Words of Wisdom from Bud Herseth

"It is not a matter of being better than anyone else. How can you love trying to be better than anyone else? Play for your own satisfaction, and for other's enjoyment."

—Bud Herseth (Former Principal Trumpet - Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

Mr. Herseth was an incredible player and teacher and his above words are incredibly wise.

There is a byproduct of playing for your own satisfaction: You tend to enjoy the process of getting better a whole lot more and therefor do the work. Bottom line: You get better.

Practice something until you love it and then share it with the world. At that point you'll be dying to share it with us and that will shine through in your performance.

Words of Wisdom from Bud Herseth

"Never practice. Always perform."

-Bud Herseth

Mr. Herseth of course practiced all the time.  But from all of the stories I've heard, he even played the most rudimentary of exercises as if he were performing for a large audience.

The biggest difference between good players and great players is intensity in the practice room.

Photo by regan76, available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

Ravinia, where Bud Herseth performed for millions of people over the course of his career with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Bud Herseth: Monday YouTube Fix

As I'm sure you all know, we recently lost arguably the greatest orchestral trumpet player of all time, Bud Herseth. I feel so blessed to have attended Northwestern when Bud was still playing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the mid-90's.  His presence as the leader of that orchestra can't be summed up in a blog post. I am so happy I stumbled upon this radio profile and interview from Australian radio in 1997.  The interview is amazing and there are phenomenal clips from many different eras of the CSO's history throughout the piece which feature Mr. Herseth.

Every time I hear a recording of Bud I feel like it is a masterclass on style.  Everything sounds so thought out, so intentional.  His articulations are too clear to believe without actually hearing it yourself.  This radio piece is absolutely must hear for any musician.  You won't believe how much you learn.

Clips Include:

Also Sprach Zarathustra Pictures at an Exhibition Lt. Kijé Mahler 5 William Tell Overture Scheherezade Firebird Pines of Rome

Best Description of Articulation Ever

I've never heard articulation explained as well as Michael Mulcahy did in the Bud Herseth piece that is tomorrow's Monday YouTube Clip:

Arnold Jacobs had a tremendous vitality of attack, tremendous clarity. Not harsh, but more energy at the beginning of the sound than people associate with symphonic musicians.

More energy at the beginning of the sound is what I've been working 29 years to achieve and that is the best wording of it I've ever heard. Thank you Mr. Mulcahy!