TPTV - Kristian Steenstrup

Danish trumpet professor, and author, Kristian Steenstrup talks about the genesis and process of writing his book, Teaching Brass. He decided to write the book because he wanted to back up his own statements about Jacobs’ teaching to his colleagues back home in Aarhus. Steenstrup’s reaction to his first lesson with Jacobs was one of “flying.” He came out of Jacobs’ studio being able to play much better than when he went in. “For Jacobs it was not magic, it was logic” said Steenstrup about Jacobs’ pedagogical practice of programming the brain. Jacobs assigned Solfeggio studies to Steenstrup and had him begin singing much more. Imitation. The voice in the head is the dominant voice. “I never think of such a thing as you can take in too much air” said Steenstrup. Positive relaxation pressures. Full breaths versus shallow breaths. Working less but getting better results. Piccolo trumpet playing. “Screech” trumpet playing. Neuro-plasticity and mental learning. It was almost as if Jacobs was ahead of science. Opening up the tone. Using a lower tongue position/vowel. Letting the lower notes teach the upper notes. Think about sounding great. Jacobs was not about the breathing gadgets but used them because they were so efficient in helping the student effect change quickly. Mouthpiece buzzing. There is an increasing interest in Jacobs’ pedagogy in Europe and South America.