His clinic at the Wisconsin Music Teacher’s Association Convention was fantastic.  He basically walked us through his life as a musician and how he started out in drum corps but pretty-much self-taught.  As he developed he found profound and lasting influences through key teachers.  As he talked about different stages of his development he would play examples.  His sound is huge!  Had I not been able to see his fingers, I would never have guessed he was playing high E’s, A’s or double C’s.  He is not just a high-note machine, though.  His sound is very flexible, expressive and lyrical – in all ranges of the horn.

The thing that I came away with in Wayne’s talk was something that I also believe and “push” on my students.  That is, while air is important for range and sound, the aperture is the key to controlling air speed and response.  When one moves a lot of air through the lips they are bound to “blow apart” and open up.  This can be okay when playing high or loud but makes soft or delicate entrances impossible.  Focusing in on controlling how open or closed your aperture is, will give you much more confidence and control with pianissimo passages.

I plan on researching and writing more extensively on this topic so please stay tuned.

But for now, visit Wayne Bergeron’s website, and become a fan.  He is truly one of the great players of our day.

Biographical Info

David Sampson is a trumpet player, teacher and composer living in New Jersey. He has made considerable contributions to 20th and 21st Century trumpet literature by composing more than fifteen works featuring the trumpet as well as works for wind ensemble, brass ensembles of various instrumentation and choirs. Further biographical information on David Sampson can be found here.

Suggested Equipment

Bb trumpet is suggested by the composer.
For the clips included here I used an Eclipse Bb trumpet.

Sampson 1 Krems

Sampson 2 Richmond

Sampson 3 Delaware

Practice/Performance Tips

Notes from Faraway Places is a wonderful book of music by David Sampson.  It contains 3 suites for solo trumpet, each containing 3 movements.  It also contains a suite of duets that also contain 3 movements.  That’s 12 Sampson works for trumpet in all!  It is all fantastic stuff and has found it’s way into my daily practice routine.  I bought my copy through Editions Bim, and you should too!

“Like many trumpet players, I am always looking for new material to practice and perform. There exists a plethora of challenging and musically satisfying solos and etudes from various musical eras, but when I decided to add to our repertoire, the longer, more substantial concert etude attracted me most.
Using extended traditional techniques, these suites are works intended for public performance and require a lyrical, expressive approach throughout.
The “Notes from Faraway Places” were written between 1992-99. Each etude is labeled with the city or area in which it was composed. Two exceptions: Suite 3, Etude 2, “The Crow’s Nest”, is the name of my music studio in Morristown, New Jersey; Suite 3, Etude 3 “Solo”, is a piece for solo flugelhorn that appeared in the International Trumpet Guild Journal in 1992. (Note: I reviewed Solo here.)
The suites call for Bb and Eb Trumpets along with flugelhorn. The duets at the end of each suite use ideas from at least one of the etudes within the suite and as a result, constitute in each case a coda.”
-David Sampson

Suggested Recordings

As of this posting, I know of no commercially available recordings of this work.

One Trumpeter’s Tome on Tone

Discussing the aesthetics of tone quality is definitely a daunting business. Words fail when we try to describe the ineffable, so thanks for bearing with me as I make one more attempt.

From the standpoint of physics (sound waves traveling through air) and biology/psychology (how our bodies and minds receive and react to those vibrations) what we hear as “bright” and “dark” is simply the predominance of certain overtones within the sound.

“Highs,” especially in the 5000Hz range (i.e. piccolo or orchestral bells) “highly” stimulate the eardrums. On the other hand, “lows” are not only heard but felt and give the impression of weight (bass drum and tympani.) The splash of a gong presents an extreme range of overtones but without the focus and coherence that we expect from what is traditionally considered “musical” tone.

If one makes an analytical study of tone and tone production (Disciplines that may apply are physics, acoustics, fluid dynamics, biomechanics, the psychology of perception) it is possible to discover much helpful information. For performing musicians however, our ultimate goal is emotional communication. The aesthetic effect of tone is much more complex than what can be measured in the sound.

An artists’ intention is to communicate meaning and to evoke deep emotional response.  As musical artists, we use sound as our medium of expression. In this artistic context, the words “bright” and “dark” are just too simplistic.

