Horn blower demonstrates power of performance

FORT SMITH — About 60 horn players, educators — and basically anyone with an interest in trumpet — attended the fourth annual Arkansas Affiliate Chapter of the International Trumpet Guild workshop last weekend (Feb. 25) at Breedlove Auditorium on the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith campus.

The all-day event was only $10 and featured master classes taught by critically acclaimed trumpet player Joe Burgstalller, instrument exhibits by Saied Music with the chance to demo horns, trumpet ensemble and reading sessions and a final recital by Burgstaller.
joeburgstaller.com/

The University of Arkansas, Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, UAFS and Henderson State University in Arkadelphia were among the schools represented.

Burgstaller approaches music education from a perspective he calls "The Myth of Reality and the Illusion of Control." Or, in layman’s terms: Change your mind, change your playing.

He focuses on the psychological, philosophical, scientific, emotional and less tangible facets of performance.

"For trumpet players especially, there's a wealth of knowledge out there, and usually you get the same knowledge everywhere you go," he said about the technical aspects of musicianship.

This information is well disseminated throughout academia and has been for the past 40 years or so. The technical ability of the last two generations of trumpet players in the 17-24-year-old age range has far exceeded that of previous generations within a shorter amount of study time, he said.

He posed the question, “What do I have to offer to them that they're not going to get locally or they are going to get somewhere else?

His answer: “Experience.”

That experience enables him to overcome obstacles many musicians face early in their careers. A common hinderence to performance is nerves or stage fright which can have a negative effect on playing ability.

He demonstrated this with a few exercises that resulted in marked improvement in performance as well as self-assessment by the students that corroborated the results.

In one example, Burgstaller asked a volunteer to simply walk from one place onstage to another. Then he made the student aware of the audience’s presence and the fact that everyone was watching him walk. He pointed out the difference in body language between the first and second walk and the student agreed that there was a psychological difference that manifested itself physically.

"In our efforts to strive to succeed, we usually try to work harder [and we burden ourselves with] a lot of self criticism and pushing ourselves down with the best of intents, but those are not the tools that move us forward…we look at the world as something to overcome instead of something to work with," he said.

Burgstaller's teachings can be applied to many facets of life where performance can suffer from internally generated limitations. The small fee to attend the workshop, made possible by a Yamaha sponsorship, made it a worthwhile experience, even for those with no musical ability whatsoever.