Matt Brockman??? what's the scoop

[Destructo]

[Destructo]

[Scott Steward]

[Steve A]

[falado]

Hi, a friend of mine told me last night that she did a lesson or webinar with him recently and then this guy wants $8000 a year for lessons. I told her I’m a second year grad trumpet performance student and my tuition is less than that a year and I even get to play in advanced ensembles and write research papers! Well, aside from that we agreed she could get more out of private lessons cheaper. I told her to give Jeff Purtle a call. It’s less expensive and she’ll get real feedback and help.
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[peanuts56]

Might be Kurt Thompson’s long lost twin!

[falado]

Maybe it’s son of Cpt. Kirk?
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FA LA DO (Ab: V/ii) MUCS, USN (Ret.)
Stomvi VR (Reeves) with VR II Bell
Bach 239 25A C, Blueprinted
Bach 37, Early Elkhart, Blueprinted
Kanstul Flugel
Getzen 4 valve Pic.
Yamaha D/Eb
Besson Cornet

[B_Starry]

That’s going back a bit!

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do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God

[CS_Shofar]

Summary of the call:

Matt Brockman was rudely blunt, demeaning, verbally abusive, argumentive and had a very controlling demeanor.

Started the call demanding I tell him why I think he could help me as opposed to somone else...caught me off guard as I was expecting him to tell me or through a collaborative discussion of how he can help me...very odd.

He used unethical high-pressure timeshare like sales tactics, and he wanted $8,000USD/yr.

I told him I needed to think over it, and I could not make a decision on the phone call. He wanted a yes or no answer, and called me a "scared pussy" stating he felt like saying that because I had also served in a US Army Band...and retired from the National Guard.

No additional information on his playing abilities provided.

I kept my composure and refused to argue with him. Just told him I needed to pray over it, and he called me a few more names in an insulting manner, and then he abruptly ended the video call.

Thus, I do not recommend Matt Brockman to any students. His behaviors were unacceptable, completely disrespectful and unprofessional at all levels, and reflects negatively on the professionalism of the US Army Bands.

[Shark01]

Kent Brockman would never act in this manner.

[Crazy Finn]

Just stop wasting time with this guy. Honestly.
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[LaTrompeta]

Finally, I've been waiting YEARS for a user car salesman to teach me trumpet technique!
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[LaTrompeta]

I would just like to add one more thing.

What is being offered here, and what is it's value?

Forget all the "extras," the only unique thing he has to offer is himself. There is an abundance of fantastic literature, recorded workshops / masterclasses and audio recordings that can be obtained for a fraction of $8000 / year. So, let's cut the crap and assume that he values his trumpet lessons at $8000 / year. These are over Zoom, I am assuming.

I don't know the regularity he offers these lessons, but I would assume it's either 2x or 4x a month at an hour a piece.

2x / month x 12 months = 24x
4x / month x 12 months = 48x

$8000 / 24 = $333 or
$8000 / 48 = $166

This would be his per-hour charge. Assuming a 40-hour work week with 4 weeks off per year (let's not forget, he has a full-time gig), he would be making a yearly wage in the range of:

$318k - $637k

So, I'm not a "pro" and I haven't been in the loop for a while. However, the last time I asked, a private teacher with a Master's Degree was making about $40-50/hour teaching private, in-person lessons. I took one lesson with Barbara Butler--arguably one of the world's greatest trumpet pedagogues--and I paid $150 for an hour well-spent. $330/hr minimum for a 20-something post-grad playing with a regional military band? That's straight-up highway robbery.

If anybody is reading this post and even REMOTELY considering purchasing his services, I highly recommend you look elsewhere.
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[OldSchoolEuph]

OK, this one has me almost at a loss for words.

I never saw any of this guy's videos, so after reading this thread I went and randomly chose his video on 10 brands of trumpet for beginners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D5satT5GSM
It seemed like he was reading a script written by ChatGPT on a particularly hallucination-prone day.
- He just spouted marketing BS - and not always from the brand he was reviewing.
- He recommended 2 trumpets that have been out of production for decades.
- He treated "Director" as a Conn model, not recognizing its a brand name for a line of dozens of trumpets over a 6 decade period.
- He stated that the Eterna line was specifically designed for students
- Best of all, he talked about the Schilke 14A4a as a student model ML bore trumpet, even while showing the mouthpiece - except for when he showed a bass trombone instead.

So this guy does not know the difference between a trumpet, a mouthpiece, and a trombone - and people pay him for lessons?!

