Brass

Five Online Resources To Keep Busy While Quarantining

If you are one of the “essential workers” out there, I would like to personally thank you for your hard work. If you are a “non-essential worker” you’re probably finding yourselves with a little extra time. It’s easy to get sucked into new shows and movies, and I have definitely been guilty of that myself. My biggest advice for those of you at home right now is to create a daily schedule and to-do list. This should include general upkeep to your home and yourself, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to dedicate some extra time to our musicianship. Here are five online resources to keep you busy while quarantining:

Mar 26, 2020 No Comments

Which Valve Oil Is Right For Me?

At Paige’s Music, we are frequently asked “what valve oil do you recommend”? This answer can vary depending on the type and age of instrument as well as specific player preferences. Here is a short overview of our most popular options.

Mar 3, 2020 No Comments

Mute Madness!

Happy Thursday, everyone. Today’s topic is one of my favorite to talk about: Mutes. As stated by Philip Smith, former principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic 1978-2014, “A trumpet player can never have enough mutes of varying types, shapes, sizes, and materials”. With that being said, as trumpet players (and other brass players who may be reading) we are often asked to use a device called a mute while playing certain music. This does not always mean making our sound softer per se, but changing our timbre. Today we’ll talk about the most common mute we are asked to use: the straight mute.

Jan 9, 2020 No Comments

My Top Three Christmas Albums with Trombones

With the holiday season upon us, I’d like to give you some listening suggestions for some incredible Christmas music that heavily features trombones. Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite On this timeless classic, Duke Ellington took favorites from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet and adapted them for jazz orchestra. This is album is one of the all-time great jazz records that shows Ellington’s genius in transforming music that we’ve all heard time and time again into something both familiar and completely unique.

Dec 19, 2019 No Comments

Mouthpieces and how to choose, “Unpopular Opinion Edition”

Raise your hand if you’ve had a band teacher or private instructor tell you that you needed to go from your 7C to a 5C, then to a 3C, then to a 1-1/2C and so on and so forth. Ok, now that we’ve all put our hands up, let’s get down to my unpopular opinion: There is no set progression for mouthpieces. They are not like shoes where you start with a size 5 and eventually get up to a size 12. As discussed earlier on October 3rd, 2019; we talked about some factors that help us choose mouthpieces. Today we will briefly discuss a couple of those and other things to think about when testing mouthpieces.

Dec 13, 2019 No Comments

What Books Should I Get For Lessons?

When I meet with a new student for the first time we always discuss what books they need to have for their lessons. Here are five method/etude books that are essential for good foundations to unlocking your full musical potential through the trumpet. Complete Conservatory Method by Jean Baptist Arban Widely considered by many to be “The Trumpet Bible”, this is usually the first book suggested by private instructors if you are serious about studying trumpet due to the amount of material that is covered. Any technical aspect of trumpet playing that you will need to succeed will be in this book including nice songs, wicked characteristic studies, and classic cornet solos such as Fantasia Brilliante, Norma Variations, and Carnival of Venice. Technical Studies by Herbert L. Clarke Mr. Clarke presents exercises that combine several fields and can be utilized for many things. The infamous second study can be played in several tonalities, or you can begin working on playing softer while going higher. The final etude from the fifth study is very challenging as well.

Nov 21, 2019 No Comments

Interested in Studying Music? A Guide To Finding Your Path

You’ve made the choice: you love music and want to pursue a career in the music industry! Great! So now what? At this point you need to determine which University, music program, and major are right for you. There are more music degrees than just performance or music education. Other music degrees include: Music production or recording technology, music therapy, music business, arts administration, music history, and music theory/composition. Some universities collaborate with local businesses to help offer a degree in popular music theory, analysis and composition. When researching your potential future, you have several resources at your disposal to find out information and some of the work can even be done at home with your parent/guardian.

Nov 7, 2019 No Comments

Recital Reflections: Claiming small victories over performance anxiety

I have never liked recitals. Or auditions. Even playing my solo for Solo & Ensemble. I have always been more comfortable performing when there was at least one other person on stage with me. Some people will tell you if you get nervous it means that you aren’t prepared enough but I think that statement is not entirely accurate.

Oct 17, 2019 No Comments

Conn-Selmer Artist Select trombones now at Paige’s Music

On September 23, 2019 Paige’s Music participated in the Conn-Selmer Artist Select program. This program allows professionals to hand select and play test each instrument from the factory to ensure that only the finest instruments are available to customers. K. Blake Schlabach and Tucker Woerner carefully play tested dozens of instruments, and we are happy to say that our top five selections are now available at Paige’s Music.

Oct 10, 2019 No Comments

Repair Shop Tales – From Trash To Treasure

Every once in a while, we get in repairs that we just have to share. For our latest installment, we recently had a cornet brought in that was literally found on a trash pile. One of our highly skilled brass technicians, Sam Richards, performed his magic on this instrument and brought it back to its original beauty. Here is the customer’s review after receiving the instrument back… Look at this beauty. It is an E. A. Couturier, made in 1918. It is a Bb and an A cornet. It has a turn key on the right side when rotated changes it from the Bb to the A. It was given to me about 4 years ago by a friend that retrieved it from the trash pile. He said he didn’t know if it was any good. I could play it some but it needed work to play correctly. Thank you to Mr Kevin Cottrell from the Seymour High School for suggesting sending it to Paige’s Music. They had it only a week and I got it back today. They did an AWESOME job bringing this old cornet back to life. I am extremely happy with the service and thrilled

Oct 7, 2019 No Comments

Mouthpieces and how to choose, “Lead Mouthpiece Edition”

When I was in high school and it came my turn to play lead trumpet in jazz band, I was like most high school students and began searching for a way to improve range and endurance. We all want to nail those high notes at the end of the show or the concert! How can we achieve this? Most students at that point get on the internet or go to a store and ask about mouthpieces to help them play higher. Enter the Bobby Shew Lead mouthpiece or the Schilke 14A4a. Too often have I seen students purchase these mouthpieces and after a couple weeks tell me that they aren’t working for them anymore and then ask me, “why not?” There are a number of reasons.

