The Brass Junkies: JD Shaw

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I hate to say nice things about him because he's one of my best friends but JD Shaw is simply one of the best horn players and teachers in the world. He is currently Associate Professor of Horn at the University of South Carolina and is my former colleague from Boston Brass.

JD talks about a new quartet that I'm in with him (along with Lance LaDuke and David Cutler) called Cones and Tones and about what it's like writing for horn, euphonium, tuba and piano. He also shares some fascinating insights into how the market for chamber music is changing and lists some of his favorite chamber groups.

And there are a couple of old Boston Brass war stories as well!

Please don't tell him I called him one of the best players and teachers in the world. I will deny it.

Links:

JD's bio at the University of South Carolina
Buy some of JD's arrangements at Potenza Music

You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation athttps://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer of FredBrass.

Lance LaDuke Discusses How He Prepared for his Successful US Air Force Band Audition

A few years ago Boston Brass came to where I teach, George Mason, to rehearse for a few days before our season started. After a performance for the school. my former Boston Brass colleague Lance LaDuke took the time to come to the lesson of one of my graduate euphonium players.

My student began questioning Lance about how he went about winning a job with the United States Air Force Band in Washington DC. Within a few minutes I realized that the content was gold and started recording.

Lance goes into great detail about his successful audition preparations. Talk about a guy with a plan that he executed over and over again over time.

This is a master class on sight reading, goal setting, time management, practice technique, and many, many more things.

This is a must listen for anyone preparing for any professional audition on any instrument.  After listening to his preparation process, it is easy to see why he won.

Below are the quotes that stood out to me for one reason or another, although there are far too many to include all of the good ones.

• "I personally don't like playing out of the Barbara Payne book because I like to see the band parts. I assume that when I show up they're going to make me play off of a regular part."
• "There were going to be things that were out of my control. Everything that was in my control I was going to prepare for."
• "Every day, 7 days a week, my job from 9 pm to 3 am was getting ready."
• "I was intense from 9 until 3 but it wasn't all horn on the face time. So whenever my face would get tired I would do score study."
• "If you're not in tune and in time, you're not going to win."
• "It's way harder to get a gig than to keep a gig."
• "You've got to be fearless."
• "On one hand, you have to play like your life depends on getting the gig. And on the other hand, you have to play like you don't care if you get the gig."
• "You have a bigger advantage because you're (in DC.) You can drive over and listen to these bands."
• "I always pushed sight reading to last. When I was completely shot and tired and wanted to go to bed, that's when I did sight reading."
• "The rules for me for sight reading were I wasn't allowed to stop and when in doubt play the rhythms."
• "If I knew the key and knew the roadmap, all I'd focus on were the rhythms and following the shape of the line."
• "If you are sight reading and do the stutter thing, I'm faced with a question: Is this guy doing this because he's uncomfortable with the piece or because his time sucks?"
• "I was strong as an ox. I could play all day."
• "Make sure you can play swing style. Make sure you can play funk and make sure you can play rock."
• "If you can't play popular styles it's nice that you can play marches, but it isn't just about the marches. You have to be able to sound credible on all that stuff."
• "Basically I just learned how my body reacts under pressure, how my mind reacts under pressure, and how do I prepare for that."
• "I had 18 different ways to chill myself out if I got stressed."
• "I did 50 successful auditions (in my mind) before the actual audition."
• "My favorite book at the time on performance anxiety was 'Notes from the Green Room'."
• "What are your triggers and how does your body react?"
• "Who in the industry do I know that I can go talk to?"
• "Make sure you're at every minute of the Army Band Tuba Conference because it's free."
• "Tell them 'I'm a broke college student. Are you giving any master classes in the area?'"
• "The warm-up to me is part mental and part physical."
• "Maybe they won't notice? They're gonna notice. If you noticed it's got to be fixed."
• "Even if it sounds better but I use force, that's not a solution."
• "How loudly can I play with control? How softly can I play with control? And you don't know at which point a note spreads until you spread the note."
• "My teacher at Akron had a picture of a hand grenade up on his door and a sign that said 'Just because it's loud doesn't mean anybody wants to hear it.'"
• "They are going to put sight reading in front of you until you fail."
• "How I play in Boston Brass is different than how I play in a brass band which is different than how I play in a large concert band."
• "If I was playing with the clarinets I would try to play with the clarinets."
• "I played like I like to play and if they liked that that's good for me. And if they didn't like that that's good information for me."
• "There was nothing that surprised me (on audition day.) There was not a single thing I wasn't prepared to deal with."

These are all great quotes but the real reason Lance won was his quote at 43:13 which you just have to listen to for yourself.  It sums the whole thing up.

Thank you, Lance!

The Radio Test

I recently sat in on a wonderful master class by Lance LaDuke on practicing and goal setting. He had one suggestion for the students at the University of Georgia that I thought I would pass along. It works for any age or ability level.

Turn on the radio to any song you know well and sing along. (Note: If you can't sing it, you can't play it!) Then turn the volume all the way down and keep singing. When you turn the volume back up check the following:

1. Were you able to hold the pitch?
2. Were you able to follow the correct form of the song?
3. Did you keep good time?

This is a great and simple exercise that tests a whole lot of things. And the best part is that it's away from the horn so no part of the brain will be occupied by "horn operating."

Thanks, Lance!

The Brass Junkies: Rex Richardson

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Lance and I had a blast interviewing our good friend Rex Richardson for the latest episode of The Brass Junkies podcast.  Rex is one of the best trumpet players in the world and has one of the most interesting careers in the music business today.  He has played in more countries than any other musician I know.