Let’s consider the aesthetics of tone

A few words brass players commonly use to describe desirable qualities of sound are: round, focused, warm, brilliant, deep, ringing, resonant, solid, fluid, stable, agile, broad, compact, commanding, rich, singing, strong, flexible, lyrical etc.  Many of these terms represent contrasts and are an attempt to express paradoxical realities. That can leave us frustrated if we want only simple answers.

It is also important to consider our own prejudices.  For example, a pejorative use of the word “bright” could mean, shrill, lacking depth narrow, nasal, tight, edgy, thin, shallow, metallic, hard, etc.  On the other hand, if “bright” is considered a desirable quality, then perhaps we mean glorious, brilliant, shining, ringing, radiant, shimmering etc.  By “dark tone” I could mean tubby, heavy, thick, dull, veiled, foggy etc. or, on the other hand, warm, rich, muscular, velvety, deep, chocolaty, golden, etc.  Of course these adjectives refer to highly subjective and sensual realities.

Another issue to consider (as anyone who plays in an ensemble knows) is that we tend to rely heavily on what our ears tell us as we play.  We use this information to make aesthetic judgments during performance.   Experienced players are keenly aware of musical balance and blend, which require precise control of sound intensity and flexibility of tone color. This is especially apparent in orchestral performance.  To do the job well, we simply must have sufficient and “accurate” feedback to our ears.

The situation is complicated by the fact that what we actually hear as we play can never be considered an accurate representation of the musical effect that reaches the audience, the conductor or the microphone.

Dale Clevenger’s response, when complimented on “that signature Clevenger sound” was appropriate in this context.

He said, “Yeah, too bad I’ll never hear it!”

Fortunately, we can continue to develop the musical quality of our sound by seeking help from trusted colleagues, conductors and mentors, by studying quality recordings of our work, and by allowing ourselves to be influenced by the finest players.

Ultimately what most of us respond to is beauty and character in the sound.

So, what is beautiful sound?

Humans instinctively react to musical sounds of all kinds.

Apparently, musical tone “means something” to us emotionally.  It is evocative. It strikes a sympathetic resonance in our hearts. The same thing happens when we taste excellent food, breath in a pure scent, view a majestic scene or see a lovely face. Our response is not logical, analytical or reasonable. It is however, strongly influenced by our individual “taste,” which may explain why there is so much confusion and disagreement surrounding this subject.

Beyond simple personal preference, our response is also strongly conditioned by what we are accustomed to and influenced by the unique sound of other players who we admire. All that being said, it can also be well argued that, in the perception of beauty, there may be universal human constants at work.

My own observation is that when all the ingredients that comprise tone are excellently proportioned, dynamically interactive and relationally harmonious we recognize that tone as beautiful.

Keep in mind however, that it is not beauty alone in which we are interested, but also the communication of meaning. We’ve heard the phrase “Don’t take that tone with me!”  and we know that our “tone of voice” can be employed not only to express sublime sentiments but horrific emotion as well.  The dramatic potential of the sound of the human voice is immense.  Actually, the expressive capability of the human voice is what we should emulate and as  Mr. Herseth once told me, “You know…. it doesn’t always have to be beautiful!”

Experienced players have learned to allow their tone (among many other things) to adjust to accommodate the stylistic differences of the wide variety of composers whose music they interpret.  I recommend to my students that they play their “routine” exercises (such as scales) in such a way as to portray the characteristic style of various composers.  Play one exercise in the style of Wagner for instance and the next in the style of Ravel, the following scale in the style of Stravinsky and the next in the style of Mozart.

Not only must the colors in the tone be flexible but also, it is necessary to be fluent in the execution of a wide variety of other musical elements that comprise style. Some “ingredients” to listen for are, timing within the tempo (in regular or flexible pulse), a sense of “pace,” quality of attacks and releases, verticality and/or linearity, weight of the sound, texture of the sound, shape of individual notes, shape and gesture of complete phrases, flexibility and/or stability of sustained pitch, precise or loose intervallic relationships, vibrato, dynamic inflections within individual notes and throughout phrases, and many more.  All these elements must work in complete harmony with each other in order to successfully express the authentic character of the music

If the goal is great musical expression, one must consider much more than “color” of tone alone.

