Author: andrewbharms_ko12d8

Below is an article I originally wrote for submission to the ITG Journal. They have declined it, but I believe it is an important piece and worth getting out there. Enjoy! Introduction If one were to retrace the history of Nazi occupation in Prague through the narrative offered by one of the city’s many local…

Waiting in the Vienna airport, it has occurred to me that I haven’t written a blog post in… quite some time. Sorry about that. Since we last spoke, I won an audition. With the Rhode Island Philharmonic, as 2nd Trumpet. I have also been appointed to the University of Maine-Orono as Assistant Professor of Music.…

Today I want to relay a story that was originally told to me, I *believe*, by Craig Morris during my time at the University of Miami. I have retold it many times since. It goes like this: There was a wealthy, successful, and wise businessman who was also a great appreciator of art. He wanted…

One of my favorite diatribes as a teacher/coach is about the genesis of sound. The question is, where does it come from, and we follow that question from the back of the hall, through the air, into the instrument, the mouthpiece, the reed, the lungs… and before that? Somewhere in the brain, I guess. So…

Another blog post, so soon after the last?! Zoinks.  I am a researcher. In the arts, that usually means looking at some trends or a kind of conceptual Venn diagram, making an educated assertion, and then supporting your argument with both old and new observations. It’s relatively empirical, even when there’s some subjectivity. We artists…

One of the most beautiful things about life as a musician and the fleeting nature of what we do. Every note we play is a note we cannot rewind and relive. The one way arrow of time is canvas and sound is our paint. And, there is no recording technology that can capture the power…

Hey there crew! Today I would like to discuss something very much more concrete. That is, rotary trumpet mouthpieces, rotary trumpet mouthpiece brands, their catalogs, and how they related to piston trumpet. I am a bit of a closet equipment nut. I’m sure there are bigger nuts out there (ahem), and I theorize that most…

Hello, hi. Good morning. I’m just going to jump into it. I would like to once again put to paper some remarks about orchestral auditions. This is sort of reactionary to some conversations I’ve had with colleagues and some acute experiences I’ve had recently as an auditioner and an orchestral trumpeter. The topic at hand…

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it is to be a truly professional teacher and player, vs a part-timer, student, amateur, or somewhere else on the spectrum between casual enthusiast and top tier practitioner. In the book “War of Art,” Steven Pressfield talks about the difference between professional and amateur ‘weekend warriors’ at length.…

A very short blurb about trumpet technique. One problem I think I hear a lot from young players is a timing issue between air, pulse, and fingers. All three. And it is an easy fix: be patient. Be patient on the note changes. Wait until the very last moment to move your air, your buttons,…