Bluecoats 2014 TRUMPET SOLOIST Cam - Finals Week - Ben Gunnarson 

Thanks a bunch!

Although I don't know how he knows this (we kind of like to keep it a trade secret...) he's right. That's why our leads sounded so good in 14.

So what is a good way to recover your embochure without having to get one of those electromagnetic range extender or doing horse lips because after literally every practice session I play pedal tones and do horse lips before ending and lately I have been noticing problems in my consistency? (I am a learning high school trumpet player in my junior year and you or Lucas's help would be beyond appreciated.)

+Strikegmng practice a bunch and don't use too much pressure. Air is key!

+ToweringTimeTable well I guess pressure could be a problem. But should I still use pedal tones as a way to recover after a really long practice session, because I do it after I practice everyday? Btw thanks so much for replying I am really grateful for help me out. Also, your a godlike Sith Lord at trumpet playing imo :)

+Strikegmng Sith don't play trumpet... And "The Force" should not be applied to your face to extend range. I'd say, in range terms... He's more of a sky walker.

Ok. Definitely going to try this out! Thanks

Hey Ben, just wait until 2016 it gets better.

Thanks a ton. Practice practice practice!

Toney Vaughn thanks!

Yo was good my dood, see you Monday lol

Thanks a bunch!

Heh, I"m a clarinet player learning trumpet for the Bluecoats as well.

Oh

You're very welcome!

i just saw the upcoming events on your guys's page and i wish i have $175 cause i would go to the audition camp in canton because i live in eaton so about 2 hr or 3 hr drive. but i mean oh well i could just wait to see you guys live. oh and i matched the notes on piano and wrote them down and started practicing your solo and wow its freakin' sweet! im just not used to that type of tonguing.

Come to the audition camp! Even if you don't get a call back it's a FANTASTIC and educational experience. Say hi to me there!

ToweringTimeTable i dont have $175 though..otherwise i would man... seems like a blast!

Nick Combs Find it! Ask your friends, their parents, your parents, local businesses, and even your school (they will often give out small scholarships to camps and stuff). No matter the result, it's the experience of a lifetime!

lmao me i jusr love Blue Coats i plan on joining them i wanna learn the 3:30 solo which is fun

Nick Murr not if you keep making furry stuff

2020

21

ME TOOBJSHSHSHWBS

Thanks! Get linked in on the 2015 Hornline Auditionee page on Facebook, as well as the Bluecoatstrong Audionee page. That'll give you a lot of helpful information on how to prepare for auditions and prepare for the summer.

Thanks for responding so fast and another question. How good are all of the people in Blue Coats? I know they are good but what would i be going up against to get in? Being first chair in HS is pretty hard, but i think getting at least in to this program would be even harder. Thanks again for taking the time to help me out

The Bluecoats have a strong talent base and most of us are in college, but there are still high school students in our group! Your audition is not completely based on your playing ability either. Visual proficiency, maturity, focus, and learning ability are all important aspects of becoming a Bluecoat.

ToweringTimeTable Well it's awesome that you responded and thanks for taking the time to help me out. With any luck I'll see you next season! Thanks again!

That would be me!!

ToweringTimeTable That's awesome. You nailed that solo. I'm gonna be a freshman next semester at IU and I look forward to meeting a trumpet player of your calibre in Marching Hundred.

Sweet, I'll see you there!

The Giant Rat That Makes All Of The Rules which school?

Thanks!

Hey Alex, I myself is also in the 9th grade but I can hit notes above the staff. I'm talking about double B and Cs. But I have been playing for 6 years now. Everyday, sometime after school I practice for a good hour or two. I rip through scales and licks. If you're having trouble with the higher registers, then you might have to go out and buy an E.F Clark book. It starts off with basic stuff, then as you progress, the difficulty increases as well. If you're still having trouble, you might want to invest into a private teacher- or maybe even ask your band director for help. But keep practicing. You'll get better I promise.

+Selma Cheeks Me and you must be twins cause I can go to triple C and I practice just like you. You might be some good competition🎺🎺

rayshard Cunningham likewise

Alex Slaydon I'm a sophomore this year and the highest I can go to is a double f lol

Alex Slaydon that's where I was at as a freshman but now I am at a double f as a sophomore you can't force it it comes gradually. I never started increasing my range until I got comfortable with the upper range. You may be able to play those notes but playing them in a piece is different. It was one piece in particular. I played cafe rio on second trumpet during jazz band and it was a struggle but it got me comfortable

Nathan Berry I don’t think you can “get some” on tour.

