidet
  • 2pm alarms
  • Recording an album in Arizona
  • Chris' guide to remote music education
  • How it came about
  • Sleep schedules
  • How his document could change (our corner of) the world
  • Trombone Overdub Death Match: Jim Nova vs. Christopher Bill
  • The Milli Vanilli of trombone
  • Breakdown of the concepts from the document
  • Online lessons
  • Assessment
  • Masterclasses
  • Jam of the week/etude of the week
  • Recording assignments
  • Research projects
  • Virtual recitals
  • Watch parties
  • Social media challenges
  • Virtual choir recording projects
  • Warmups
  • Pushups
  • Broken fingers
  • Work smart and take care of yourself

LINKS

Want to help the show? Here are some ways:

Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.

Mar 3, 2020

TBJ132: Phil Snedecor on diagnosing playing issues, his new publications and the challenges of small-holed instruments. Phil returns to the show to share even more wisdom and shares takeaways from his studies with Arnold Jacobs.

From his bio:

Phil Snedecor is Associate Professor of Trumpet at the Hartt School (of the University of Hartford) in Hartford, CT, and a former faculty member at The Peabody Conservatory, George Mason University and at Towson University. He has written a series of brass etude books that are required repertoire at many colleges and conservatories. His arrangements and compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Phil attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he received the prestigious Performers Certificate and was a member of the premiere brass quintet, the Canterbury Brass. While earning his degrees in trumpet performance and literature, he also studied arranging and composition with Professor Rayburn Wright, formerly arranger for Radio City Music Hall. Mr. Snedecor is a former member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and has held one-year positions with the National Symphony, the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and the Baltimore Opera. He is Principal Trumpet in the Harrisburg (PA) Symphony Orchestra and former Co-Principal Trumpet in the Concert Artists of Baltimore.  Mr. Snedecor has performed and toured throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

In 1993 Mr. Snedecor and National Symphony Principal Trombonist Milton Stevens co-founded The Washington Symphonic Brass, a 17-piece professional brass ensemble.  They perform regularly for the Washington National Cathedral, St. Matthew’s Cathedral, the Basilica at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and with the Washington Choral Arts Society at the Kennedy Center. They were the official instrumental ensemble for the Papal visit of 2008 in Washington DC and are heard regularly in their own concert series in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Their critically acclaimed CDs are available on the Summit and Warner Classics labels. Phil’s innovative programming and arranging for the WSB has led to several guest conductor appearances, most recently with the River City Brass Band (Pittsburgh) and the Breckenridge (CO) Brass.

As a show player, he has performed in the touring productions of Guys & Dolls, Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, Evita and West Side Story. He has recorded under the RCA, CBS, Gothic, Koss, and Summit labels. Phil’s solo CDs, The Lyrical Trumpet I and II are also available on the Summit Label.

In 2012, Mr. Snedecor founded the DC Pops Orchestra, a 30-piece ensemble featuring some of the best Jazz and crossover artists in the region. This group has provided music for the elite of Washington in prestigious venues such as the National Building Museum and Mellon Auditorium.

In this fun and lively discussion, we cover:

  • #picklesforjeff
  • Phil's triumphant return
  • His gig at Hartt
  • Hearing auditions
  • Diagnosing problems with new students
  • Studying with Arnold Jacobs
  • Helping students become more efficient
  • Effortless playing
  • Translating Jacobs' ideas to trumpet playing
  • Small-holed instruments
  • Efficiency vs. effort
  • Moo-ing into the horn
  • Faux whistling
  • No exploding heads
  • Tuda
  • Sean Reusch FB post
  • Parker Mouthpieces, what kind of hole can we design for you?
  • Phil's new tuba book
  • Dave Zerkel
  • Phil's other etude books
  • The difference in how he marketed the two tuba books
  • The importance of video in promoting his materials
  • The gear he used to make his new videos and recordings
  • Multi-clam clips
  • Editing Engenuity by Anthony DiLorenzo's trumpet concerto with the Harrisburg Symphony
  • Teaching himself video editing
  • Life is figuring stuff out
  • Curiosity is key
  • Creating your own "thing"
  • The importance of asking questions
  • Ego-based fear
  • Banff
  • Wayne Gretzky

LINKS:

Want to help the show? Here are some ways:

Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.

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