Every serious musical artist will continue to educate his or her aesthetic palate.  We can enjoy all kinds of tone, from all instruments in all genres in order to fully develop an excellent sense of taste. Then we will be better equipped to discern what styles and artistic qualities of “musical food” are appropriate to prepare and serve to our audience.

Finally, players must strive to discover, develop and maintain their own simple and natural manner of tone production. Much of our work is to cultivate, nurture and appreciate our individual “voice” through the instrument.  It is also necessary to develop a wide pallet of color, texture, dimension, shape and density of sound that will afford the expression of a much greater range of musical meaning.  When listening to great performers on any instrument (especially vocal artists) it should become obvious that there is no single “dark” or “bright” tone that is sufficient for the range of human experience we strive to communicate.

So, is a “bright” tone bad and “dark” tone good?

Let’s decide to not trap ourselves in that very small box labeled “bright” or “dark.” The world is full of stunningly interesting and beautiful tone. Open your ears, taste the sounds and enjoy!

©2010 Steven A. Emery

I went up with four UWP trumpet students and we all had a great time trying out horns, mouthpieces, going to great concerts and clinics and we even found a fantastic Indian restaurant!  We all came away with different personal highlights of the week which I think is a sign of a strong, diverse conference.  I would have to say my highlight was hearing Jouko Harjanne play the Linkola trumpet concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra.  They played Mahler 6 on the second half of the program which was also fantastic but Jouko stole the show for me.

The other was hearing a recording of Mahler 2 – The Ressurection.  Shortly after my aforementioned Herseth experience I continued on to grad school to get my masters at U of Akron with Scott Johnston.  I can’t remember now but for some reason I had to be in Ohio rather early which meant leaving Wisconsin around 3am.  I packed my 73 Ford Pinto with everything I owned and headed east to live on my own for the first time pursuing a career (orchestral trumpet) that was a very new thing for me.  (Up until that point I always figured I would be living in New York playing with Art Blakey at this time in my life.)  Yep, going from one naive dream to another I suppose…  Anyway, back to the trip.  My undergrad teacher Bob Levy, gave me a going away gift of a recording of Mahler 2 so I popped it in for the drive.  At around 5am I passed Chicago and was heading due east through Indiana.  After driving a few hours the sun rose right at the same moment my recording came to rehearsal 11 in the 5^th movement.  This is about an hour into this very dramatic, dark, immense work when Mahler parts the clouds with the horns and his sky opens up.  I’m not personally a religious person but this is the best musical depiction of the resurrection scene I could possibly imagine.  Well, with all this newness and unrest going on in my life and then the timing of the sunrise and climatic Mahler moment I had to pull over I was so shaken.  Music can be some pretty powerful stuff.

I had the privilege of playing Mahler 2 this week with Madison Symphony and I have to say that this piece still knocks me out.  I’m glad my colleagues in the section are busy and not able to see my face during parts of this work.

As a college music professor, I have this conversation every now and then.  As someone who transferred to four schools during my undergrad years, I would like to offer my thoughts on the subject.

Most of the time when students investigate a move, they feel like they could be getting a better education somewhere else.  For me, one of my transfers was to study with a great teacher and the other two times were to play in great jazz bands.  Sometimes personality issues come in to play whether it’s tension between student and teacher or the student and other students.  Then there is the feeling that they want to go to a better, more prestigious music school; where the students are all serious, dedicated practice-o-holics.  That place existed in the 80’s on TV and it was called “Fame”.

To further address this last point, I have taken a very informal poll among my university faculty friends and we all agree that when we seriously think about our undergraduate music education, there were really only about 20% of the music students that were “serious students” and the rest were along for the ride.  When I went to grad school for my Masters that percentage flipped and about 80% were die-hard geeks.  Finally, the students I hung out with that were getting Doctorates were 100% on board.

