I find that the online system developed by Jeff Purtle allows me to keep up my chops and do lessons just about from anywhere.

Blake Dournaee
Senior Product Manager at Intel Corporation
San Francisco, California

Trumpet Lessons with Jeff Purtle by Sergio Frade

I started playing the trumpet when I was very young, but I always had problems with my embouchure, and lips. I stopped playing the trumpet at age 24 after, while playing in a band, hit the trumpet player in front of me causing a blow to the lip.

When I went to Canada, I was in a music store looking for some books and the words "BRASS PLAYING IS NO HARDER THAN DEEP BREATHING" caught my attention and I was very excited.

My thought was: “Can I finally play again?” "Easier?" I asked if they had more books by this author (Claude Gordon) in the store and they had the “SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO DAILY PRACTICE”.

That is when I started studying trumpet again. I read carefully what C.G. said in the book “HOW TO PRACTICE AND WHAT TO PRACTICE”.

In 2005 I met Jeff and we talked about having lessons. I told him I was Portuguese but was living in Canada at the time . I came back to Portugal and started playing professionally.

After 11 months of studying with Jeff, I played for the first time my TRIPLE C.

Now I play more comfortably, with more endurance, and easier, more power too. This is awesome. Anyone can do it. Thanks Jeff for helping me.

Sergio Frade
Freelance Musician and Lead Trumpet player
Lisbon, Portugal

I would like to recommend Jeff for anyone in the Carolina region interested in learning the Claude Gordon approach to playing the trumpet. I came to him last year with some emboucher problems, and his clear teaching and assignments helped out tremendously. I play much more relaxed now than I did a year ago. My only regret is that I had to stop lessons for financial and family reasons. But I still continue through the books. My goal was not just to increase range, but while doing the exercises as instructed, my range has increased from a good F above high C to a solid Double High C. I am able to play an E above Double High C on some days. He also helped me in my search for a CG Selmer.

Jim Lynch
Greer, South Carolina
First Baptist Church of North Spartanburg - Trumpet

It's great that Jeff is passing on the wealth of knowledge from Claude Gordon. I attended some of Claude's camps in the early 80's and am currently studying with Jeff. All I can say is about this method is that if you apply yourself and do the work, every aspect of your playing will improve and become easy. It WORKS!!!

Joe Herlong
Music Teacher
Rock HIll, South Carolina

I have been working with Jeff on a regular (weekly) basis to improve my trumpet playing skills. I am what one would consider a comeback player that required extensive work and encouragement, since I had not played for almost 20 years. He is a disciplined teacher with an approach to trumpet playing that has greatly improved my skills and performance level. My improvement was gradual due to my personal constraints of finding the time to practice the varied exercises and routines prescribed by Jeff. At first, I thought that process was very rudimentary; however, I slowly learned that the process was necessary to establish some fundamental building blocks. Suddenly, I began to feel a real difference in my playing ability and a confidence in execution in concert performances. 
Jeff also has an excellent brass camp that I had attended this past summer. What an experience to meet other trumpet players striving to master this instrument. The lectures and the personal exchange of various topics with professional performers, like Harry Kim, Carl Lenthe, etc. was totally awesome. It was like living a dream. All the participants and artists encouraged all who attended to continue their personal desire to improve their playing skills, the do's and don'ts of playing in a band, section, etc. Jeff is totally approachable and willing to offer help in improving one's performance. I recently e-mailed Jeff a question regarding some new music notations on a score that I never saw before and was headed to a rehearsal on the piece that night. Jeff responded to me within an hour of my e-mail with his insight on the notations that I question. 
I cannot say enough about Jeff. I am very fortunate to have found him and very appreciative of his talent and instructional skills. I plan on continuing this relationship with Jeff and look forward to future brass camps.

Ray Grzybowski
Conestoga Wood Specialties, CFO

Thank you Jeff for showing me the way of more consistent trumpet playing.

Leonardo Palese - Testimonial
Atlanta, Georgia
The Unusual Suspects Atlanta
Sentimental Journey Orchestra

I have studied online with Jeff since June 2010 from Iran, first by emailing recorded videos of my performance then online lesson and live through video chat.
I could have never imagine that it can be possible to learn online, but it happened! 

At first, I asked him some questions about Free Buzzing, Mouthpiece Buzzing and Pencil Exercises. 
I had always been thinking I am not able to play high notes and without no stability. I didn't even have a place to practice... 

