Brad Goode is an amazing musician. You’re probably most likely to know about his jazz trumpet playing. He’s also an excellent composer and bassist. He has also struggled a number of times with injuries to his lips that have seriously hindered his trumpet players.
Recently I came across a video podcast series, Trust the Process, that is devoted to helping musicians deal with injuries related to playing their instruments. Episode 4 is an interview with Brad Goode.
Here are a couple of quotes from the video that I found particularly interesting or insightful.
Understanding good brass technique and preventing injury go hand in hand.
For those who prefer not to think about brass technique, this is the best argument I can think for why you should understand brass technique.
There are many, many brass teachers not teaching embouchure. And not dealing with the subject of embouchure but believing in a magical thinking system where if you just imagine the results strong enough everything will be perfect and you won’t need to know anything about embouchure.
I find it truly amazing how many intelligent, well-intentioned, and experience brass teachers and players buy into this “think system” approach. And many are quite defensive if you point out the absurdity of it. And as Brad mentions, more players than not who get injured have been indoctrinated into this idea.
There are a few things he says that I question or disagree with. For example, while Brad is correct that different brass instruments require different approaches, I’ve found that the basic principles apply to all and they are more similar than many give credit. But I imagine that if we discussed these differences and similarities in person we’d find we’re more aligned than not here.
The whole interview is interesting and worth watching. I will definitely be checking out more of the Trust the Process series.