Also, how can he be a former Army bandsman (unless he got kicked out)? Most have graduate degrees before landing that gig, and after the 20 years, you are going to be in your 40s. He looks barely old enough to enlist. I really wonder if that's true.

The most depressing point is that while he would make a viable candidate for president, as the combination of both mental deficiency and pathological lying would appeal to almost 100% of today's voters apparently, I do not understand how this video gets 80+ comments praising its wonderful and informative content - Is the average person today really too stupid to recognize a trombone is not a trumpet?

Just unbelievable....
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[CS_Shofar]

[quote="OldSchoolEuph"]Also, how can he be a former Army bandsman (unless he got kicked out)? Most have graduate degrees before landing that gig, and after the 20 years, you are going to be in your 40s. He looks barely old enough to enlist. I really wonder if that's true.[/quote]

Sorry for the confusion in my review on the unethical trumpet program saleman Matt Brockman.

What I meant to convey is that I served in a US Army Band and retired from the National Guard...

...and since I had served and retired from the military, Matt Brockman felt that gave him the right to be verbally abusive and disrespectful to me.

I was reserved and did not respond in a hostile way towards him...I only stated that his outlook and mine are very different...my outlook being a very positive one.

I prayed over this, and felt like I needed to post about it on TrumpetHerald to protect others from this unethical and disrespectful person. Then I found this thread on trumpet herald from a year ago.

I didn't know about all the bad reviews concerning this person until afterwards. I was just being open minded and interested to chat with him to learn what he was about and what the program consisted of...and what I learned and experienced in talking with him was horrific.

Again, Matt Brockman reflects poorly on the professionalism of the US Army Bands and negatively on the trumpet community.

Since his program is about results...just imagine how abusive he would be if someone in the program did not get results...or better yet, he probably doesn't care as he has already committed highway robbery in the $8K fee.

Again, sorry for the confusion.

[Jon Kaplan]

[Robert P]

[peanuts56]

[BRM2]

I have actually enrolled in his course. I did not sign up for a year though. I flat out told him that that was not an option at that price. We worked out a shorter deal.

I am a former Army Bandsmen and wanted to support another Army Bandsmen so I bought his book. I thought the concepts were interesting and had some success with implementing them into my playing. I contacted him originally to try to get a lesson so I could learn more about some of his concepts. He was not interested in giving a single lesson. Against my better judgement after negotiating a way more inexpensive cost, I took a chance on the course. It sounded fine and I felt like I could trust someone in my former line of work. I have also supported other Army Bandsmen in the past and have had good interactions with them.

I immediately had buyers remorse when I delved deeper in the course. My main reason for getting the course was to improve my endurance and I wanted more in depth information about his concepts of sound production and addressing embouchure issues. I found that the information concerning this topic was no different from the free materials online and his book. Also, because of my location, all of the live coaching calls occurred during the middle of the night for me. While I could not attend the coaching calls, they are all recorded and archived. Also, while Matt is available to answer questions, I have not seen him on a coaching call.

He does add in lots of standard exercises with descriptions of how to practice the items as well. Things like tonguing, articulation, flow studies, etc. There are additional items addressed like dealing with performance anxiety as well as how to approach various excerpts. It is very organized.

There are also lots of masterclasses from well known players as well which I thought was pretty good.

One on one lessons are now available, not with Matt though. Upgrade to course which is good.

The members of the course seem pretty happy with it. I think the majority of people are older adult comeback players, older adult beginners/intermediate players, and a handful of more advance players. There is definitely a sense of community there and different monthly challenges especially if you don't have an ensemble nearby to play in. Everyone cheers everyone on because we are all working on improving. All of the members are very nice and the instructors are great people as well. It is a complete contrast to the way Matt comes across. I hope none of the member's are paying as much as what was mentioned earlier in the thread.

At this point, I still have a little buyer's remorse but the one on one lessons and availability of coaching calls now has improved my thoughts slightly. I am ensuring that I get my money's worth by using all of the resources the course provides. I am viewing all of the master classes, participating in coaching calls (which are now available at more convenient times for me), taking all the one on one lessons I can, and getting all of my questions answered.

I think the course is best for adult comeback players and adult beginners/intermediate players if you have the money and enjoy practicing with a group and the community aspect. I would still recommend that the same individual could take weekly lessons with someone local and get just as far, if not further or sign up for a more inexpensive course that charges monthly. If you are an advance player, you should steer clear of this course.

Nothing is worth the price point mentioned earlier in the thread.
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[Robert P]