He took me straight to the right way. 
Jeff answered my questions by telling that "I never assign my students to do Free Buzzing, Mouthpiece Buzzing or Pencil Exercises; You should blow to your horn!" 
Not only he proved me just the opposite of what I thought and showed me who I am, But also he did all of these only in couple of weeks! 

He is always available and answers my sudden frequently. Questions such as playing, clinical problems, choosing instrument, methods and musics and etc. 

In summary, I highly recommend students to study with Jeff because I've found a pure honesty and friendship with him. 

Cheers

Ali Daneshkhah
Censor of Music at IRIB
Tehran, Iran

When all else fails - and for me it did - A systematic approach to trumpet playing and the guidance of Jeff Purtle have given me the steady progress that I've craved since I first picked up the trumpet. I've always had a real love for the trumpet, which I begun playing in school music when I was about 13 years old. The first recording of a trumpet player I really listened to was Chet Baker and I used to (try) and play along to that recording in my bedroom every night.

Unfortunately my trumpet instruction right from the beginning wasn't a very good one. My teacher was really a trombone player, not a trumpet player and his main advice was to make a good sound. Which I could...But the problems I had were endless: Mouthpiece placed in the red of the top lip; trumpet pointing towards the floor; smiling; lots of mouthpiece pressure;  a range that refused to budge beyond the G ontop the staff and more.

The first time I realised that my playing wasn't anywhere near what it could or should be was when I saw a video of James Morrison on YouTube. The range, power, tone, technique it all blew me away. Not knowing what to do, I started searching the internet for answers. I found a lot of "answers" and a world of trouble. I tried - and failed - at everything. Lip Buzzing, Mouthpiece Buzzing, Pencil Exercise, Button Exercise, Upstream (Roy Stevens), Maggio, moving my mouthpiece placement higher, different mouthpieces. I couldn't find any teachers in my local area so I had some lessons with a few different teachers (Some very well known) over Skype.

But the road to hell was paved with good intentions! By the time high school was finished, I was a mess. My saving grace, musically, was that I can compose and so I did my music degree in composition and continue to carve out a career as a composer. But I always felt the trumpet as a momentous failure. It is one of the things that I can spend h

ours doing and not get bored in the slightest. And despite spending countless hours practicing I had gotten no where and taken my dear sweet time about it. Midway through 2012 I decided to give the trumpet one more go. I hadn't given the Claude Gordon stuff a go, and it was about the only thing I hadn't tried, so I contacted Jeff Purtle and setup some lessons... They say "it'll be in the last place you look" and that seems to have been the case here.

I'm by no means a good trumpeter yet, but when I practice the stuff Jeff assigns me, I get progress. Not miracles, but small, incremental progress.  For me, there really can't be anything more gratifying then that.

Christopher Healey
Brisbane QLD, Australia
Composer & Conductor

Biodun Batik on Trumpet Lessons with Jeff Purtle

I'm 'Biodun Adebiyi, an indigene of lbadan but resides in Lagos, all in Nigeria. I started as a self-tutored trumpet player sometime around 1979 . My quest for knowlege through consistent search for better players to learn from made me to become the most sought after player and virtually the best around. I played all genres of music and in almost all the 'happening' bands in Nigeria between the early 80s and 90s, including the legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and the Egypt 80 band. Those days l was practicing for about 10 to 12 hours daily but then l couldn't figure out what went wrong later, my embouchure went awry -maybe due to wrong technique. I even went to Ghana in search of someone to bail me out of this problem. This frustration made me abandon trumpet playing several times. Finally in 2011 l decided to shelve trumpet playing and that was when one of my trumpet students discovered Jeff Purtle and he encouraged me to talk to him. After several exchange of mails and phone calls, I made my very first trip to Greenvile, South Carolina in October same year, a trip that has totally changed my orientation about music business generally and trumpet playing particularly. The 1 hr lesson and counselling l received has greatly and magically corrected (and is still correcting) the foundational errors l imbibed. For economic reason, l would have attended his conferences and other teaching programs, but l'm preparing to meet him again this year. He is also a jolly great fellow!

Biodun Batik - Testimonial
Ibadan, Nigeria
Lagos State University

Trumpet Lessons with Jeff Purtle

When I started chemotherapy eight months ago I thought my trumpet days were over for a while. But I was wrong. Not only was I able to perform in various situation but my playing and sound progressed. Of course there were many bad days because of the medicine but know how and what to practice. When I look back over the eight months I see that I have never performed so often and in so various fields including, symphonic orchestra, wood and brasswind bands, jazz quintett , funk groups, rock groups, weddings, brass quintets and the list goes on for a while. I owe very much to my teachers but the most I owe Mr.Purtle. Under his tution and modified routines I would never have been able to do this.

Johannes Porleikson
Reykjavík, Iceland

I had given up playing trumpet for over 20 years when I began studying with Jeff in 2010. I had previously studied music performance in Montreal, Canada with Robert Early at McGill University and with the late Réal Mathieu at Vanier College who coincidentally was also a former student of Claude Gordon. I decided not to pursue music as a career and I joined the Canadian military instead but I then became sidetracked by work and other commitments and stopped playing completely.  

When serving on operations in Bosnia, I met and married a British Army officer and moved to the UK. We were soon posted to Germany and then moved from one country to another almost every year.  I had I decided that I missed having music in my life and made the decision to get back into playing shape but it was difficult to get into a routine again. I attempted to find a trumpet teacher when we moved to the SW of England but could not find anyone local at the appropriate level.

I have been able to draw on his experience and knowledge whilst he provided me with the right amount of guidance and structure to my weekly lesson. The beauty of having 'portable' lessons is that either Jeff or I can be any place in the world and still have a lesson.  I have had my lessons in numerous places whilst traveling in and around the UK, Canada, France, and Belgium. 

Since starting lessons, I have got my confidence back and my playing has improved tremendously. I have had the opportunity to play with a number of very good orchestras, brass bands and small ensembles around the UK and Belgium.  I now play with the Bruocsella Symphony Orchestra in Brussels and a number of small bands around the area. Most importantly though, is that I love playing again.

Carolyn Deakin
Brussels, Belgium

Trumpet Lessons with Jeff Purtle

Jeff’s book meets a need for a wide range of audiences, not only the serious amateur player but it is an incredible review of the basic fundamentals even for the most accomplished trumpeter. Hit It Hard & Wish It Well contains the outstanding lifetime of teaching methods captured in this work. It is incredibly modernized with interactive elements of embedded video that it is an immersive experience. The diagrams and illustrations add so much insight into a much greater self-awareness of positioning of fingers, tongue, lips and much more.
This is a very efficient and effective way for me with a busy schedule to get a lot accomplished and get a lot of insights in a short period of time. It enables self-evaluation in a meaningful way without getting into a rut.
Jeff has captured such a breadth of information and knowledge that this will be a companion piece of a serious musician’s library. This is a living document that never grows old.

_____

Played these horn tracks and thanks to your good coaching for the high F at end!

Sound Cloud Recording

Dan Cathy
Chairman of Chick-fil-A
Atlanta, Georgia

I initially contacted Jeff because I was interested in finding a Claude Gordon trumpet. I was working out of the CG method on my own for A few months beforehand and after I was able to acquire a CG trumpet with the help of Jeff, He offered to give me lessons. My progress has increased tenfold with weekly lessons with a teacher who is well versed in the CG method. There is only one way to play a brass instrument correctly and with proper development and patience, anyone can learn to play correctly and not only that, but attain a range of double high C and beyond. If anyone is serious about learning to play a brass instrument, I highly recommend Jeff!

Joey Epstein
Chicago, Illinois

Studying with Jeff brought to me the opportunity to understand the importance of Habits. When practicing our daily routine, this point must be acknowledged as important as what, how and why we do each study. If we stick to it, give time, no hurry, the results come in time. Be patient, follow the seven natural elements of brass playing and that’s it.

Paulo César Ribeiro
Trumpet Professor of Minas Gerais State University
Brazil

I want to take lessons because I had gotten braces and I had no idea how to readjust as fast as possible while avoiding injury or learning bad habits. I remembered seeing that Claude Gordon's way of teaching was the way to lead to easiest playing and I managed to find trumpet lessons with Jeff Purtle. I immediately found that the routines and advice given are priceless, because they made me stop worrying over unnecessary things and set me in the correct mentality to become a better trumpet player overall. I don't have braces anymore and have been readjusting well. Even while readjusting, I find that I can slur and tongue easier than I could when I had nothing to readjust to!

Cesar Torres
Texas
Mariachi Trumpet Player