Brass Bulletin No. 30

So your trumpet plays in tune

Thomas Stevens

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

Portrait in brief

Jean-Pierre Mathez

Between Paris, Cologne and Tel Aviv, Benny Sluchin brings mathematics, acoustics and contemporary performance into the brass world.

James Stamp

Built around Herbert L. Clarke’s Technical Studies, these practice routines refine flexibility, intonation and note placement through structured brass exercises.

Timofey Dokschidser

Trumpet articulation becomes a precise study of attack, sustain, release and legato, linking tongue, breath, lips and sound in Dokshitser’s method.

museum-piece with a future?

Boris G. Manzora

As virtuosity reshaped 20th-century brass playing, Boris G. Manzora argued that the forgotten double-slide trombone could redefine technique and range.

M. Haine, I. De Keyser

Sax instrument stamps reveal makers, addresses, patents and distinctions, giving collectors concrete clues for dating instruments across three generations.

Emile Ferron

Metal, pressure nodes and temperature shifts shape response, timbre and tuning, as Emile Ferron links instrument acoustics to the player’s imprint.

Michel Ricquier

Relaxation, concentration and mental imagery reshape technical practice, linking self-confidence and instrumental control beyond physical training alone.