Eurobusk 07 - Coming In The Next 2 Weeks

If this is your first time visiting mattrobertsmusic.com, Hello!!

You might not have any idea what the Eurobusk Series is, so I'd like to point you to The Quarter Tones Page. There you can find everything you want to know about Eurobusk and also find the 2 trailers I …

Quick Post/ Quick Moan

After private teaching all day yesterday in Brum and then getting stuck on the M42 for 3 hours in the sleet and snow I didn't even have chance to call home to eat before getting to the show last night. After which my journey home was augmented by the closure of the A38. …

Show Disasters

I'm playing Me and My Girl in the midlands all this week and I can only imagine what horrors are in store. I'm not referring to the companies production, which are are always pretty good, I'm referring to past events that have taken place over the years.

Fire Alarms

In …

About My Website Theme

Quite a few people have been emailing me to ask me all about my new theme and design of my site. I'm more than happy to answer any questions and give some suggestions but I thought it might just be easier to point you to a post made at Upstart Blogger. This is a site …

Granny Tackled

I was playing a gig yesterday which involved a little walking and playing. The group had to walk an indian wedding from the car into the temple. Simple right?

That is until some old granny behind me stumbled over her dress and grabbed the first thing that she could to …

The 4th Dangerous Addiction For Trumpeters

I'm out on a gig today but I've prepared this post for you:

For musicians we all know that sex, drugs and Rock n' Roll (Feel free to insert your particular genre into this space) are our potential down falls. For trumpet players though, there is a 4th addiction that can …

Advancing Your Trumpet Playing -Mastering Lip Flexibilities Part 1.4

Using The Right Tools For The Job

If you play a lot of gigs that need you to play in the upper register then you'll no doubt use a mouth piece that is more suited to the job. If you do other work that requires you to stay within the stave but create a nicer tone you'll …

Advancing Your Trumpet Playing -Mastering Lip Flexibilities Part 1.3.1

Body Position 2

Looking back to the Green Stickman in the last post you can see the ideal body position for blowing. However because of the stick man nature he is looking pretty rigid and tense - as is the life of a stickman.

The posture in essence is accurate but it's …

Advancing Your Trumpet Playing -Mastering Lip Flexibilities Part 1.3

Body Position

You should find the strongest position for your body to generate the best air flow possible. Be aware that a bad posture will result in fatigue and possible long term playing issues. For Example:

You often see these sorts of styles of playing and it's …

Advancing Your Trumpet Playing -Mastering Lip Flexibilities Part 1.2

A Brief Look at Chops

So not to focus too heavily on chop/ embouchure position his is the ideal scenario.

1) Poor Technique

2) Good Technique



Keep in mind that each individual is physically unique hence why this is the ideal way for 90% of players to play as it's …

Advancing Your Trumpet Playing -Mastering Lip Flexibilities Part 1.1

Introduction

I have the opportunity to focus on my practice over the next couple of weeks so I've decided to focus on a single area of playing; Lip Flexibilities. I've decided to approach it in a training style i.e. making observations and finding what's effective, why …

How Times Have Changed For The Modern Musician

Back in the day (not my day but an earlier day) there were a lot more opportunities around for professional musicians. A lot of the seasoned professionals I talk to tell me how they were doing a gig nearly every night of the week.

A lot has changed since then. As more …

Enormous Rehearsal

I was out this morning for my first Enormous Rehearsal. It was great to meet all the guys and they were a laugh.They said I was a much better player and far better looking than their regular guy. (Just joking Ash!!... kind of ). I might be able to drop in for another …

An Enormous Honorary Member

I'm playing a gig with Enormous on November 20th so I've been in contact with Davy Lawerence (lead singer/song writer) over the past couple of days sorting out rehearsals, dots, mp3's etc.

I've been listening to some of the new tracks this morning and they're awesome. …

This Little Piggy Won't Play The Trumpet Again

This Little Piggy went to Market,

This Little Piggy Stayed Home,

This Little Piggy had Roast Beef,

And This little Piggy was Severed off by a collapsing keyboard stand!!

This story might seem like something out of a musicians horror film but it is 100% true. I was on a …

The Return Of The Sidekick Monkey

For many reasons the Sidekick monkey hasn't featured in any posts for a while. Finally I've ironed out the image upload problems I was experiencing and I can reveal where he was hiding all along.

Lost Monkey Image

Monkey Found Image

As a few people had guessed he was …

The Return of Master Musician

Before you get too excited this is simply his return of the first episode to MRM. Since the sites facelift he's been missing but now I can happily say that he's returned. Go to the restored Master Musician page for more information. Please feel free to leave your …

My Dad AKA The Hulk

This isn't a music relevant post but I thought it deserved a mention.

My Dad works as a dentist. He's retiring this year but he's not lost his skills. Despite approaching 60 he can still rip a yellow pages phone directory in half! He said he found it a little trickier …

Trying To Crack The London Scene

When you've grown up playing and developing all of your contacts in the midlands it's tricky to find a route into London.

If I'd been to college in London I'm sure things would be much easier but unfortunately that wasn't an option for me. I'm trying a number of things …

The Genius Of Adam Sandler

I've been playing a lot of wedding gigs recently and it can be a really great feeling knowing that not only are you part of a moment that so many people will never forget, but that you are making that moment happen. The first dance of the newly weds, unmarried couples …