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):

Everybody wants a quick fix to their playing issue, but do they exist? The safe answer is no. You must work diligently every day to establish good playing habits and learn your music. But what if you are doing that and there are still issues? Here are some thoughts that might be the quick fix to your problem.

Every single musician in the world has to practice. It’s just, something you have to do if you want to get better, and like practicing for anything else there are good and bad ways to do it. If you practice daily and don’t see results there could be a fundamental issue with your embouchure, but it could just be that the way you practice is not productive and you’re wasting time.

In part 1, we established two major things about tuning; that it is by definition a comparison, and that having a consistent quality of tone is important before tuning.  Now we can use those ideas to clarify some other areas of tuning and provide a guide to address some common problems.

Tuning is one of the few areas of music that is binary; something is in tune or it is not.  However, even though most everyone would agree with this statement, the subject of tuning and its pedagogy get surprisingly muddled especially within the world of marching band.  While there are still many ways to address tuning, keeping in mind the following concepts will help guide you to success and diagnose problems you may encounter.

In the last 10 years the quantity of mute options has exploded in a way few brass accessories have. This makes a simple Amazon or online search a little more interesting than it used to! Your next step might have been to read a couple product descriptions, but that is where it gets really strange! "Where did all these mutes come from, and what does it all mean?" We can help. Use these product description red flags to separate out the quality from the imposters.

You have your aluminum straight with 3 different bottom options (brass, copper, and aluminum), your synthetic mute... why do you need a wooden mute? Like a painter with a palette of glorious colors, as brass players we need an arsenal of options that bring us glorious sound in all different colors. Enter the wooden mute.

Founding member of Bella Tromba and Denis Wick artist Jo Harris has a wide and varied career as a professional trumpet performer in the UK. Use these tips to enjoy effortless mute performance and always be prepared for your next gig.