If you are a “serious” music student and feel like you are alone in your seriousness and not getting the inspiration from your fellow students I would suggest you step back and take a second look, before jumping ship and transferring.  If you apply this “20% geek principal” among fellow undergraduates there will be a handful of other players who also take their craft seriously, whatever school you are attending.  My suggestion is­ to form chamber ensembles with those people; hang, practice and listen to music together.  In a school with 100 majors there will be 20 musicians that you can find to create chamber music and the beautiful thing is they will more than likely be looking to do the same thing as you.  If you are at an undergrad at a school with a grad program your percentages of serious students will feel different because the grad students will have a much higher percentage.  If you can get in to chamber ensembles with them, great otherwise look for the dedicated 20% among the undergrads.

Having gone through all three degrees I look back on my undergrad years differently than my grad degrees.  There was much more social and personal growth associated with those early years.  Those social memories, while maybe not quite as musically sophisticated as my grad years, have made a very lasting and important impression on who I have become as a person and player.  If I were to do it over again I would not have transferred and worked harder to forge and foster those relationships at my initial undergraduate school.  (The old saying applies; “the grass is not always greener…”)

My last word on transferring

While it would be hypocritical for me to say “students should never transfer”, I can say that if I had the opportunity to do it over again, I would have stayed at one school.  When I used to think back on my four undergrad schools I thought that each change made for a better situation and my last school was my favorite.  Now I wonder if it was just that I was maturing and thus appreciating and getting more out of the college environment each year.  I see my students at the small liberal arts state university where I teach now (UW-Platteville) and feel that some of them are coming away with a more thorough, grounded education than I had, even though I attended some pretty “fancy places” compared to UWP.  I know that many of my students have been able to form more lasting, meaningful friendships both with students and faculty than I was able to do in my short visits per institution.  In short, the rewards of sticking to something, learning how to make the most of a given situation, seeing something through from start to finish outweigh always looking over your shoulder for a better situation.

Also, if any of my former undergraduate teachers happen to be reading this, I sincerely apologize for my shortsighted-ness.  I had no idea how devastating and disrupting a transferring student can be to a studio and music department.  Until now that I have my own studio …

Keep your powder dry

As far as going to a more prestigious school for an undergrad degree, I say “Keep your powder dry.”  Save the big ticket tuition schools for your grad degrees.  Meaning, all you really need as an undergrad is 1. a teacher that has a clue in what to suggest you work on, and 2. a practice room.  Ideally, this will be in a safe, nurturing environment where you have ample access to practice facilities.  A couple of my schools were highly competitive, even in getting practice room time, and you can’t work the same if you know someone is always listening or waiting outside your door for you to finish.  In the big scheme of things, where you get your undergrad degree is not as important as where you get your grad degrees.  So, work on your self-development as a player and person during your undergraduate, save some money and save the more “prestigious” expensive places for your advanced degrees.  You’ll appreciate the education more by then and so will your future employer.

Big schools vs. Small schools

Another topic I find myself discussing especially with high school seniors is what size of school will be best for me.  Again, having attended six universities as a student and having taught at 3 others – some big schools, some small – I have some thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of both situations.

Perhaps this has happened to you; you’re all warmed up and ready to go onstage for your recital or solo performance, you’ve tried to quell the nerves by trying to remain relaxed, taking deep breaths backstage and just generally trying to focus and calm down before walking out onstage.  Things feel good, you’re ready and walk out only to have your heart start racing about 10 seconds into your performance.  You feel light-headed and panic is knocking trying to enter your thoughts.  Meanwhile you’re playing along saying to yourself, “wtf? I know this piece cold and I was just calm about it a minute ago.”

Perhaps I’m the only one who has this kind of inner dialog, complete with texting abbreviations, going on while performing but moments like this can get pretty distracting.  However, I think I’ve stumbled on to something that helps me.  First off, what I think is happening is not entirely a “nerves” issue.  I think it’s a body energy/heart rate issue.  When we perform our heart rate naturally goes up due to the heightened concentration, breathing, activity, etc.  Backstage we were trying to calm everything down to feel relaxed and when we stand up, walk on stage and start playing that naturally changes the heart rate – rather quickly.  This change in pulse might confuse you for getting nervous which triggers the inner dialog and it’s downhill from there.  The idea is to gradually get your heart rate up prior to standing and taking a solo or walking on stage.  When you are backstage waiting to go on, do some gentle stretches or yoga poses rather that sit quietly in a corner trying to focus.  This will begin to engage your body physically and prep it for the physical activity of playing.