We asked him about how he became so proficient at both jazz and classical music, about his travels are the world, and made a lot of fun of him for being a trumpet player.  You should be warned that we laugh an awful lot.

Thank you, Rex, for joining us!

Victor Barranco Joins The Brass Junkies

The latest episode of The Brass Junkies podcast features a hilarious interview with trombonist Victor Barranco of the US Army Blues.  He talks about the fascinating path he took from growing up in North Pole, Alaska to ending up in Washington, DC playing in one of the premier bands in the world.

He also speaks about how he became handy around the house (as in having his house featured on home improvement websites.)  Why is this important? It turns out he used the exact same growth mentality to teach himself how to play jazz and then just a few years later he was the lead trombone in the One O'Clock Band at UNT.  He speaks about how it is all about how you approach things.

Lance and I couldn't believe how much we laughed during this episode and how inspiring it was.  He will make you go practice and have you in stitches talking about being the only Puerto Rican family growing up in North Pole.

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Victor Barranco Joins The Brass Junkies

Andrew Hitz & Lance LaDuke: Monday YouTube Fix

Here is the presentation that I did with my Pedal Note Media partner, Lance LaDuke, at the 2015 Army Tuba-Euphonium Workshop at Fort Myer in Arlington, VA.  A big thank you to all of those from the Army Band who were not only involved with hosting the workshop but also with archiving all of the sessions for everyone to enjoy after the fact.

Our session was titled "Low Brass 101: It's Just Business" and discussed things that you can do today to help take your career to the next level.  As we stated at the beginning of the presentation, it really has nothing to do with low brass specific stuff.  We discussed things like networking, marketing, targeting specific customers, and many other business concepts.

We hope you enjoy!

8:00 a.m. - Two Part Warm-Up with Mitsuru Saito, euphonium. 8:45 a.m. - Tom Holz - "Life Outside the Orchestra" (HMusKorps Veitshochheim cancelled due to illness) 10:00 a.m. - What do You Mean - MUSICIANSHIP!!! with Dr. Brian Bowman, euphonium 11:15 a.m. - Ophiclide Recital with Dr. Richard Demy. 12:30 p.m.

Links That Make Me Think - Practicing Edition

Before the summer I was posting a large collection of links each month.  I've decided to post less links more frequently now.  Here are a few from around the internet that I find interesting.  And please send anything along that you'd like to share!

1. "5 Incredibly Effective Ways to Work Smarter, Not Harder" 

This article has absolutely nothing to do with music or practicing and is a must read for any musician, performer or educator.

"Measure your results, not your time. The whole idea of working smarter rather than harder stems from the fact that many of us put in more and more hours only to find we don't get more done. That's why we want to find methods to be more productive in less time.

One way to do this is to adjust the way you measure productivity. If you evaluate yourself by what you actually get done rather than the time it takes to get something done, you'll start to notice a difference in how you work."

The rest of Jeff Haden's points are great as well.

2. "12(+) Ways to Practice a Technical Passage"

Bret Pimentel hits the nail on the head with this blog post on how to approach the practicing of a technical passage.  Really well done.

"What is crucial is that you are keeping your brain engaged by varying the material."

 

Amen.

3. "The Power of a Practice Schedule"

As usual, Gerald Klickstein of The Musician's Way is right on the money with this short and to the point post:

"Consistent, deep practice is the rocket fuel of musical development.  When we live by regular practice schedules we reap countless benefits."

 

He then lists six benefits of a regular practice schedule which are all fantastic.

4. Get a Free Copy of Lance LaDuke's "Music Practice Coach" for a limited time!

As I explain in that post, this is the best book on practicing I've ever read and all of my students are required to own it.  Grab it before he changes his mind!

Free Copy of Lance LaDuke's Music Practice Coach

For a limited time, my partner at Pedal Note Media, Lance LaDuke, is giving away free copies of his book Music Practice Coach.  All you have to do is go to his website and sign up for his email list.  It's that simple.

Music Practice Coach is a book that I require all of my college students to purchase and use regularly.  It is a fantastic practice method that is written in a simple, straightforward way.  Even tuba players have no problem understanding it!

The entire book is about goal-oriented practice and is a truly marvelous method.  ALL MUSIC EDUCATORS should get this book and encourage all of their students to do so as well.

This book is well worth double its usual price but since that price is currently nothing you really should pick one up today.  He might come to his senses tomorrow.

Click Here for a Free Copy of Lance LaDuke's Music Practice Coach

Brass Recording Project Outtake: Monday YouTube Fix

This moment from the recently completed Brass Recording Project session is just too funny not to share. (Check back here soon for a full rundown of four of the most fun days of any of our careers.)

One of the tunes we recorded for the premiere Brass Recording Project album was Henry Fillmore's "Circus Bee" march.  After we got it in the can, Lance LaDuke (trombone, euphonium, all-around jackass) lost his mind and started doing a one man band version of the march.  I've already said too much.

Enjoy! And follow the Brass Recording Project on Facebook.  Cheers!

Start Small

"Overwhelmed? Stop. Assess. Tackle one small thing. One step in the right direction. Rinse & repeat." - One of Lance LaDuke's daily practice tips on Twitter

If you are anything like me, when faced with an apparently insurmountable task your first instinct is to put it off.  This can absolutely happen to the best of us in the practice room.

The above quote is a great reminder for all of us when it comes to practicing.  Identify a small thing to improve, then tackle it.  Do that over and over again and you can learn an entire recital's worth of music in due time.

Rome wasn't built in a day either.