The inspiration of our peers and those who have gone before us are so important to our future as musicians. Students need a sound concept and musicians to look up to, and current or aspiring professional musicians thrive in communities of peers where ideas, struggles, and experiences are shared.

Can it be this simple?  Find a "high note mouthpiece" or the "endurance" mouthpiece, put it in the instrument and you'll have better range/endurance? These incredible tools can take your playing to new heights. But how do we prepare ourselves to master the potential of these mouthpieces that may not feel like home? Denis Wick trumpet artists Josh Rzepka, Preston Bailey, Chris O'Hara, and Arnetta Johnson have some thoughts for you if you're looking for an answer! Here is a clip of our recent webinar "It's got to be the mouthpiece... or does it?".

If you are a beginner musician, your job is easy. Just use our Mouthpiece Suggestions  to find an appropriate beginner mouthpiece. If you have advanced from beginner, you have a few more steps to choose the mouthpiece that supports you best.

If you have hung around Denis Wick for even a short time, you have probably seen some content on the extreme functional versatility of this mute. The adjustable cup not only allows you ultimate tone color versatility for your cup mute performance, but can be pulled apart and used in multiple different ways. How many you ask? find out in this quick video with Denis Wick artist Estela Aragon.

When getting ready for a significant performance, it's common to divide your preparation into two categories: musical preparation and physical preparation. Incorporate these four principles of preparation from Denis Wick Artist Victor Haskins to ensure that your preparation is effective and promotes your overall well-being for your upcoming big performance.

When it comes to trombone practice, the mute is usually the last thing players think about as they organize their day. However, as we learn in this clinic with Chris Houlding, leaving your mute out of your daily practice session is a very bad practice! Get practice tips for mute prep so that you are ready for performance success in the trombone excerpts Denis Wick artist Chris Houlding reviews in this short masterclass.

As a professional trombone and euphonium performer and college educator, I am asked about mouthpieces all of the time. A question that frequently is asked by trombone/euphonium doublers like myself is:

Can I use the same mouthpiece for both trombone and euphonium?

Given the plethora of research and reports highlighting the importance of music education in achieving success across various subjects, it is only natural for you, as a parent, to want to motivate your child to persevere in this newfound skill they are acquiring. "But I never learned an instrument in school. I have no idea how they are making sounds or how to encourage them!" I'm here to tell you you know more tan you are giving yourself credit for. Here is what you know, and the tools you have to become your child's greatest inspiration.

Whenever I give clinics, the usual questions about practicing or instrument/mouthpiece choice inevitably arise. The questions that never get asked are about the other, non-musical things that go into a successful music career – and they are numerous. This is the stuff that doesn’t get talked about much in music classes, and comprises the vast majority of what I do on a daily basis. Recently, while talking to class of collegiate trumpet players, the professor (who is also one of my former teachers and knows me pretty well) asked me to tell the students how many companies I run. Here it goes (and I’ll try to keep it brief):

There is a well known stereotype of  the gear-happy trumpet player buying too many mouthpiece, guitar players with huge guitar collections, but how many tuba collectors do you know? Daniel Ridder has been slowly building his collections of tubas from all around the world and shares them in this interview with Denis Wick artist manager, Brett Baker.