Complete articles index

Editorial

So your trumpet plays in tune

Keyboard tuning, just intonation and string phrasing place brass players between conflicting pitch systems, as Thomas Stevens outlines practical compromises.

By Thomas Stevens

The trombone: changing times, changing slide positions

From Virgiliano to Praetorius and Eisel, early sources reshape long-held assumptions about trombone tuning, slide positions and historical playing practice.

By Howard Weiner

Part 2

A study of musical intonation

From harmonic-series tuning to valve-slide adjustments on the horn, practical listening and resonance become more reliable guides than equal temperament alone.

By Christopher Leuba

Part 1

From musical wallpaper to the twelve-note row

The trombone in the chamber ensemble at the beginning of modern music (1913-1934)

Between 1913 and 1934, the trombone gained an unexpected place in chamber music as Satie, Milhaud and Stravinsky challenged orchestral traditions with jazz and new sounds.

By Michael Struck-Schloen

Part 3

Maurice André

Biography

Maurice André reflects on maturity—balancing performance, recordings and teaching, refining his approach to instruments and audience, and preparing for the limits of a virtuoso career.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

And approach the realm of making beautiful music

A rare and powerful call from maestro Roger Bobo: at the height of the “Tuba Explosion”, he challenges players to define — at last — the ideal instrument.

By Roger Bobo

Reminiscences of modified rotary valves

Patented curiosities or missed opportunities?*

German patents from 1877 to 1919 document alternative brass valve mechanisms, reflecting makers’ attempts to shorten valve travel and offer players new technical aids.

By Günter Dullat

Georgiy Antonovich Orvid

Portrait of a distinguished Soviet trumpeter

A Soviet trumpet virtuoso who shaped generations of musicians, Georgiy Orvid combined an international concert career with teaching, research and cultural leadership.

By Yuri Usov

The Newcomer

After 25 years as an undisputed orchestral authority, a German trombonist faces a new generation whose virtuosity unsettles the familiar hierarchy of his section.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Brass Techniques Series • Part 2

The Body

A brass player's physical condition depends on more than muscular strength, with sleep, nutrition and recovery shaping the balance between technical control and fatigue.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

George Swift, You see who I mean?

In the 1930s, George Swift brought cornet virtuosity and jazz influences to the concert trumpet, building a remarkable reputation through just a handful of recordings.

By Michel Laplace

Editorial

Brass Bulletin’s summer editorial pairs a pause after the concert season with an appeal for new subscribers to support colour pages and an overworked team.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Part 10

Instrument Makers in USA

E.K. Blessing Co. Inc

In Elkhart, Indiana, Merle Johnson built on E.K. Blessing’s legacy, balancing traditional instrument manufacturing with innovation, craftsmanship and customer service.

By Stephan Suter

Jazz and the Horn Series • Part 9

Richard Todd

By Jeffrey Agrell

Jazz and the Horn Series • Part 5

Tom Varner

Choosing jazz over the orchestral path, Tom Varner confronts the horn’s stiffness, projection and unlikely place as a front-line improvising voice.

By Jeffrey Agrell

Part 2

Trombone and Organ — a Dialog

By Klaus Winkler

Part 2

Jazz Improvisation

The harmonic minor scale

By Charlie Shoemake

Fats' Heirs

Clifford Brown, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis

Fats Navarro’s full trumpet sound shaped a jazz lineage through Clifford Brown and Booker Little to Wynton Marsalis, uniting early maturity with technical mastery.

By Michel Laplace

One step for intonation: one giant step for the serpent

The 1986 Amherst serpent gathering combined Christopher Monk’s teaching with the premiere of Simon Proctor’s eight-part suite, expanding the instrument’s repertoire.

By Craig Kridel

Understanding the mouthpiece

A brass player's limitations may have less to do with technique than equipment, as subtle changes in mouthpiece design can transform comfort, response and performance.

By John Stork

Part 1

Tubas in Jazz and Popular Music

Euphonium virtuosos, dance bands and Bill Bell’s example shape the tuba’s early history in jazz and popular music, challenging assumptions about its technical limits.

By Michel Laplace

Part 2

The Art of the Musical Instrument Maker

Encyclopédie méthodique, Paris 1795

In 1795, musical instruments were thought to need no further invention, yet their materials, construction and acoustic possibilities remained open to experimentation.

By Anonyme

Part 4

Jazz Improvisation

The melodic minor scale 2

By Charlie Shoemake

The 1986 I.T.G. Conference

A personal view

Recitals, brass ensembles, student competitions and new trumpets mark the 1986 ITG gathering in London, though Colin Bloch finds too little emphasis on musicianship.

By Colin Bloch