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.

A Dose of Arnold Jacobs for Your Weekend

"Playing your instrument is not tonguing, fingering, and buzzing. It is hearing the song in your head and recreating it."

— Andrew Hitz (@JacobsQuotes) April 12, 2021

One of the many reasons that Arnold Jacob’s teaching lives on is that he was so quotable. A lot of his big ideas could be conveyed in a standalone soundbite. That’s powerful.

This quote is so simple but a great reminder.

At Northwestern, Rex Martin always told those of us in his studio that his goal was for us to be great musicians who happened to play the tuba well. It was never for us to only be great tuba operators.

I’ve always thought of myself as a musician who happens to play the tuba ever since. And the musician in me is driven by the song, not by the tuba operating.

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This tweet is from @JacobsQuotes, an account I run as a part of Pedal Note Media. Give it a follow for the occasional nugget of Arnold Jacobs wisdom!

Tom Hooten on Getting Organized and Not Labeling Yourself

This is some empowering stuff right here!

Principal Trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Tom Hooten joined me for a Winning the Audition workshop and the amount of knowledge he dropped in just one hour was insane. Here he talks about getting organized when practicing and why we shouldn’t label ourselves.

"Hey, isn't it interesting that I really don't feel that confident of soft playing and I've worked on it twice in 15 days. You're like, ‘Hey, that's cool because you know what? It's not a me thing. It's a mismanagement of my time thing.’ I don't have to be self-conscious like, ‘Oh, I am labeling myself. My soft playing sucks.’ Not really. It's just lacking attention.”

Tom went really deep on not just audition prep but also his entire approach to practicing and maintaining a healthy outlook on the horn.

Topics covered:

👉 Tom's five pillars to audition preparation
👉 Why Tom had to get brutally honest with himself about what he could do on the trumpet and where his approach to practicing needed improving
👉 The importance of intentionally addressing all of our weaknesses on a regular basis rather than inadvertently avoiding them in the practice room
👉 Why the judgements we have of ourselves and our limitations on the instrument are frequently just an issue of a lack of time spent in that area
👉 What is Neuro-Associative Conditioning and why Tom relied heavily on it during audition prep
👉 And much more!

You can get long-term access to this workshop through the Hitz Academy archives for only $19.

The Brass Junkies Episode 161: Thomas Gansch of Mnozil Brass

This guy is a legend!

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Mnozil Brass. It was at the ITG in Banff in 2008 and I actually stood on the wings and watched them from backstage. What a remarkable vantage point. I could see the crowd reacting to them. Saw them coming on and off. It was one of the best brass performances I’ve ever seen.

Thomas is a delight. He is a wonderful human being filled with so much creative energy that he barely has time to get it all out. And he just has a great attitude about everything: playing, touring, life.

This was one of my favorites (which I feel like I’ve been saying a lot lately but we’ve had an exceptional run of Brass Junkies interviews lately!)

You can watch the episode on YouTube below or head over to Pedal Note Media for all of the links.

Enjoy!

The Brass Junkies Episode 160: Nicole Cash

This was a really special episode. I had the privilege of attending Northwestern University with Nicole Cash. We overlapped by three years. She was one of the best players in the deepest studio in the entire school of music. We then played for a summer together in the National Repertory Orchestra. Again, she was a superstar there.

She ended up all the way in the San Francisco Symphony which surprised no one who knew her.

Her career was then tragically cut short by focal distonia. It was a huge loss for the horn world and the musical world at large.

Nicole was so generous in this interview. She was honest and open and vulnerable and she is amazing. I left this conversation with a serious dose of perspective and very appreciative of having my health.

You can watch the episode on YouTube below or head over to Pedal Note Media for all of the links.

The best interviews change the audience and change the interviewers. This was one of those.

Thank you, Nicole. It was an honor to play with you.

Winning the Audition with Chris Martin

Learn the audition preparation strategies that have won Chris Martin auditions for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and his current position of Principal Trumpet of the New York Philharmonic in this Winning the Audition workshop.

Chris covered a lot of ground!

👉 The almost 20 auditions Chris didn't win before winning his first win with Philadelphia and what he learned from those experiences
👉 The methodical work he did in the practice room to be able to play his best consistently
👉 How he learned to transfer playing his best from the practice room to the stage
👉 How he developed a "performer's mentality" (and the method was not what I expected!) and how long it took him to develop it
👉 How he dealt with getting nervous in auditions
👉 And much more!

Purchase long-term access to this workshop for only $29!

The Brass Junkies Episode 159: Bente Illevold

This was one of my favorite interviews yet and that’s saying something since we recently passed #150!

Norwegian euphonium superstar Bente Illevold has created a remarkable career for herself. Her entrepreneurial spirit is contagious. This interview is must listen for anyone aspiring to have a career in the music business.

You can find various links to the episode here or catch it on YouTube below.

Enjoy!

Mark Gould on Swing

I get asked by people a lot for my definition of swing. It is an incredibly difficult thing to succinctly put into words.

But Mark Gould does just that (with a little bit of singing thrown in) in just two minutes.

I have already played this clip for a number of my students in lessons. Because all music needs to swing.

You can hear the entire interview here.

The Magic of Sustained Effort

Small habits don't add up, they compound. You don't need to be twice as good to get twice the results. You just need to be slightly better.

— James Clear (@james_clear) August 25, 2017

The key to improving at anything is sustained effort.

Small habits practiced just a little bit every day will compound.

David Zerkel once shared this gem with one of my students in a master class:

“If you practice lip slurs every single day for two straight weeks, the lip trill fairy will pay you a visit.”

Rather than practicing lip trills for three total hours over two days, practice them for 10 minutes a day for 14 straight days (which for the record is actually 40 less minutes overall.) You will not only have improved more at the end of those two weeks than you would have over the two days, that improvement will also be much more permanent.

The key to those 14 days is making sure the practicing is intentional. Totally focused. Phone on airplane mode. Going in with a plan. Fully in the feedback loop.

To circle back to the James Clear quote at the top, the goal is not to make massive strides. It is to get a little better every day. That improvement, just like money patiently left in a savings account or an index fund, will compound.

Establish sustainable habits and you’ll be amazed at the results.

The Brass Junkies Episode 158: Mark Gould

This interview we did with former Principal Trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera, Mark Gould, is phenomenal. And I’m not talking about our interviewing skills!

What a fascinating conversation about performing, teaching, being creative, being human.

Seriously, don’t miss this one. And literally every musician I know should buy his brand new book, Gould on Music.

You can find various links to the episode here or catch it on YouTube below.

Enjoy!