1. John Thomas Burson
Trumpet Education_____________________________________________
johnthomasburson.com
(404) 273-0409
johnthomasburson@gmail.com
Teaching Philosophy and Information
“Music expresses that which cannot
be put into words and that which
cannot remain silent.” -Victor Hugo
How do we improve?
! Improving a skill requires building upon many correct repetitions
through thoughtful, planned practice. Nonetheless, the practice room is
also a kitchen of sorts, where one tries many different ways to find the
“recipe” that works, which is almost never the same for any two people.
Even with this diligence, we cannot grow if we do not have a model sound
in mind. As Arnold Jacobs would say, “The brass player in your head is
most important.” And through listening to recordings and live
performances, this sound concept becomes clearer and more guiding.
Guidelines for Successful Practicing
Performing well on any instrument requires intense concentration and
attention to detail, so quality practice is far more important than quantity.
Quality comes from having a clear goal in mind. Again, this starts with
listening. As a general rule, I try to listen to great musicians that I want to

2. sound like AT LEAST as much as I physically play the trumpet each day. If
you only have one hour to practice, spend 30 minutes listening.
Below you will find a list of some of the trumpet players and other
musicians that have been influential to me in developing my own sound
concept. Perhaps you take note of these people to start with, but in the
end you must find your own unique set of sounds that you want to emulate.
Setting goals for yourself may be the most ignored aspect of improvement.
Musicians and psychologists have written hundreds of books on this topic,
and there are many proven techniques and systems with which you may
want to experiment. I can offer to you my own approach, which I learned
from two of my undergraduate teachers, Tom Hooten and Jennifer Marotta.
Classical Trumpet
Players:
Philip Smith
Armando Ghitalla
Thomas Hooten
Adolph “Bud” Herseth
Chris Martin
John Hagstrom
Michael Sachs
Steven Hendrickson
Alison Balsom
Tine Thing Helseth
David Krauss
Wynton Marsalis
Maurice Andre
Brass Quintets/Ensembles:
Empire Brass
American Brass Quintet
Canadian Brass
Mnozil Brass
Center City Brass Quintet
Boston Brass
Orchestral Trumpet
Sections:
New York Philharmonic
Chicago Symphony
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Berlin Philharmonic
London Symphony
St. Louis Symphony
Cleveland Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
Other Musicians:
Cecelia Bartoli
Itzhak Perlman
Gil Shaham
Joshua Bell
Yo-Yo Ma
Joseph Alessi
Arnold Jacobs
Jay Friedman
Jazz Trumpet
Players
Wynton Marsalis
Clifford Brown
Miles Davis
Louis Armstrong
*Listed in no specific order
**These are by no means
all-inclusive!

3. Start out by listing your strengths and weaknesses. Be honest, be humble,
but donʼt be afraid to give yourself
credit...after all, knowing what youʼre good
at is equally important as knowing what
you need work to work on!
After youʼve decided these skills, make a list, preferably in M.S. Excel or
Numbers, with your weaknesses at the top, and your strengths at the
bottom. Then fill in the “middle ground” with any remaining aspects of your
technique. Refer to the chart Iʼve included above: your vertical columns will
be numbered with the days of the month. For each day, you can place a
check or number in the box of whatever skill you worked on.
You may, at first, notice a pattern (I did myself): we tend to work on the
things weʼre good at. Can you imagine what would happen to our set of
skills if we worked more on our weakness than our strengths?
This way of tracking your progress is just a means to an end. I am always
trying new ideas to track my progress, and you should too.
For your convenience, Iʼve included a blank grid on the next page.
Remember itʼs helpful to write down in prose what youʼre spending time on
also, so donʼt allow the grid to be a limitation.

5. How Lessons Might Work
! It is my primary goal as a teacher to help students achieve what they
want to achieve. If I am able to guide you in growing refined technical skills
and musical intuition, I believe you can move in the musical direction that
most interests you. As musicians, we must have something to say to
others, and it is my job to help you learn to articulate what you have to say
in music.
! At the end of each lesson, we will work together to create a list of
assignments for you to work on until our next meeting. Certain skills
(perhaps many of those listed on your grid) will need to be maintained in
some way (like warming up in the morning with long tones and scales).
While I will not list these on your assignments, I trust you to spend what
you feel is an appropriate amount of time on them. From lesson to lesson,
however, I will try to assign materials that will be helpful to your long-term
success. Specific exercises, etudes, and literature can sometimes steer
you into areas of your playing you are less comfortable with. Fortunately,
thatʼs why we meet again and figure out what you may need help with, and
also reinforce good habits!
! Remember, you are your own best teacher. In the 30-60 minutes I
hear you play each week, itʼs almost impossible for me to assess how I can
best help you with your trumpet playing. Donʼt be afraid to come in lessons
with a list of questions, or contact me anytime during the week(s) between
lessons. Ultimately, I will do my best to offer you the knowledge where
eventually you will no longer need my assistance.

6. Contact Information:
John Thomas Burson
Email: johnthomasburson@gmail.com
Website: johnthomasburson.com
404-273-0409
Teaching Locations (as of November 2013):
West Georgia Arts Academy
http://westgaarts.com/
Call for details:
(770) 365-8940
(678) 983-0742
Private Studio
Located in Acworth, Georgia
Call for details:
(404) 273-0409
Rates:
$25 per 30 minute lesson
$40 per 60 minute lesson
Guidelines:
-Please bring your notebook and all materials to each lesson.
-Please arrive on time.
-If youʼre unable to make a lesson, please call or email, however I
appreciate a minimum of one hour notice-- if I travel to the lesson location
and the student does not arrive, I may need to charge due to the time spent
traveling. If you have a last minute change, please call rather than email.