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BrassBulletin

International Magazine for Brass Players

September 17, 2026

New to the digital edition

Articles, interviews, research and historical documents

Ernest Hall, OBE (1890-1984)
No. 49 • 1985 Digitized • 16 Sep 2026

Ernest Hall, OBE (1890-1984)

By Thomas Aitken

A principal trumpet, influential teacher and formidable musician remembered through the voices of pupils who experienced Ernest Hall’s uncompromising standards.

Trumpet Encounters
Overlays and bonding
No. 49 • 1985 Digitized • 16 Sep 2026

Overlays and bonding

New dental aids for brass players

By Jeffrey Agrell

A trumpeter’s dental experiments in the 1980s turned teeth, mouthpiece pressure and embouchure into an unexpected field of collaboration with dentistry.

Health Technique
Professor Timofey Dokshitser
No. 49 • 1985 Digitized • 15 Sep 2026

Professor Timofey Dokshitser

Trumpet Virtuoso and Artist from Moscow

In 1983 Moscow, Timofey Dokshitser weighs virtuosity against musicianship, opening a window onto Soviet trumpet training, orchestral life and artistic discipline.

By Marcel Hollenstein

Fundamental trombone performance technique
No. 49 • 1985 Digitized • 14 Sep 2026

Fundamental trombone performance technique

Teaching and application

Technique becomes musicianship when breathing, vibration, resonance, articulation and slide movement cease to be separate skills and begin working as one.

By William F. Cramer

Jabbo Smith
No. 49 • 1985 Digitized • 14 Sep 2026

Jabbo Smith

The Unrecognised Jazz Trumpeter

Overshadowed by Armstrong and later by Eldridge, Jabbo Smith emerges as a crucial trumpet innovator whose speed, range and phrasing anticipated modern jazz.

By Michel Laplace

In their own words

Voices

No. 24 · 1978

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Crispy Brass Quotes

John Fletcher

Playing solos on the tuba is pretty unsatisfactory as well. After about five minutes, the average ear gets sick of the noise. Most people can’t hear at the bottom. Tuba players, with their extra aural sophistication, have completely forgotten that to most people anything below the top of the bass clef is just a rumble.

— John Fletcher

No. 47 1984

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Which Horn for which Music?

Should today's hornist avail himself, then, of a corno da caccia for Bach, an invention horn for Mozart, an F horn for Brahms? I do — but only on the condition that the rest of the ensemble is likewise using historical instruments. Otherwise, the same effect would result as when a carriage of the turn of the century were to be coupled to a modern diesel locomotive...

— Hermann Baumann

No. 3 1972

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More to read

Sergey Nikolaevich Yeryomin (1903-1975)

Trumpet

Sergey Nikolaevich Yeryomin (1903-1975)

The Distinguished Soviet Trumpeter and Teacher

Between Soviet military bands, the Bolshoi and the Moscow Conservatory, Yeryomin helped shape a trumpet tradition in which virtuosity remained a means, not an end.

By Yuri Usov

The Horn is my instrument

Horn

The Horn is my instrument

Personal reflection on the horn as an instrument, exploring artistic identity, sound ideals and the player’s relationship to the instrument.

By Georges Barboteu

An interview with Jean Douay

Trombone

An interview with Jean Douay

What does it take to stay at the top of a major orchestra? Jean Douay shares insights on discipline, pressure and the realities behind the trombone section.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Tuba and Euphonium today

Tuba

Tuba and Euphonium today

A new era for low brass: Willy Kurath explores how modern tuba and euphonium design—driven by innovation and collaboration—redefines sound, technique, and solo potential.

By Willi Kurath

John Fletcher

Tuba

John Fletcher

Is Big Always Beautiful?

As brass instruments grew larger and louder, John Fletcher saw something being lost: the individual voice, clarity and character that make a player heard.

By Thomas Aitken

On Trumpets

Trumpet

On Trumpets

From Pierre Trichet’s Traité des Instruments de Musique (c. 1640)

Trumpets served war, ceremony and even medicine before Trichet turned to the mute, a simple device whose purpose extended far beyond changing the sound.

By Pierre Trichet

Faces

Historic moments captured in the Journal pages of Brass Bulletin.

Spirits Untouched !

Mauro Maur • Patrick Fabert • Thierry Caens • Guy Touvron

Brass Bulletin No. 36 1981

Browse this issue

Most read

  1. No. 47 · 1984

    John Fletcher

    As brass instruments grew larger and louder, John Fletcher saw something being lost: the individual voice, clarity and character that make a player heard.

    By Thomas Aitken

  2. No. 39 · 1982

    James Stamp, subtle teaching

    Intonation, held notes and mouthpiece work shape James Stamp's subtle approach to trumpet playing, where listening and physical economy guide technique.

