Brass Legacy Project: Sam Pilafian

For the first installment of the Brass Legacy Project we simply had to start with Sam Pilafian. Both Lance LaDuke and myself were incredibly close to Sam. He shaped us as musicians and as humans. Sam was like a second father to me.

We decided to go big for this tribute! We were joined by 21 different guests from various aspects of Sam's life and career. All were people who knew him intimately and were deeply affected by his artistry and humanity.

Group #1 (0:00​):

• Daniel Burdick

• Julian Dixon

• Julie Landsman

• Elaine Martone

• Tom McCaslin

• Clarke Rigsby

Group #2 (44:00​):

• Mark Gould

• Mike Jacobetz

• Jens Lindemann

• JD Shaw

• Patrick Sheridan

Group #3 (1:29:00​):

• Velvet Brown

• Jeff Curnow

• Marty Hackleman

• Scott Hartman

• Charles Villarrubia

Group #4 (2:15:00​):

• Joe Alessi

• Chuck Kerrigan

• Michael Nickens

• Michael Sachs

• Gail Williams

Miss you like crazy, Sam.

Fundamentals Before Fireworks

#BrassQuote of the Week:

"I didn’t really study any excerpts (during college.) I had to learn music and horn first! Too many students never learn the correct technique before beginning to play excerpts."

—Gail Williams#horn pic.twitter.com/RqfzEcd1Ot

— The Brass Junkies (@pray4jens) June 18, 2018

Gail Williams is dead on here (as usual!) I have encountered many students over the years who are constantly looking to work on the most difficult excerpts and solo repertoire before putting in the work to be able to play their instrument well.

It takes discipline to play the first page of the Arban's book in multiple octaves every single day while making every note identical to those around them no matter the octave or the dynamic. It is easy to do that kind of work every once in a while. But having the in-the-moment discipline to know that you need to be doing that kind of practicing on a regular basis is what separates the good players from the great players.

As I once heard Joe Alessi say, it takes a lot more work to obtain skills on your horn than it does to maintain skills on your horn. Gail Williams spent an insane number of hours being able to play loudly in all registers with a good sound and a variety of attacks, releases, weights, etc. Everyone who can charge people a good chunk of change to listen to them play their instrument has done that work.

Furthermore, she doesn't have to spend nearly as much time today practicing that stuff. I'm sure she still spends more time than you might believe, but it pales in comparison to when she was first acquiring those skills.

So if you are a young tuba player, rather than jumping into the John Williams Concerto your freshman year, maybe do the sometimes tedious work that your teacher suggests on a regular basis. I promise you will be able to play the John Williams before you know it!

Fundamentals before fireworks!