Playing

The column of air

A System of Breathing for Brass Players

Explains the role of the air column in brass playing, focusing on breath support, airflow control and their impact on tone, articulation and sound quality.

By Robert Bouché

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

Problems of teaching methods in brass instruction

Talent isn’t enough. Krumpfer argues that brass teaching must align physiology, psychology, and method—only then can young players reach their true potential.

By Hans-Joachim Krumpfer

Part 1

The Trumpet and the Cornet in Jazz and Popular Music

Before Louis Armstrong became the defining figure, jazz already carried competing traditions of tone, style and technique shaped by cornet players across New Orleans and beyond.

By Michel Laplace

Possibilities for development of brass instruments (1967)

Experimental study by Vinko Globokar on extended techniques for brass instruments, covering microtonality, voice-instrument interaction and new sound production methods.

By Vinko Globokar

Some ways of improving the development of the lips in brass players

Brass players borrow from sports medicine as Soviet electrical stimulation, acupuncture and massage test new ways to build endurance and restore overworked lips.

By Sergej Gorovoj

Unknown Treasures for Trumpet Ensembles

Processional Music from 18th century Bavaria

Forgotten Bavarian monastery archives preserve hundreds of ceremonial trumpet works, where local tradition and practical performance survived long after their cultural world disappeared.

By Albert Hiller

The trombone in Belgium

Published in memory of its author, this article reflects on the trombone tradition in Belgium and his lasting contribution.

By Albert Mertens

Pyotr Naumovich Volkov (1877-1933)

First trombone professor at St. Petersburg Conservatory

From imperial St. Petersburg to Soviet Leningrad, Volkov shaped a distinctive Russian trombone tradition through performance, teaching and generations of pupils.

By Viktor Sumerkin

Modern editions of original 17th-century brass ensemble music

Seventeenth-century brass music regained its place in the repertoire, but modern editions often altered the original keys, instrumentation and balance between voices.

By Klaus Winkler

I myself have formed this instrument

“Forming” the instrument? A dangerous illusion. This article debunks the myth: the instrument cannot be shaped — it is the player who must adapt.

By Robert Ischer

The mute belt

In Stockhausen's demanding trumpet works, six different mutes had to be changed while performing from memory, turning a practical problem into a new stage technique.

By Markus Stockhausen

Why pretend to be Mozart?

The concerto’s cadenza: copy of style — or bold but true?

Should a cadenza imitate the past—or speak in today’s voice? Bernhard Krol questions the tradition of stylistic imitation and argues for cadenzas that bridge past and present with authenticity.

By Bernhard Krol

Part 2

300 Years of the Horn

in the Dresden Court Orchestra

From Dresden’s court musicians to Hampel’s hand-horn technique, virtuoso players and court repertoire shaped a decisive shift in horn playing and orchestral writing.

By Peter Damm

Valsalva Maneuver - Why?

A familiar breathing technique becomes a source of resistance and tension, as William F. Cramer argues instead for an open throat and freer airflow.

By William F. Cramer

The Measurement of Mouthpiece Pressure

Objective measurements on trumpet players challenge common beliefs about mouthpiece pressure, showing stable individual patterns across pitch, dynamics and playing level.

By P. Kenny, John Davies

The alto trombone and contemporary concepts of trombone timbre

Alto trombone timbre from Vienna to Brahms, orchestral balance, period practice, and why bright brass sounds gradually disappeared.

By William E. Runyan

Cleveland Orchestra Audition in 1966

George Szell’s demanding 1966 audition process unfolds through orchestral excerpts, dynamic extremes and the search for absolute ensemble precision.

By Ronald T. Bishop

On the sensitivity of brass instruments

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

By Emile Ferron

Being a woman brass player... So what?

Frøydis Ree Wekre reflects on women in brass playing, examining physical assumptions, psychological factors, and practical realities across performance and professional life.

By Frøydis Ree Wekre

The trombone: changing times, changing slide positions

Did trombonists always use seven positions? Heinrich Huber reveals how history, theory and early music reshaped the slide.

By Heinrich Huber

Part 2

The Baroque trumpet, the high trumpet and the so-called Bach trumpet

Continuation of Edward H. Tarr’s study on the Baroque trumpet, examining the high trumpet and further clarifying the concept of the “Bach trumpet.”

By Edward H. Tarr

Special Hungary

International Trumpet Competition, Budapest 1984

Budapest 1984 exposed a striking gap between technical brilliance and musical maturity, while three leading trumpeters challenged what competitions truly reward.

By Timofey Dokschidser, Philip Jones, Théo Mertens

Science in the service of music

Interview with René Périnelli

Where trumpet teaching once relied on intuition, René Périnelli and Jean-Jacques Greffin brought physiology, medical imaging and science into daily practice.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez