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It was an exciting moment for me because CanadianBrass has been with me all my life. As a child, there were tapes of it in the car. Later I went to concerts, transcribed some arrangements (at least I tried 😉 ).

Now, I sat at the table with the two trumpeters Chris Coletti and Caleb Hudson and had an inspiring conversation with them. Here are some exciting points from the interview and my comments:

Music, music, music

“We’re of the school of thought that the music should come first in the sense that the ideas of what you want to sound like should come from a musical inspiration.” – Chris Coletti

That’s right. If you know me, then you know that for a few years, I have supported the view of my former professor, that the technique can/should be practiced seperately. But this is only partly true and only for very specific exercises, because even a musically played scale requires a different technique than a mechanically played scale…

“We sing as a group together a lot and actually we started doing it more and more, because we’re just realizing how effective it is” – Chris Coletti

The Canadian Brass(!) musicians sing together during rehearsals, because it’s one of the most effective means ever.

Sure, because the voice directly reflects the musical imagination. So they agree musically while singing, find a groove, a good intonation… When will you start using this for your practice or rehearsals?

What is important!

“I think a good sound is an efficient sound.” – Chris Coletti

Because efficiency means finding out what you need to play the trumpet and what you don’t. So you’re freer, more flexible – and that’s reflected in a free sound.

“Efficiency is probably the most important thing.” – Caleb Hudson

Caleb is a master of the piccolo trumpet. Anyone who can play J.S. Bach’s 2nd Brandenburg Concerto like this knows how to do it. And now, of all people, he emphasizes that power is necessary, but not decisive. Efficiency is the “secret”. Exciting, right?

“Everything you do your brain remembers with equal importance whether it was good or bad and you want that ratio to be as high in the good and as low in the bad as possible.” – Chris Coletti

I’ve written something about it here before: You cannot not practice

Performing

“We often prepare at a quality that might be down here, but when you’re on stage suddenly you’re remembering all the great performances and you’re expecting or wishing for this [high quality] and that gap between what you actually probably will do and what you really want to, is what makes you feel nervous.” – Chris Coletti

I find that very exciting, because that is a reason for stage fright. While you were still satisfied with yourself at home, you suddenly tried to be a second Maurice André on stage. It’s quite unlikely to get that done and nervousness is pre-programmed…