I don't hear anything there that perhaps four or five years of correct, intensive practice wouldn't cure.
Oddly enough, I had found Kurt Thompson long before I joined this forum, and after joining here (and hence, quitting looking at his videos) for some reason I constantly confused John's name with Kurt, thought they were the same guy. I think it's the number of syllables - as if that's a good or even logic explanation/excuse
I know for sure now that John is definitely NOT Kurt.... _________________ ATB
It's not what you play...
It's HOW you play
Last edited by ATrumpetBrony on Tue Feb 21, 2017 1:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 13 Nov 2001 Posts: 9830 Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:25 pm Post subject:
ATrumpetBrony wrote:
John Mohan wrote:
I don't hear anything there that perhaps four or five years of correct, intensive practice wouldn't cure.
Oddly enough, I had found Kurt Thompson long before I joined this forum, and after joining here (and hence, quitting looking at his videos) for some reason I constantly confused John's name with Kurt, thought they were the same guy. I think it's the number of syllables - as if that's a good or even logic explanation/excuse
I know for sure now that John is definitely NOT Kurt....
Oh my gosh!
Although if you were one of the people who managed to see my Drunk Double High C YouTube video before I had the good sense to unlist it, well, I could understand that...
Last edited by John Mohan on Wed Feb 22, 2017 8:38 am; edited 1 time in total
I don't hear anything there that perhaps four or five years of correct, intensive practice wouldn't cure.
Whatever do you mean? He's the greatest trumpet teacher on Earth - he said so himself.
Claude Gordon's estate and/or Carl Fischer Music should take out an injunction to prevent him from ever mentioning in public that he went through SATDP start to finish twice. Not exactly a walking testimonial. _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
King Silver Flair
Besson 1000
Bundy
Chinese C
Getzen Eterna Bb/A piccolo
Chinese Rotary Bb/A piccolo
Joined: 13 Oct 2013 Posts: 460 Location: Idyllwild, CA
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 5:17 pm Post subject:
With grains of salt for all..., but:
I propose we end this thread, and each of us dedicate a little bit of space on the forum to highlighting teachers/colleagues/idols we have learned a lot from. To preemptively follow my own advice, I'll only lightly say that continuing any discussion - positive or negative, technical or personal - on this topic will most certainly NOT help the human being behind the chops in these videos. Clearly the individual had great promise, was rewarded with justly-earned adulations at some point early on, and subsequently developed a very hardened ego when things stopped coming so easily.
There's much to the music-making side of trumpet playing that requires the very best of our humanity, just as there's so much beyond high-notes, extreme louds, and quote-unquote 'unlimited endurance.' Let's all take a moment of SILENCE for our brother, here, and hope that he finds some deep musical satisfaction which may enable him to see everyone who has picked up the horn as a colleague we can learn from and support. The next time each of us pick up the horn to do the hard work of stretching our *technique* - the very thing which allows us to most deeply and truly express our inner music - let's say a little prayer, or play a long tone, or take-in the cleanest, freshest breath for all who have ever been 'on the ropes' - I don't know this man from Adam, but I wish him health, happiness, and peace.
Joining all of you in the BIG practice room!
-DB _________________ Daniel Bassin
Conductor/Composer/Trumpeter/Improviser/Educator
I play:
Monette - CORNETTE/PranaXLT-STC Bb/MC-35/Raja A Piccolo;
Kromat C-Piccolo; Thein G-Piccolo; Various antique horns
MPCs - Monette Unity 1-7D and DM4LD
Many of us have read ourselves or at least read about Kurt's antics in the past.
I just skimmed through the twenty minute video posted in the OP here. My thoughts about the video:
1) I think he overemphasizes the need to build strong face and lip muscles, and unless I missed it because I just watched parts of the video, I didn't see any spot where he talked about the need to build extraordinary blowing strength. It could very well be that from his frame of reference (he looks like a pretty big, solidly built guy) he didn't need to build much extra blowing strength. But most players do need to increase their air power strength significantly to reach into the range well above High C.
