Trumpet and the Rule of Three

[Chris OHara]

Hello Trumpet Friends!

My method book, Trumpet and the Rule of Three, is finally available through Art of Sound Music:

http://www.artofsoundmusic.com/brass/trumpet/solo-trumpet/trumpet-and-the-rule-of-three-complete-method?fbclid=IwAR2ThUFMD-WfgiAYYGC0-YYNzo77eWKYlbIwc1vmflzk_vBQ6uWejlxmG7A

This book has been in the works for a long time and my students have used it for years - now it's finally available to everyone.

Trumpet and the Rule of Three is a comprehensive approach to trumpet that covers everything from buzzing (mouthpiece playing) and fundamentals to an extensive approach to scales to a step-by-step method for learning music. I hope that you find it as useful as my students have - Happy Music Making![/url]
_________________
Christopher J. O'Hara, DMA
Bach/Conn-Selmer Performing Artist
Denis Wick Performing Artist
www.chrisjohara.com
www.alliancebrass.com

[kalijah]

From your intro:

Buzzing: All sound on any brass instrument begins as a buzz, and our mouthpieces are our primary instruments. The (admittedly simplified) relationship between mouthpiece and trumpet is similar to that of an electric guitar and amplifier.

This is simply false. The mouthpiece is not the primary instrument. And the trumpet is not an "amplifier". Mouthpiece buzzing is a sure path to inefficient playing and an inferior sound.

[oxleyk]

1. Place the mouthpiece on your lips
2. Blow gently
3. Bring the instrument in place while blowing
4. You have sound. No buzzing involved.

[Vin DiBona]

I know Chris. He and I have performed together in the past including the Vivaldi on piccolo trumpets and have sat together in a top professional adult band.
Chris is an outstanding trumpet player and teacher and makes his living in music. He has real credentials.
For ANYONE to come here and dispute his teaching method shows very little class and you are potentially taking money from him he needs to raise his family.
There are some top players who advocate mouthpiece buzzing. Jim Thompson, Adolph Herseth did, and Fernando Dissenha, the principal trumpet in the Sao Paolo Symphony. Some top pros/teachers do not.

R. Tomasek

[Chris OHara]

I'll take Herseth's inefficiency and inferior sound any day... You do you!

All of the exercises in the book (with very few exceptions) are designed to be done on the mouthpiece or on the trumpet. If you don't like doing mouthpiece playing, that's fine - it works great for me and my students - apply the exercises on the trumpet and you'll do well, too!

I know the "controversy" on buzzing, but it doesn't change the value of the book, the scale exercises, the method for learning music, etc. Buy the book and see for yourself!

Happy Trumpeting!
_________________
Christopher J. O'Hara, DMA
Bach/Conn-Selmer Performing Artist
Denis Wick Performing Artist
www.chrisjohara.com
www.alliancebrass.com

[kalijah]

I have seen buzzing hamper the results of far too many young players. I am not afraid to write the truth and I will not be silenced or intimidated. 

[trickg]

[kalijah]

I never said Chris was a poor player. Stop reacting as if I did.

Just stop with the fake physics. And give something original. Geeze the brass world is a fish bowl / echo chamber of the same recycled nonsense.

Oh. If you're here to sell something buy an ad.

[Steve A]

[Quadstriker]

Yeah that was a bit of a stretch. It's a public forum. You're allowed to politely disagree.

[trickg]

[Vin DiBona]

This once decent website has turned into a big pile of road apples.
I've spent nearly 20 years here and I can no longer tolerate it.
Ever wonder why so few real pros post here any more?
Just read the drivel here.
Signing off.

R. Tomasek

[trickg]

[JayKosta]

I think the troublesome part of the value and purpose of buzzing comes from a misunderstanding of how the lips need to perform during actual playing.

This is an excerpt from -
http://www.artofsoundmusic.com/brass/trumpet/solo-trumpet/trumpet-and-the-rule-of-three-complete-method

"The same is true of the mouthpiece. Without the trumpet, the sound is softer and not the polished sound we aspire to, but we are still able to play the same music. The better and clearer that we are able to play on the mouthpiece, the better and more accurate our trumpet playing will become"

Taken 'as written' it implies that the route to good trumpet playing is achieved by developing good 'mouthpiece playing' (of all the written music?). I do not know if that concept is used throughout the method.

It might all come down to what the method really entails, and how it is described.
If nothing else, this discussion seems to hinge on a critical reading and interpretation of info on that website.

edit: is the method book designed so that it can be used 'standalone' without the need of an active teacher as a guide for understanding and evaluation? What does the actual BOOK say or instruct about mouthpiece buzzing?
Is buzzing promoted as being the 'best way', or as being more useful than playing the entire instrument?
_________________
Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[Dayton]

I get why well-intended but inaccurate discussions of physics in a trumpet method would get some folks spun up.

Having said that, many, though clearly not all players, have found mouthpiece buzzing to be a useful tool. Inaccurate descriptions of the underlying mechanics from many teachers and many books have not diminished their utility for those players. It would be great for the descriptions to be accurate, but it doesn't appear to be harmful to the well-being of those trumpet players (unless they are preparing for their Classical Mechanics midterm).

I found a lot of useful text and exercises in this excellent method. If you aren't into mouthpiece buzzing, the entire Buzzing section can be played on the trumpet, and offers some fun and highly useful challenges either way.

O'Hara dedicates a significant portion of the book to exercises intended to help students master challenging excerpts from solo and orchestral literature. He breaks down entire Arban's Characteristic Studies to help students understand how to practice them for success. I find that approach to be hugely useful. Rob Roy McGregor has some terrific books dedicated to that same purpose.

Again, I get the concern over accuracy in describing the mechanics of trumpet playing, and over buzzing (to a much lesser extent), but there is a wealth of helpful information and useful exercises in this method. For me, it is money well spent.

[kalijah]

[kalijah]

Oh BTW. Practicing scales is good. Good advice there. So does agreeing restore my reputation as a player trickg? ( not that I made any claims in that regard) Lord knows I don't want to be relegated to "practice room hero "try hard" whose breadth of performance experience is playing for your church or in a community concert band."

[Halflip]

[wohlrab]

You guys are so silly sometimes

[Steve A]