Reader Requests

Hello everyone!

I've been thinking about what I could put on this blog, and I've decided to leave it up to my readers to decide what should be included in my next few posts.

If you or one of your kids are a beginning brass player, what do you find difficult about practicing?

If you're a more experienced brass player, what do you know now that you wish you knew earlier in your career as a musician?

If you're a fellow music teacher, what do your brass students struggle with that you'd like a different perspective on?

Drop your responses in the comments, or send me an email!

Valve Maintenance for Trumpets, Euphoniums, and Tubas

Hello again!

In this post, I'll write a bit about what you can do to keep your valves in top condition for your Trumpet, Baritone, Euphonium, or Tuba with piston valves.

This image from http://www.empirewinds.com/articles_valve_guide.htm shows the basic setup of most piston valves, although some variations are possible. For example, most trumpets have the spring built into the valve instead of being separate, or some instruments have the valve guide as an extension of the piston.

The most common maintenance that any valved brass instrument will need is the oiling of the valves. To do this, simply unscrew the top valve cap, pull out the valve, and apply just a few drops of valve oil to the exposed piston. After the valve has oil on it, slide it back in, making sure to properly align the valve guide. Make sure to only remove one valve at a time, and to return each valve to the correct valve casing. If your valves get out of order, or aren't aligned properly, it could make your instrument extremely hard to blow into, and possibly damage the valve!

If one of your valves is particularly sticky, despite frequent oiling, you can try cleaning the valve and valve casing. Using a small, lint-free cloth, wipe down the body of the piston and the inside of the valve casing. If a cloth is unavailable or not all of the casing can be reached, you can do this also by rinsing the piston and valve casing with lukewarm water. After cleaning off the valve, make sure to oil the valve.

As for what type of oil you should use, there are plenty of types out there, and most of them will be just fine for beginners My personal choice as a professional is Hetman Synthetic #2 lubricant, but that can be a bit pricey for a bottle that will most likely get lost by your 5th or 6th grader (I'm writing this as someone who is halfway through a Bachelor's in Music who just recently lost over $30 in various instrument lubricants). Al Cass Fast Valve and Slide Oil will work just fine for younger players, at a fraction of the cost.

For information about oiling rotary valves, check out this video by James Bolden
Rotary Valves oiling

Warming-Up for Brass Players

Hello Everybody!

Today I'd like to write briefly about the most important part of any practice session: the warm-up. All brass players use a certain set of muscles located on different parts of the face, and several others throughout the body. Just as an athlete warms-up before they train, brass players also must warm-up before playing in order to maximize performance and reduce chance of injury.

The two most crucial parts of a brass player's warm-up are long tones and lip slurs

Long tones are simply notes held out for an extended period of time. They may not sound the most exciting, but they work. In addition to warming up your face, you can use long tones to do several things, like:

• Focus on minimizing unnecessary tension in the mouth or throat
• Listen to your pitch to ensure that it is stable
• Pay attention to your posture

Lip slurs are patterns of notes that are played only with the embouchure, without the help of the fingers or tongue. A sample lip slur exercise might be something like this:

Arabic Numerals denote valve combinations
Roman Numerals denote trombone slide position

While lip slurs and long tones are also good exercises for building ability in general, there is one key difference between lip slurs and long tones as a warm up and as an exercise, which is the range. While warming up, brass players should avoid playing these exercises in the extremes of their range, especially the upper extreme. This will actually hurt the player more than help them.

For more information about other ways to warm up, check out this video uploaded by Scott Prescot Brass Warm-Up

Introduction

Hello!

My name is Zachary Young, and I am a sophomore Music Education student at Kent State University. I have taught lessons on all brass instruments since my sophomore year at at United Local High School in Hanoverton, Ohio. I have also been previously contracted to assist with band camp sectionals for Wadsworth High School, Revere High School, and Crestview High School. 

In addition to teaching music, I also enjoy performing.  I currently play as Principal Euphonium in the Kent Wind Ensemble, and I play baritone in Kent State University's Flasher Brass pep band. I have performed in the past with the Quaker City Band in Salem, Ohio, and the Kent State Summer Band. As a high school student, I performed with the Stambaugh Youth Concert Band in Youngstown, Ohio, and the Columbiana County Honors Band. In the spring of 2017, I became a member of the Delta Upsilon chapter of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.

The Delta Upsilon chapter Delta Omicron at
 Kent State University

Within this blog, I intend on sharing resources for brass students of all ages, obtaining feedback from band students and their parents, and connecting with fellow colleagues. As they come up, I additionally plan on sharing information about workshops and other important events in the NE Ohio area.