Ask a trumpet player if he would rather play the lead part of Thad Jones´ ballad To You twice in a row, or have a sex change surgery! This tune is a great example on demanding static playing – lots of long, soft notes and few breaks to relax the lips.

When practicing a brass instrument, I make the distinction between static and dynamic exercises. Static exercices are based on long notes and slow legato lines with the lips constantly vibrating. This slowly build up lactic acid in the muscles controlling the lips, and make them stiff and numb. Dynamic exercices at the other hand, are built up around shorter notes, variation, staccato phrases and more space between the notes. read more »

The world famous architect Norman Foster was hired to design the new elephant house at the Copenhagen Zoo a few years ago. Living close to the Zoo I could see the project evolve, and it struck me that they couldn´t possibly have a grand opening without an Elephanfare!

I contacted the Zoo and tried to sell them my idea. To make sure I had something to bargain with, I sad that I needed 6 trombones and two tubas, knowing that they would negotiate it down to half the number.

To my great surprise read more »