Here is my personal example from this morning.  I got to play two services of the Easter portion of the Messiah.  I come onstage, tune with the orchestra then sit for 55 minutes completely still and then stand up and play “The Trumpet Shall Sound”.  This is one of those situations that was no problem during rehearsals because our very gracious conductor rehearsed the solo movements first then let us go.  This was a relatively early service after a relatively late night so when I stood up to play after sitting for an hour I started feeling a little light headed and started “brain texting” myself.  The next service instead of just relaxing and listening for the hour, I engaged physically even though I was sitting still.  I did different things like sitting very straight and taking long slow metered breaths (8 measures in – 8 measures out…).  I pressed my feet squarely into the floor and engaged my leg muscles.  I also sat straight and moved my back VERY slowly away from the back of the chair so I was engaging my torso muscles isometrically.  (It must be said that I was doing all these things VERY slowly so as to appear to not be doing anything.) Doing this for 20 minutes actually got tiring!  Who would have thought playing the Messiah would have been such a workout!  Anyhow, when I eventually stood my heart rate was up and I felt physically ready to go and had much more fun playing and not wondering if this was going to be the concert that I pass out onstage.  … Come on, we’ve all thought that… haven’t we?

Biographical Info

Toru Takemitsu was a self-taught Japanese composer who combined elements of Eastern and Western music and philosophy to create a unique sound world. Some of his early influences were the sonorities of Debussy, and Messiaen’s use of nature imagery and modal scales. There is a certain influence of Webern in Takemitsu’s use of silence, and Cage in his compositional philosophy, but his overall style is uniquely his own. Takemitsu believed in music as a means of ordering or contextualizing everyday sound in order to make it meaningful or comprehensible. His philosophy of “sound as life” lay behind his incorporation of natural sounds, as well as his desire to juxtapose and reconcile opposing elements such as Orient and Occident, sound and silence, and tradition and innovation. From the beginning, Takemitsu wrote highly experimental music involving improvisation, graphic notation, unusual combinations of instruments and recorded sounds. The result is music of great beauty and originality. It is usually slowly paced and quiet, but also capable of great intensity. The variety, quantity and consistency of Takemitsu’s output are remarkable considering that he never worked within any kind of conventional framework or genre. In addition to the several hundred independent works of music, he scored over ninety films and published twenty books.

Takemitsu had no important teachers, and his musical career really began with the formation of the Jikken Kobo (Experimental Workshop) to promote and perform mixed-media art works. It was Stravinsky’s acclaim of the Requiem for strings in 1959 that launched Takemitsu’s international career. The next few years produced a wide variety of works including Takemitsu’s prolific film work, and numerous new music concerts and festivals that culminated in 1967 with a commission for the 125th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic. By this time, Takemitsu had begun using traditional Japanese instruments in his music. November Steps is one of his most successful combinations of Eastern and Western music; Takemitsu’s style was created from, and rooted in both. Takemitsu’s international fame skyrocketed after this premiere, flooding him with commissions and honors that established him as one of the most influential Japanese composers of the century.

Paths for trumpet was first performed by Hakan Hardenberger at the concert “Hommage a Witold Lutoslawski” at the Warsaw Autumn Festival on September 21, 1994.  The piece is also dedicated to Hardenberger.

Suggested Equipment

It is written for C trumpet with extensive harmon mute usage.  I used a Marcus Bona fiberglass harmon and my Eclipse C for this audio clip.

Paths

Practice/Performance Tips

I was introduced to this piece through hearing it on Hardenberger’s CD, Emotion, and was very moved by its’ emotional gravity and somber tone.  There is a dialogue between the open and muted trumpet that tells a powerful story.  There is nothing “gimmicky” about this unaccompanied work; no explorations of extended techniques; range, or tonguing acrobatics – just a very deep melody.

