Greg Spence - Trumpeter/Author

Hi, my name is Greg Spence and I am a full time trumpet performer and educator. A recent career highlight was performing with Bobby Shew at the Melbourne International Festival of Brass. I am currently playing trumpet on the Australian version of Dancing With The Stars and perform regularly with big band and Latin American ensembles. I am performing with Herbie Hancock and the Queensland Orchestra in April and have an exciting year coming up with some travel combined with promoting the book.

Trumpet players across the globe practise too much and play too little. Ask yourself why you play the trumpet. Usually the answers from beginners are along the lines of 'because of the sound', 'because it is loud' or 'because it is fun'.

There is a lesson in these answers. We often seem to lose the reason we are actually playing and get frustrated about what we can't do. That is not fun.

The trumpet can be a difficult instrument to learn just as a plane can be a difficult machine to fly if you don't have the proper training and information.

There is a list of traps that we fall into. See if you qualify:

- repeating exercises that don't need to be repeated just to make sure that it is still working

- do a long, methodical warm up because you were told you have but you don't really know why

- spend 80% or more of your playing time doing exercises in the hope you will get better

They are all easy traps to fall into.

OK. Lets think about the sound and the music for a moment. What is it about your favorite piece that makes you want to play it. Is it the sound of the person playing it? Does the melody have big jumps or long smooth flowing lines? Is it the graceful or edgy articulation required in different genres of music? Is it the technique demonstrated? Is it all of the above?

To play any of the above, you need:

- Range

- Flexibility

- Articulation

- Endurance

The main point missing from this list above is concept of sound. The imagination is a powerful tool that is too rarely used in trumpet playing. Be sure that you can pre hear what you are going to play before you attempt to play anything. My book comes with a CD so you first listen to the exercise then you attempt to copy the sound.

Bill Adams, one of the great brass teachers says to have a vivid picture in your mind of the sound you want to make. The brain, over time, will train the body to get the desired result in the most efficient way.

Be sure that your expectations are within reason for your current ability. There is a real big difference between playing something that is demanding and trying to play something that is way beyond you. Bad habits can form, even from day one, when trying to play things out of your league. A high percentage of my teaching is teaching people to relearn how to play. Eventually the new habits take the place of the old. That is why my book has been so successful. It is like rebooting the system because it works if you are a first time user, a comeback player or an experienced player looking to break through to the next stage.

Why do you want to play the trumpet?

Why do you want to play tunes?

Most players spend far too much time trying to develop techniques without actually relating it to any music. 'I better play that exercise again, just to make sure I can do it again'. Bobby Shew likens it to washing your car after you just finished washing it! Assess what technical difficulties a piece has and then use the appropriate exercise to help improve the technique.

How much can you possibly improve any given technique on any day? A small amount of work on a regular basis will provide the desired result over a period of time. Pushing yourself too hard leads to manipulation which leads to a swollen aperture or a choked thorax. You cannot ignore physics so take your time to learn from the Mystery to Mastery website how the trumpet works.

Over the last 15 years, I have researched many methods and approaches for improving on the trumpet. Being self taught originally, I have fallen into most of the many traps that the trumpet can confront you with.

Even though I have been performing on television and theatre for many years, I am by no means a virtuoso like my idols Maynard Ferguson, Raphael Mendez, Bobby Shew, Doc Severensen, James Morrison, Bill Chase, Lee Morgan, Maurice Andre and the likes.

I am however, someone who has dedicated his life to this wonderful instrument and in doing so have learnt amazing information from world renowned teachers such as Bobby Shew, James Stamp, Claude Gordon, Carmine Caruso, Dr Charles Colin, Max Schlossberg, Jerome Callet, Bill Adam, Arnold Jacobs and Jean Baptiste Arban helping me progress way beyond my expectations and this same information will undoubtedly help you in your quest for trumpet mastery.

Over my years of study, I noticed that although some of these great methods are quite different in approach, their message was often very similar.

The aim of my book was to compile and explain this information in the clearest most concise way for players of all standards, then to combine basic to advanced exercises and to demonstrate them on CD. That is the real key to the success of this book - to understand, to hear, to copy!

Like myself 20 years ago, most people do not have the opportunity to get lessons from the top teachers and therefore struggle to emulate the amazing feats demonstrated by their heroes.

The Mystery to Mastery web site has a lot of this information available free for you to read and download. The benefit of the book is in allowing self assessment of your technical performance while hearing what all of the exercises should sound like allowing you to progress in an achievable step-by-step manner.

The book provides you with an insight into what your body is doing and how to harness your natural energy to make the trumpet an easier instrument to play. Gone are the days of frustration when you can understand what it is you can and can't do, and why!

I am very proud to have received glowing reviews from players such as Allen Vizzutti and James Morrison as well as being endorsed by the International Trumpet Guild and Yamaha Music Australia. These incredible endorsements along with brilliant feedback from players from all over the world has made this one of the most fulfilling projects that anyone could ever hope to work on. It has certainly made the hundreds if not thousands of hours that I have put into practise and research over the years very worthwhile.

Please enjoy the web site and the book and I am sure you will find plenty of information to keep you motivated on your lifelong trumpet journey.

Best Wishes,

Greg Spence

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