    By Alfred Willener

  3. No. 46 · 1984

    The Trombone in the Sacred Works of W. A. Mozart

    In Mozart’s sacred music, the trombone moved beyond choral reinforcement to striking solo roles that preserve the sound and practice of eighteenth-century Salzburg.

    By Benny Sluchin

  4. No. 47 · 1984

    Editorial

    A ghostly Arban returns in 1984 to find virtuosity thriving, instruments transformed and a brass world whose progress leaves its greatest pedagogue strangely displaced.

    By Jean-Pierre Mathez

  5. No. 46 · 1984

    Melvyn Poore

    A tuba becomes a laboratory for circular breathing, reeds, strange mutes and music theatre as Melvyn Poore pushes beyond the orchestral role assigned to it.

    By Thomas Aitken

  6. No. 45 · 1984

    Brass in the Operas of Berlioz

    Berlioz turned a changing brass section into a dramatic force, using horns, trombones, cornets and saxhorns to shape colour, distance, ceremony and fear.

    By Benjamin Perl

Browse by instrument

Across the brass family

Trumpet

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Ernest Hall, OBE (1890-1984) No. 49

Ernest Hall, OBE (1890-1984)

Thomas Aitken No. 49 · 1985

Professor Timofey Dokshitser No. 49

Professor Timofey Dokshitser

Trumpet Virtuoso and Artist from Moscow

Marcel Hollenstein No. 49 · 1985

Jabbo Smith No. 49

Jabbo Smith

The Unrecognised Jazz Trumpeter

Michel Laplace No. 49 · 1985

Horn

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Steve Lewis, Hornmaker No. 49

Steve Lewis, Hornmaker

Old World Craftsmanship plus New World Technology

Jeffrey Agrell No. 49 · 1985

Handel Horn Duo located in South America No. 49

Handel Horn Duo located in South America

Edward H. Tarr No. 49 · 1985

Jazz and the Horn No. 47

Jazz and the Horn — Part 5

Tom Varner

Jeffrey Agrell No. 47 · 1984

Trombone

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Fundamental trombone performance technique No. 49

Fundamental trombone performance technique

Teaching and application

William F. Cramer No. 49 · 1985

Maurice Ravel and the new trombone No. 47

Maurice Ravel and the new trombone

Michel Laplace No. 47 · 1984

Michel Becquet No. 50

Michel Becquet

Interview

Benny Sluchin No. 50 · 1985

Tuba

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John Fletcher No. 47

John Fletcher

Is Big Always Beautiful?

Thomas Aitken No. 47 · 1984

Melvyn Poore No. 46

Melvyn Poore

Tuba britannica

Thomas Aitken No. 46 · 1984

The history of the big York-Hirsbrunner Tuba No. 40

The history of the big York-Hirsbrunner Tuba

The instrument maker's point of view

Peter Hirsbrunner No. 40 · 1982

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Questions & Answers

How the Digital Edition works

What does the Digital Edition include?

The Digital Edition brings together the articles already digitized as searchable online texts—not simply as scans or PDF files—along with their original illustrations, notes, authorship, issue information, and available translations. Related-article suggestions currently include only this digitized material.

Are the digital articles identical to the originals?

We preserve the original text, language, illustrations, captions, footnotes, and editorial context as faithfully as possible. The presentation is adapted for comfortable online reading, and obvious transcription or scanning errors may be corrected. The substance and character of the published article remain unchanged.

Which languages are available?

Brass Bulletin was published in English, French, and German throughout its history. Italian and Spanish translations were added from issue No. 60 onward.

On the Italian and Spanish sites, articles from issues 1–59 are therefore shown in English by default.

How often are new articles added?

New articles are added almost daily, with approximately one complete issue digitized each week. The pace may vary depending on the preparation, image work, and editorial checking required.

Why aren’t all articles available digitally?

The complete Brass Bulletin collection contains 1,246 articles published between 1971 and 2003. The full index is already available online, allowing readers to discover every article in the collection, including those whose complete text has not yet been digitized.

Digitization began in February 2026. Each article is carefully prepared for online reading, checked, and connected to its issue, authors, subjects, and illustrations. At the current pace of digitization, the complete collection is expected to be available online by February 2028.

Why do some references mention articles that are not available yet?

References in the original articles are preserved even when the material they point to has not yet been digitized. This keeps the historical and editorial record intact. As more issues are added to the Digital Edition, an increasing number of these references will lead to articles that can be read online.

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Yes. If there is an article you would particularly like to see digitized, or if you notice a possible transcription error or missing detail, please contact us. Reader feedback helps us improve the Digital Edition and prioritize useful connections within the archive.

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