Most Popular Blogs

Our friends at Quick Horn Rinse have come up with another great solution to problems that many euphonium players face. The design and dimensions of modern euphoniums can make it tiring to hold them in the optimal playing position during concerts, rehearsals, and practice. Our tendency is to rest the bottom of the horn on the left leg. That relieves stress on the arms, but it usually places the mouthpiece too low, which results in players slouching to meet the mouthpiece.

So euphoniumists ...

On a recent recital at the University of Iowa I performed Bydlo, from Pictures at an Exhibition. In the orchestral version (orchestrated by Ravel) this solo part is played on either tuba or euphonium. It was probably first played on a high-C French tuba (a step above the Bb euphonium), so among common instruments today the euphonium is a very logical choice to play it.

Much as I did with my arrangement of the March from Holst's Second Suite, I have arranged Bydlo for euphonium and piano ...

One one of my favorite movies is "The Glenn Miller Story" starring Jimmy Stewart. First of all, it is an educational view into the life that band players went through in the 1930's and 40's. It was not an easy life! It's also a movie in which the music is very faithful to the original, having been performed mostly by Glenn Miller personnel.

But there is a scene about 2/3 of the way through the movie that will stick in a brass player's memory forever. Miller spent the first part of this ...

As discussed in the forum, I recently traded in my 2012 Adams for a 2015 model. The specs are the same:

• .60" metal
• Sterling silver bell
• Brushed finish.
• E1
• I asked them to copy the vertical angle of my original leadpipe. This helps me play with a more normal head position (I have an upstream embouchure).

One incentive to trade was that Adams has made some incremental improvements in performance along the way. The new horn plays even more easily and smoother than my already-impressive ...

Ever since I switched to Adams in 2012, I have answered many, many questions from other players regarding the choices among all the Adams options as well as customization. Finally it seemed like time to create a video where I can express these out loud instead of in print on my forum, other forums, or Facebook. The video doesn't cover everything, but I think it gives a good overview.

Within the video description are links to my article about the Adams Adjustable Gap Receiver, the Adams ...

One would ordinarily think a piece in 4/4, named "Romance," marked "Moderato," where the quickest rhythm is in a few dotted-eighth/sixteenth figures would be pretty easy, right? Well, OK, it's in A concert, but that is one of the standard scales taught in school and used in high school band pieces (sometimes, anyway).

There are two harder things about this piece. One is the upper range, which goes to a high C# concert (D# treble). That's a bit tough. But I find the hardest facet by ...

When I was younger I more-or-less assumed that a valve (piston) was a solid rod with holes drilled in it. I never stopped to think about the difficulties of drilling curved passages into a solid tube. Later I figured out that the valves were actually hollow, but how they were made was still a mystery. Now that I have seen the process in person I thought I would share it here. I don't have photos of that experience, but Adams was kind enough to provide me with some photos (not from an Adams euphonium), ...

Bill Ricker is a doer. He sees a need in the realm of brass instruments and his mind starts working on solutions. He is the inventor of the very useful Quick Horn Rinse (QHR) for encouraging us to keep our horns clean by making it more painless. Now he has come up with a solution for those who struggle holding the horn securely without straining their left wrist over the long term.

I have in the past used a "Duck Foot" that was custom made for Glenn Call. It was a curved metal brace ...