You definitely can, just dont get caught..

Nathan Berry Late but he’s taken and has been so

Just some extra wire, the mouthpiece was a little bright to start out with. Just do your best, learn from as many different places/people, and be ready to take in new information quickly! A really great idea is to find someone that marches/has marched that lives near you. They are an invaluable source of information, and know most of the answers to questions you might have. This is especially helpful for specific questions about marching and playing.

+James Austin Practice a lot!

+ToweringTimeTable be sure to checks us out this year😉

What's your band called?

AnALoG FroZeN lol I think I watched you guys in Atlanta

AnALoG FroZeN I'm curious to see this is there a RU-vid video of it?

No that was the guy next to him. He stayed on the C

Electromagnetic thing it helps with endurance and recovery

casey pullin that’s funny you comment 6 years later, cause now I’ve actually marched with Ben back in 2016 and asked him in person lol

@@joshuaalmond8429 so what is it?

This was my second year with the Bluecoats ('13 and '14), but I went to three years of crown summer camps before that.

Whatever it takes to play your part. Part assignments really don't matter though.

Hey! I'm friends with Ben and he referred me to answer your comment. I'm a saxophone music ed major and was a part of the Bluecoats hornline on mellophone this year. I picked up mellophone about 6 months before the first audition camp and taught myself pretty much everything, so it's definitely possible! Here are a few things regarding your question: 1. First off, I would not recommend learning trumpet simply because there are so many trumpets and most if not all of them are solely trumpet players who have been playing since they were in elementary or middle school. Mellophone or baritone are both super cool instruments and fun to play in a horn line, so I would check those out instead if I were you. However, if you are really set on playing trumpet, go for it! Just know that it's going to be a lot harder to get a spot. 2. Keep asking around, I'm sure there is someone who can help you get started on the instrument. Once you know the basics, you can do a lot on your own. There are a lot of books out there with exercises, Ben would know more specifically which ones would be helpful... 3. Go for it! It's totally worth the hours of work that it takes to learn a new instrument in order to march. If you have the chance to play it in a marching band first, I would definitely recommend that, or audition for an open class corps to get experience before you move up. Good luck!

buy an Arban book... anything you need to know is in thee. :)

+MNjazzygirl 6 months?? niice. but yeah I'd suggest maybe baritone because it's much easier to learn how to play a brass instrument on a larger mouthpiece if you have been a woodwind player all your life. I marched alto sax in high school marching band until Junior year, and then I realized that I really wanted to march a drum corp, so I learned baritone and marched it my senior year. I picked it up in may and started marching it in August. I obviously wasn't the best and struggled a lot, but I got better as the season progressed. side note: if you do march baritone, make sure you do some push ups before the season starts. holding that thing up on a long hot day is killer if your body isn't ready for it

Yea man! Just come to the Blue Way camp and I can explain a lot of this stuff in person!

Sweet! I'm going; talked with parents tonight, can't believe I'll have the chance to meet you!

How'd it go?! Only 6 years late lol

@@acesleek9718 I was wondering the same thing lol

@@juannou2710 haha yeah, im actually marching jersey surf this year as my rookie year but i get to march till 2028 so i get like 6 years to march

+Stewart Rhodes I mean, that's what I do...

you blow...

Yes, we spit in the valve to make sound. Jk, I'm just messing with you. There's quite a lot of technique to it. It can be hard depending on what you're doing if you don't practice hard, the right way and the smart way. Everything is just relied heavily on your air flow, accenting styles..I don't really know how to explain it. There's just a lot to learn if you're just beginning or wanting to start. Kind of hard to tell you the things you need to know and how to do it correctly, whether it's your air, accenting, or just how you practice.

+Justin C you don't know him but he's actually a professional bass trombonist that I go to school with

+ToweringTimeTable oh ok

Thanks! And yep, this will be my third year.

ToweringTimeTable how is it playing lead part? And how many people were actually on lead?

Super fun! and 8, with some splits

ToweringTimeTable what kind and size mouthpiece do you use?