2) He clearly understands and uses properly the concept of dorsal tonguing, or as Claude Gordon called it, K-Tongue Modified tonguing, but like others, he keeps calling it "Anchor Tonguing" and actually tells listeners to "anchor" their tongue tips in the area behind the bottom front teeth. While one's tongue tip should be kept in that area, the idea of "anchoring" it or holding it rigidly in a particular spot is insane. The tongue should be kept relaxed and free to move as it needs to. As long as the tips stays somewhere in the area behind the bottom front teeth and doesn't climb above the tops of those bottom teeth, one is tonguing correctly in the way Herbert L. Clarke and later, Claude Gordon described.
3) He is right on the money when he tells the viewer that anyone can develop a good upper register and no once really needs to stay relagated to playing nothing but 3rd parts.
4) He's got a great upper register but really should work on improving his articulation, sound and accuracy in all the other registers. Maybe a slightly bigger mouthpiece might make articulations cleaner and more consistent (and yes, that might take a little of the power and edge off his highest notes, but in my opinion, the shift would make him a better sounding player).
5) The guy should be given credit for taking a LOT of time creating a LOT of videos with the goal of helping others achieve what he has (in terms of an upper register). He's clearly motivated by money, but there's nothing wrong with that. Choosing a way to serve others for compensation is what we all do, one way or another (at least hopefully that is what we do).
That's my opinion.
Cheers,
John Mohan
Skype Lessons Available - Click on the e-mail button below if interested
I think that strictly in terms of what we observe on the videos John Mohan's opinion is valid. Obviously, Kurt has a very strong high register. Very few players are that strong in the high register. So, we need to give credit where credit is due.
That being said, a strong high register, by itself, does not make someone a great player or even close to being a great player. There is no indication from the videos that Kurt is a jazz player, at least not what I would consider a jazz player. Clifford, Chet, Woody, Freddie, Clark, Wynton, really any accomplished jazz player would play circles around Kurt in terms of playing jazz, at least based on what we see in Kurt's videos.
Does Kurt hold himself out to be a jazz player? I really don't know if he does or not, I haven't researched him much beyond this thread. My impression is that he mostly holds himself out to be a high note player. Clearly, he is a high note player and, presumably, has knowledge applicable to playing in the upper register he can communicate.
The biggest criticisms of Kurt pertain to his personality and attitude and, from what I've seen, without going into detail, the criticisms appear, if anything, to be understated. He exudes a bully/know-it-all persona. Typically, such people are extremely insecure and resort to bullying/self accolades in an effort to validate their extremely fragile egos. It's a shame because Kurt obviously has strong ability in his chosen specialty.
Ultimately, no one respects a bully or a know-it-all and the person least likely to understand this is the bully/know-it-all himself. Thus, the high contrast between the impression Kurt tries to make and the impression he actually makes as discussed in this thread.
Some have said that Kurt is his own worst enemy. I think there's a lot of validity in that statement. His inability to control his temper and his profound personal insecurities ultimately isolate him from the very people he wants to impress. _________________ HERMOKIWI
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 10:35 pm Post subject: Re: What do you think of this guy?
Fuzzy Dunlop wrote:
trumpet_bob_silver wrote:
Looks like a jazz player.
You sure about that?
Just the tone and vibrato I guess. Didn't sound classical so I assume jazz. I'm not sure where I'd put him just from what I've heard. After hearing a bit more it does sound similar to some of the old guys in community bands I've heard. That's not a good thing though.
I'm still thinking there's something about the tongue arch part that's useful to me.
That video is hilarious! And you know what? Kudos to Kurt for having the guts to put it up in public. The whole time I was watching it I was half expecting to see him whip a box of Kleenex at the cameraman or something.
I'll second Dan's proposal to end this discussion. I think it's one thing for someone unaware of KT to ask about them and be educated, but I think that was accomplished pretty early in the thread, and there is already a wealth of information online about this person. This has devolved into a lot of mocking said person. Not saying whether that person is or is not deserving of being mocked, but it's probably best for the rest of us to take the high road and move on, especially as none of us have all of the information regarding that person's personal life or mental state. I'm actually surprised it's gone on this long.
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