Brass Playing Is No Harder Than Deep Breathing
by Claude Gordon

Great Breathing = Great Music!
Learn the breathing exercises in the Breathing Gym first, and then join Sam and Patrick in their NEW DVD: Breathing Gym Daily Workouts.
Practical Applications for Musical Improvement

Enjoy and Learn with Sam and Patrick as they present sequences of Breathing Gym exercises specifically designed to address:
Warming Up
Tone
Phrasing
Articulations
Dynamics
and Advanced Training

Special Bonus! 2 Pre-Performance workouts designed to maximize your musical potential!

Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory is designed for students of any age, whether listeners or performers, who want to have a better understanding of the language of music. In this all-in-one theory course, you will learn the essentials of music through concise lessons, practice your music reading and writing skills in the exercises, improve your listening skills with the available ear-training CDs (sold separately), and test your knowledge with a review that completes each unit.

The Student Complete Book includes Books 1-3 in a spiral-bound format.

Book 1 (Lessons 1-25):
Staff, Notes and Pitches
Treble & Bass Clefs
Grad Staff & Ledger Lines
Note Values
Measure, Bar Line and Double Bar
2/4, 3/4 & 4/4 Time Signatures
Whole, Half & Quarter Notes/Rests
Dotted Half & Quarter Notes
Ties & Slurs
Repeat Sign, 1st & 2nd Endings
Eighth Notes & Rests
Dynamic Signs, Tempo Marks & Articulation
D.C., D.S., Coda & Fine
Flats, Sharps & Naturals

Book 2 (Lessons 25-50):
Tetrachords & Major Scales
Key Signatures
Chromatic Scale
Intervals, Circle of Fifths
Perfect, Major & Minor Intervals
Augmented & Diminished Intervals
Solfège & Transposition
Sixteenth Notes & Rests
Dotted Eighth Notes & Eighth Note Triplets
Common Time & Cut Time
3/8 & 6/8 Time Signatures
Pick-up Notes & Syncopation
Primary & Major Triads
Scale Degree Names
Dominant 7th Chord

Book 3 (Lessons 51-75):
1st & 2nd Inversions of Triads
Inversions of V7 Chords
Figured Bass
Major Chord Progressions
Minor Scales, Minor Triads
Augmented & Diminished Triads
Primary Triads in Minor Keys
Minor Chord Progressions
Modes
Harmonizing a Melody in Major and Minor Keys
Broken Chords & Arpeggiated Accompaniments
Passing and Neighboring Tones
Composing a Melody in Major and Minor Keys
12-Bar Blues Chord Progression & Blues Scale
Basic Forms of Music

William Vacchiano (1912–2005) was principal trumpet with the New York Philharmonic from 1942 to 1973, and taught at Juilliard, the Manhattan School of Music, the Mannes College of Music, Queens College, and Columbia Teachers College. While at the Philharmonic, Vacchiano performed under the batons of Arturo Toscanini, Bruno Walter, Dimitri Mitropoulos, and Leonard Bernstein and played in the world premieres of almost 200 pieces by such composers as Vaughan Williams, Copland, and Barber. Vacchiano was important not only for his performances, but also for his teaching. His students have held the principal chairs of many major orchestras and are prominent teachers themselves, and they have enriched non-classical music as well. Two of his better known students are Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis.

Last Stop, Carnegie Hall features an overview of the life of this very private artist, based on several personal interviews conducted by Brian A. Shook and Vacchiano’s notes for his own unpublished memoir. Shook also interviewed many of his students and colleagues and includes a chapter containing their recollections. Other important topics include analyses of Vacchiano’s pedagogical methods and his interpretations of important trumpet pieces, his “rules of orchestral performance,” and his equipment. A discography, a bibliography of Vacchiano’s own works, and lists of his students and the conductors and players with whom he performed round out this richly illustrated examination of one of the most influential trumpet players and teachers of the twentieth century.

Music Calisthenics for Brass
By Carmine Caruso

A must-have guide for all brass students and teachers relating to the total physical output that goes into playing any brass instrument. Caruso covers the same techniques atheletes use to develop their physical control, and applies them to musicians.

Prelude to Brass Playing
by Rafael Mendez in Collaboration with Edward Gibney

Teachers, parents, students and players of all ages and levels will find important information and great insight into brass playing from one of the world's greatest practitioners of the trumpet, Rafael Méndez, in this book. Produced in collaboration with noted brass educator Edward Gibney, this guide is written in an inviting style that will inspire, inform and clarify. This thorough text covers proper care of one's instrument, breathing, embouchure, intonation, registration, and much more. Everything a brass player needs to know in one comprehensive book!

Arnold Jacobs: Song and Wind
Brian Frederiksen

With a career spanning seven decades with the Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Chicago Symphonies, Arnold Jacobs has earned a reputation as a world-class performer. Equally significant are his teachings. During his career, thousands of students have passed through his studio. Finally, there is the definitive book on his career. Arnold Jacobs: Song and Wind is written by Mr. Jacobs' assistant, Brian Frederiksen, and edited by John Taylor. With a length of 296 pages, material comes from masterclasses, private interviews, previously published writings and contributions from his students and colleagues.

Trumpet Pedagogy - David Hickman

Having performed over 2,000 Solo appearances around the world as a recitalist and guest soloist with nearly 500 different orchestras, David Hickman is considered one of the worlds preeminent trumpet virtuosos. His tours have taken him to Japan, Korea, Thailand, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, and virtually every major American city.

Within the Sphere of the Master
Timothy J. Kent

My Recollections as a Student and Long Time Colleague of Adolph Herseth,
Trumpeter Supreme of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

For more than a half-century, Adolph “Bud" Herseth has been a living legend in the music
world. Having served as the principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for fifty-three
years, he is acknowledged as the greatest symphonic trumpet player of all time. In fact, he is
 generally regarded as the very finest orchestral player among all brass instrumentalists who
have ever practiced the art. Under his leadership and guidance, the entire brass section of the
Chicago Symphony became the most distinguished in the world. This book presents a comprehensive memoir of the musical life of Timothy Kent, one of Adolph Herseth’s finest students. It includes a
detailed description of the many years of training which Tim received from Bud (providing an
extensive discussion of the master’s musical concepts and teaching methods), as well as an
account of Tim’s professional career that followed, including eighteen years as a member of the
Chicago Symphony trumpet section.  His account is truly an insider’s perspective on the musical
life of Bud Herseth and the phenomenal brass section which he led. It will be of great interest to professional and avocational musicians, teachers, audiophiles, and music enthusiasts everywhere.

This hardcover volume, containing 260 pages, is illustrated with 33 photographs and drawings.