Take a look back in some of the earlier comments.

Nope. However, I did go to some Crown summer camps for a few years beforehand.

Yo that's cool! You sound awesome, I'm hoping to march Coats after another few seasons of DCA.

It actually sorts itself out pretty evenly!

Just try and be as good as you can personally be! You don't have to be perfect. Tone matters a lot, and then I would get as technically proficient as possible (scales, articulation, range, etc.) Also, accept a challenge rather than being nervous about it.

ToweringTimeTable ill keep that in mind, Thanks.

We have specific audition material that we have to practice, which is available on the Bluecoats website.

A mix of Hammonds and custom Marcinkiewicz.

Hammonds ey? i personally never tried one but i do own a Marcinkiewicz. Oh and thanks for responding, ive always wanted to actually ask someone who marched DCI but could never find someone. Which one did you use?

I've used both during two seasons. I've found that the Hammond works better during the off-season.

Thanks, I might look into Hammond some time. Do you know Michelle Russo?

She's actually a friend of a friend lol. I was amazed to find out I kinda knew someone who marched bluecoats.

It's platinum

ToweringTimeTable So, it's just platinum wire wrapped around your mouthpiece?

ToweringTimeTable how do u make one?

So why are you telling a Bluecoat that?

+The Undertaker he's been CAUGHT!!!

also what type of mouthpiece would you recommend for playing higher register notes? I personally use a Bach 3C currently. I might think about upgrading to a lead mouthpiece.

Phsc practice hard and don't give up, be efficient and use lots of air!

Ok. Thanks I'm thinking about trying out for a world class corpe next year. One of my friends is a sophomore and she got a 2+ at Blue Knights and I think I could be ready kind of. I go to Hebron HS so that could help I guess. thanks for the help

I want to join bluecoats so bad, its my dream but I live in florida and its kind of hard to travel when your 16.

Kindru GamingxVideos we have several members from Florida. There are also several corps closer to you that you could audition for if you want to march.

double G

+Jarrett Swanson A VERY comfortable high c.

Wow. My expectations were a bit high I guess.

Screamers and top splits have f's and g's or more, lower splits average solid d's and e's or more. In replying to the original poster, I don't know many leads that cant play a normal high c like it's a piece of cake.

lol high C's are a piece of cake but playing a double G to end the show is the hardest part. I played an F at the of our show this year and I always feel like dying by the end.

The Good Bob all four!

Ben Gunnarson why can’t I be as good as you bro

Yup, reverse leadpipe.

ToweringTimeTable me too man lol everyone said that xenos suck and to get a bach strad. Lol I proved hem wrong and u helped me prove it also

Joshua Backherms You see, it's all about what a player feels when they play a horn. Everyone is different, and will get a different reaction out of a horn. For example, my band director talked bad about a few brands (Blessings, Yamaha, etc), and played on a Strad. My pro horn is a Blessings, and I love how it feels (although I would have bought it in reverse lead if I had the money). I've also played some Xeno's and really like the feel of those. There's not exactly a right or a wrong when it comes to what trumpet you should have (unless you're playing a Chinese made instrument. Don't even try it)

+XxTrumpetCheerxX 204

+ToweringTimeTable oh my

At my high school we had to march at 210 for warm ip

+XxTrumpetCheerxX last year for winter percussion we hit 220

+Ben Hlady damn, I think we might have hit 205 max

jackie guyton exact same here butt i also dont live in ohio which sucks

You don't have to be in Ohio to do Bluecoats

ToweringTimeTable thank you so much. Im planning on marching Spirit this year so this will be helpful. Youre awesome!

It's metal wire, see the earlier comments

+BeatMasterForLife That's racist.

+Michael Lehmann no it is definitely not

+Michael Lehmann He is saying "geez" because of the note. Note because he is black. 😂😂😂😂

double g

I'm not sure which cup he is using but they all use marcinkiewicz mouthpieces

+Dylan Wootton that's not true. The 2nds and 3rds use Hammond Design mouthpieces

Why do they use different mouthpieces?

+Dylan Wootton Different mouthpieces depending on the range can make a huge difference in tone quality, Crossmen lead baritones used custom Yahmaha mouthpieces that work better for high range playing and matching while the 2nds and 3rds used the standard Shilke 51D because it's excellent in low and middle ranges.