Finger Lickin' Good

This is the name of the group I'm going along to play with for the first time tonight.

It's an 11-member eclectic dance band playing show stuff, pop and soul. It sounds like a laugh and they've got a few gigs in the diary including a set at the Liverpool Fringe …

Slowly But Surely

I'm starting to get things back on track with my Mac. Fingers crossed I'll have it the way it was by next week (it's taking ages).

As for posting, it will resume as normal tomorrow - with little to no mention of Mac. related problems or issues - Including; Graduation, …

Graduation Tomorrow

As the title suggests I'm finally graduation tomorrow after finishing my course last May!!

It should be a good laugh and I expect to see Rhydian there (followed by the good old paparazzi?? - Who knows?) and some of my other old college mates.Having said that, I did hear …

Mac. Still in Intensive Care

He's pulled through and has a shiny new operating system to work with and that means I can blog again.

Unfortunately all my programs need reinstalling and that will take a trip to Derby... what a pain!! Especially as I have my teaching, graduation and a big band gig …

Leaving Mac Hell (I Hope)

I'm actually blogging from MCC - the Mac store on the Liverpool Docks. My MacBook is currently being healed and my files backed up.

A fun afternoon of reinstallation

Still No Mac

I'm so angry at myself, don't EVER TOUCH BUTTONS!

My Mac has gone into the shop and in order to make it work again I've had to buy an external hard drive to back it all up and format the drive. As well as reinstalling my OS to which I can't find my original disk for as …

I Think I've Killed My Mac. :(

I had a solid day working on my Mac yesterday and as I'm still getting to grips with the Mac OS I had an explore around it.

Unfortunately when I turned it off in the evening and tried to turn it on later he wasn't happy. A blinking Question Mark greeted me and it …

Want The Worst Trumpet In The World? Make Mine a Taylor!!

When I was shopping around for trumpets a few years ago I had the unfortunate experience's of trying a Taylor.

It was like playing a Picasso, NOT like a work of art, rather like playing a piece of cubism.

It looked like at had been cannibalized out of 5 different …

My Army -!- I mean Big Band

I have to say that the personnel I was given is a surprise; four trumpets, three sax's, a flute, kit player with promise of pianist and TWO BASS players.

Playing will always come first to me and I'm happy to add that I'm not even a little tempted by the income that …

My Little Big Band

Tomorrow I start my first Big Band with pupils from the school I work at. Of course the trumpet section is made up of my pupils but it's the first time that I've had a complete horn and rhythm section at my disposal!!

...I like to think of them as a small …

Music Heroes

The other night I met up with Dave Livesey to catch up and talk over some music ideas since we were both in Liverpool. Dave is currently writing music for the the Liverpool Phil. and their concert series which is featuring at Christmas.

Later on in the night James …

What Are Chops?

After yesterdays post written for brass players I thought I better write a post explaining what chops are to other musicians and non-musicians.

Unlike the rest, brass instruments start with muscles not a reed, skin or string. The difference is that it's the player …

Save your Chops!! - A Guide to Protecting your Money Muscle

Now I am aware that in using the phrase "Money Muscle" that I might have inadvertently attracted a few new people looking at my blog for all the wrong reasons. Sorry, but you might want to look somewhere else.

I know for a fact that my friends Paul and Ash who run a …

Kelly Elliott

If you haven't heard Kelly then you're in for a treat!!

Kelly is the latest up and coming female vocal artist in Britain. She has a new album out which is available to download on iTunes. It has reviews in the Music Unions magazine is featured artist on the PRS podcast …

Upstartblogger.com - CHECK IT OUT!!!

If you are just starting out as a blogger, not getting an audience for what you have to say or just stuck in a posting rut then this is a great site for you.

Upstartblogger.com has some great advice on how to become a successful blogger and the upstart community is so …

Site Update

When I return on Wednesday I've got a big update to do on the site and I have loads to write about.

Stories from Eurobusk, Project developments and more. Including a new addition to the site!!

Bye Bye Bach

Before Christmas I dug out my Monette mouthpiece I used to play on before the conversion the Conservatoire forced on me.

The difference is massive and I'm finding it so much easier to play on.

It's a B4S that monette made especially for me. This was because when I …

Upper Range Expansion

(Most likely todays Blog will only be of interest to Brass and Trumpet players)

I have a lot to say about this topic. However this is just a mention of the stuff I'm currently using in my everyday practice. Here's a breakdown of my routine at the moment:

Technique …

The Return of an Old Project (and Losing Bad Habits)

I'm currently in Liverpool and attemptin to restart an old project with a few musicians here.

It's refrehing to get some time to play and more importantyly not to play. Since I left college Im on the up. I think this is due to the fact that I'm well rested and not …

Good News

This is for 2 reasons.

First, I'm back!! and regular blogs are back to.

Second, I've had some great news on the teaching front.

Not only has my top pupil got into the the NCO (National Childrens Orchestra) for the second year in the row - getting 1 of only 6 places …