So then I bought the piece to learn it myself.  When it finally came my first thought was, “Holy #$%^!”  Looking at the sheet music of this melancholy work is incredibly intimidating!  Listening to it seemed so harmless…  Takemitsu apparently took nothing for granted and spelled out every bit of nuance and rubato he was hoping for.  This resulted in some (in my opinion) overly complicated rhythms.  Here is the opening phrase, and this is one of the more simple ones!

Don’t get me wrong, I love this piece, but really; there is an instance where we are playing what amounts to a little more than a half note and he notated it with quarter tied to triplet eighth tied to triplet quarter tied to a sixteenth.  Why do we need to know about this hidden rhythmic subdivision in an unaccompanied piece?

I have heard about a school of thought some composers take in writing their music purposefully complex so that it will only attempted to be played by “serious” musicians.  I have reviewed Stravinky’s Soldier’s Tale here on this site, and those of us that have played it know the many meter changes seem to be more complicated than the music needs.  However in the case of the Soldier’s Tale, the rhythmic complexity is indeed needed, just not perhaps in all parts all the time.  For example, a simple melody may be accompanied by a rhythmically complex background or visa versa.

In the case of Paths, I wonder if the notational complexity actually adds to the performance of this work.  It is such a gentle, flowing, introspective and emotional piece that in my mind simpler notation with the liberty of rubato would put the performer in a more calm state.  This would lessen some anxiety in the performer and perhaps warrant an even more soulful performance.

Suggested Recordings

Hakan Hardenberger – Emotion

The Conferences

The saxophone alliance is similar to ITG in that it is a club, a source for community and information.  It is also similar in that the conferences are geared heavily toward the classical side of the instrument.  I would say that 80% of the presentations and concerts at a trumpet conference are classically-oriented.  Whereas, the sax conference I attended had only ONE jazz presentation the entire weekend.  Where they differ in structure is the Saxophone Alliance is broken up into nine regions, with each region hosting their own 2- or 3-day conferences.  ITG is one international group and holds one major week-long conference a year someplace throughout the world.  (For more information about this years’ conference check this out.) I can see benefits to both conference configurations.  There will be more sax events throughout the year and in predictable locations.  However, when the trumpet conference happens they pull out all the stops and it’s almost always very special.

Musical Astronauts

While there were no astronauts at this particular NASA there were PLENTY of incredibly smart techno-geeks.  I mean that in the nicest way!  Classical saxophonists as a rule are terrifically dedicated to their art; obsessive and/or compulsive even.  I suppose one could say that if they were to attend a trumpet conference for the first time all they would think trumpeters are interested in is playing high notes as loudly as possible.  Well, my first-time initial reaction of a sax conference is there seem to be two main points of focus; what new virtuosic, technical effect can be played on the horn, and, what studio does so-and-so come from.  I heard more extended techniques played on a saxophone this weekend than in my entire life!  (And I’ve hung out with sax players my entire musical life!)  This may be too simplistic of a generalization, but it seems to me that saxes are more caught up in the pedagogical lineage of their instrument than brass players.  Perhaps a decade or two ago brass players would talk about “the Chicago sound” or Cleveland and Boston “schools” of playing but I haven’t that much in the way of “what studio do you come from” from brass players any more.  Apparently, if you were to study from one of the “three pillars” of saxophone you could trace your lineage back to the inventor of the saxophone Adolphe Sax, in two or three generations.  Perhaps studio pride is evolutionary and subsides the longer the instrument has been around.  I’ll have to check with some violin/piano friends about this.

In any event, saxophonists remind me of engineers in their pursuit of always trying to find new ways of making the instrument work and their general complexity of approach.

Musical Outer-space

I wrote an article comparing trumpet and tuba conferences and said that trumpet conferences tended to showcase new or contemporary music more than the tuba.  Well, the literature presented at the NASA conference made the trumpet conferences seem like Renaissance festivals!  There was some very interesting and some bizarre stuff happening there.  I have to say much of the compositional content seemed to focus on a particular extended technique whether it was multi-phonic, slap-tongue, altissimo playing or countless other techniques.  In one particular two-hour evening showcase concert the very last work of the almost completely aleatoric evening was a transcription of a Mahler song and not only was it played breathtakingly beautiful by James Umble, but the music itself was such a sublime way to cleanse the palate and restore my faith in the art of turning a phrase in a beautiful melody.  (During the after-concert bar hang, it was kind of funny to listen to the young sax protégés “poo-poo” that particular moment of the concert as dated and passe.)  I suppose now I’m showing my age…

Biographical Info

Fisher Tull was born in Waco, Texas.  He received his musical training at North Texas State University.  When Dr. Tull originally went to NTSU he was assistant to John Haynie as a trumpet teacher and as a staff arranger for the renowned NTSU Lab Bands.   After He graduated in 1957 he went to Sam Houston State University as instructor of trumpet, theory and jazz ensembles.  He returned to NTSU to study with Samuel Adler for his doctorate in composition.

A native Texan, Fisher Tull earned three degrees from the University of North Texas, including a Ph.D. in Music Composition (1965). He studied trumpet with John Haynie and composition with Samuel Adler. The dedicatees of Eight Profiles were all members of a group of trumpet players who found themselves enrolled in college at the same time. Fisher Tull was one of this group who appeared in Denton, Texas to study music and the trumpet with John Haynie. Haynie continued to influence and shape trumpet players at that university until his retirement in 1990 and continues to “keep in touch” with many of his former students and younger players who seek his advice on the art of trumpet playing.

That Tull was a melodist cannot be questioned after just one listening to the Eight Profiles. That he played the trumpet is probably also apparent, perhaps more so to trumpet players. He also had a bent for musical form. Each Profile is a two-part exercise, if you will, akin to Bach’s Preludes and Fugues. The Profiles were composed as a set but the composer anticipated that only a few would be excerpted and performed in concert. Performing all eight is a Herculean task probably feasible only in recordings. Yet, hearing them side-by-side paints another portrait—one of the composer. Thematically he draws heavily upon his past works but recasts the music in a fresh way to showcase the trumpet and to honor his colleagues. But the overall effect is more than mere étude or sentimental reminiscing. What emerges is a beautiful portrait, or series of portraits, painted by the sound of a single trumpet.

Tull stopped playing the trumpet in the middle 1960s coinciding with his PhD in composition and appointment as Chairman of the Department of Music at Sam Houston State University. However, his involvement with the trumpet continued by composing, along with the Eight Profiles, 2 concerti, a Sonata, the Rhapsody, Three Bagatelles (dedicated to John Haynie), and numerous works for brass quintet and larger brass ensembles. These works are treasured by brass players and continue to be performed frequently by students and professionals.

While there is no indication for this in the score, it seems to me that these eight profiles are presented in increasing difficulty or complexity.  However, none of them I would consider terribly easy!

Suggested Equipment

It is not stated what trumpet these are to be played on.  I prefer Bb but C works as well.  The eighth profile first section has optional mute.  All others are open.

Practice/Performance Tips

The eighth Profile is the only movement that calls for optional mute.  I used a wooden straight in this clip.  It seems to be written in two main sections with an interlude of fast arpeggio flourishes.  The second section reminds me of Copland’s Lincoln Portrait.

Profile VIII-1

The final movement of the set is in 6/8 throughout and a dance-like character.  (with the exception of one 5/8 measure!)  However, there are a number of metric groupings that make this movement the most challenging rhythmically of Tull’s set.

Editorial note:  Page 22, line 5, measure 3 (sorry no measure numbers) is missing a beat.  I assume it is still in 6/8, not 5/8 and there are 4 eighth notes worth of rests in the first part of the measure.

Profile VIII-2

Fisher Tull 8 Profiles for Solo Trumpet related links:

Profile 1

Profile 2

Profile 3

Profile 4

Profile 5

Profile 6

Profile 7

Profile 8

Suggested Recordings

Kevin Cobb – One. This is a fantastic CD of all unaccompanied material.  Kevin is one of the great solo, chamber trumpet players around today and plays with the American Brass Quintet and teaches at Julliard and Aspen.  His CD is an absolute MUST HAVE for any serious trumpet player.

John Holt – Unconventional Trumpet

Anthony Plog – 20th Century Settings for Trumpet