Oct 3, 2019 No Comments

Local Craftsmen – World Class Instruments

On Monday, September 23, 2019 I was fortunate to visit the Conn-Selmer plant in Elkhart, IN. The point of this visit was to tour the facility, and to personally select professional instruments for the inventory at Paige’s Music. With the help of K. Blake Schlabach, we picked out a collection of Bach Stradivarius 42BOs as well as a King 3B and Bach Stradivarius 12. Through Conn-Selmer’s “Artist Select” program we are able to hand pick each instrument after play testing and inspection to ensure that only the very finest instruments are available to our customers. In a world with more and more automation it is easy to forget that many of our goods rely on highly skilled craftsmen to complete very precise tasks. Touring the facility and meeting the craftsmen gave real insight into what it takes to make a professional level instrument. Below you will see pictures of some of the steps it takes to create a bell for a brass instrument.

Sep 26, 2019 No Comments

Meet Alex Carter – New Trumpet Specialist at Paige’s Music

Hello everyone, my name is Alex Carter and I am the new Trumpet specialist at Paige’s Music. Not originally being from Indiana, I only learned about the store six years ago after I had moved here to pursue graduate studies at Ball State University. Like most young musicians, I began band classes in 5thgrade and the reason I chose Trumpet is because that is what we had at our house! Lucky for me though, it worked out and I enjoyed playing it. When time for university studies came I decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree for music education and performance. While I didn’t go on to become a band director, my passion for teaching was (and is) still alive so I continued to practice and learn about trumpet and ended up at the University of Michigan for a Master’s degree and began teaching lessons outside of school. Upon graduating I came to Indiana to continue studying how to teach trumpet and performing with the Da Camera Brass Quintet and several regional orchestras in the central Indiana area. In the last three years I have been performing around Indianapolis, and subbing in the Louisville Orchestra and Fort Wayne Philharmonic. I have

Sep 19, 2019 No Comments

Meet Becky Nash – Brass Technician at Paige’s Music

We’re very excited to introduce you to the latest addition to our brass technician staff in our repair shop, Becky Nash. Learn more about her by reading our quick Q&A with her below! Position: Brass Technician Start Date: May 2019 Training or Education: Bachelors in Music Education from Drake University in Des Moines, IA Band Instrument Repair Diploma from Red Wing (Minnesota State College – Southeast) Where are you from originally: Pekin, IL What instruments do you play: Trumpet What do you enjoy most about being a technician: I love the variety of instruments and repairs I see. No two horns are the same, no damage is the same and it’s my job to find the solution. What is the most unusual repair you’ve had to deal with: Finding fuzzy mold on trumpet pistons is always fun, but I think the most interesting thing I’ve witnessed is a trombone slide that not only had a pencil shoved all the way down to the crook, but also a battery. Needless to say, the slide had to come apart. Yikes. What is your most memorable musical experience: In college, a group of us decided to pile in a car (a car that couldn’t go

Sep 10, 2019 No Comments

How to Ease back into Playing After Summer Break

I speak from experience when I say that playing after a long break is tough! If you haven’t picked your instrument up in a few weeks, it can be really difficult to play! Everything feels alien—your chops swell up, you get exhausted after a few notes, you lose your range, and etc. I get it, I get it—hanging out at the pool with your friends is more fun than playing concert F for 30 minutes a day. Here are a few tips to ease you back into playing after summer break:

Aug 6, 2019 No Comments

The Legacy of Carl Fontana

July 18, 2019 would have marked Carl Fontana’s 91stbirthday. Fontana remains one the most influential, prolific, and recorded trombonists of all time. His legacy lives through his countless recordings with greats such as Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Lionel Hampton, Benny Goodman, Paul Anka, Tony Bennett, and Sammy Davis Jr. Please listen to a few selections below and read more a more detailed biography below.

Jul 31, 2019 No Comments

2019 International Trombone Festival Review

Each year the International Trombone Association(ITA) hosts the International Trombone Festival (ITF). Held in the summer, this week long festival offers youth workshops, professional development, concerts, masterclasses, and show space for dozens of the world’s top manufacturers of instruments and accessories. This year’s ITF was held on the campus of Ball State Universityin Muncie, IN. One of the ITF’s main objectives is to unite musicians from all parts of the world, but another goal is to showcase the amazing musicians on a more local scale.

Jul 18, 2019 No Comments

Have You Heard with Jim Pugh

In the summer of 2012 I attended the Skidmore Jazz Institute in New York where I had the privilege of working with some of my biggest musical heroes. In addition to coaching and classes with greats like Pat LaBarbera and Todd Coolman I was also able to study privately with Curtis Fuller and Jim Pugh.

Jun 21, 2019 No Comments

Ball State University Trombone Day II

On April 6th, 2018 Ball State University hosted Trombone Day II. This event was a full day of rehearsals, masterclasses, lectures, and performances that showcased all of the fine resources the school has to offer. Chris Van Hof, Assistant Professor of Music Performance (Trombone), led the event, and trombone legend, Jim Pugh, was the featured artist of the day.

Apr 25, 2019 No Comments

Mouthpiece Clocking: Voodoo Magic or Real Science?

As a brass player, there are naturally good days and bad days. Days where the instrument sings effortlessly, and days where you want nothing more than to touchdown spike your instrument into the pavement. What if I said that this issue could partially be within your control without changing the way you play?

Apr 18, 2019 No Comments