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Fixing Range, Recovery from Mental Blocks & Rewiring the Brain for Brass Mastery | Greg Spence

Louis Dowdeswell

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🎺 Break through your current ceiling and add 2 notes to your trumpet range in 12 weeks or your money back
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In this episode, I’m joined by Greg Spence, the trumpet educator, learning process expert and the founder of 'Mystery to Mastery'.

Greg shares how his own frustrations with trumpet playing led him on a lifelong quest to understand how we truly learn, why some musicians and athletes break down under pressure, and how he’s helped countless people recover from debilitating conditions like focal dystonia and Bell’s palsy.

Enjoy!

00:00 Intro
02:45 Greg’s backstory
05:11 The three levels of learning
07:56 Could anyone become a great trumpeter with enough practice?
11:48 What is ‘intention’?
15:15 Why golf is a great analogy for trumpet
18:14 Phenomenon of strangeness
24:10 Why kids learn better than adults
28:33 Having realistic expectations
32:45 Importance of learning by visualisation
44:07 Why are some people naturally gifted at a lot of things
49:13 Neurological disorders
57:31 Playing trumpet with ADHD and other Neurological Disorders
01:09:55 The error trilogy
01:14:22 How singing can help your sound on trumpet
01:24:01 Greg’s altruism

If you want to hear 45 minutes more of this conversation, join my Trumpet Academy here -- https://bit.ly/trumpet-academy

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20 Comments

@Benjamminb24 1 year ago (edited)

It’s great to see two massively talented people really breaking it down and chatting about the discovery of learning and developing. As well as the distribution of that knowledge to help everyone else around you. Loved this and as always Greg thanks for the Laughs. Take care both.

@georgedoherty3648 1 year ago

One of the best podcasts I've ever watched.

@jarrodsplaceformusic 1 year ago

Brass band is what got me started and i still love it. I guess I have always sat between 2nd and 3rd tier and had a small amount of ability where i didn't have to work too hard to be competent amongst my peers (but not at any sort of high level). Even at my mid level playing I proabably play better than most around me and I try my best to inspire by playing well and acting in a professional manner. Turn up on time, be preparred. Practice at home, rehearse with the ensemble.

@Ron-dy3vz 1 year ago

Greg is an absolute legend—I've learned so much from him. His MTM course is phenomenal.

@patricklarge3744 1 year ago

Louis- this is really a great talk. Thanks so mch for recording it

@pjcoop 1 month ago

So many good points in this video! I was a decent trumpet player in the past (Played in NYJO as Louis did etc) but my playing became so inefficient and painful that I gave up and took up Saxophone. I lost ALL joy in playing the trumpet.. I've made a success of playing Lead Alto in Big Bands, but I've always wanted make a 'comeback' on trumpet.. During the last few years I also joined a choir in the Tenor section and had singing lessons, there are SO many relevant things that I've learned from singing.
I've noticed that ANY note I play on the trumpet above middle C is accompanied by a contracting of my throat, like I'm lifting a heavy weight (The concept of high notes on the trumpet requiring a LOT of physical effort is so engrained in me that I can't see how I can overcome it)..
Sounds to me that Greg's concepts are what I need!!

@DennisFrereSmith 11 months ago

Thanks for all your wonderful work, Louis❤

@JustanotherNPC8454 6 months ago

1:19:04 An analogy that I like to use is when you’re cutting a piece of paper and the scissors start gliding.

@jarrodsplaceformusic 1 year ago

I've also never heard humping the ball and I've also watched EVERY golf video on the internet.. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM !!!

@ggtrumpet 1 year ago

Truly enjoyed this conversation between both of you! Tnanks for sharing!

@stevenhogenson4880 1 month ago

You can have Intention, but without also having Dedication, Determination and Diligence it isn't going to happen.

@jasperllama6496 10 months ago

Like Richard Feynman, beautiful genius.

@gaborhammer525 1 year ago

Enlightening talk thank you!🙂

@matthewmartinez1438 1 year ago

A cool read that touches on similar themes is "the inner game of music". It's similar, and part of the same books about the inner game of tennis or golf etc. very similar comparisons.

@lindsaygibson2142 1 year ago

28:08 This sound exactly like my experience with trombone low range. You reach a point where your technique diverges, you can play higher one way, and lower another. You're wanting to bridge the two ranges, and as you attempt this, it makes those notes in the extremes on either end of those techniques difficult as you are merging the differences as you have conflicting ideas of how to play the notes.

@SchellMusic 1 year ago

This great, thank you.

@ReedMunson 1 year ago

Great conversation! regarding singing, please consider interviewing Peter Bond!
See The Singing Trumpet

@MLV8564 1 year ago

A great video, i have some addition thoughts on efficient playing and systems thinkings .....more content please Louis

@stevenhogenson4880 1 month ago

RE: Who will play how well > I have always been intrigued by how some players landed on the instrument they did. Wayne Bergeron started on French horn, the school was vandalized, horn was destroyed and switched to trumpet. Natural high range at early age. And he went from there. Would he have been just as phenomenal on sax? Clarinet? Violin? Cello? Percussion? Is musical ability going to shine regardless of the vehicle chosen to express it? Do world class players have the innate ability to have been world class on anything they ended up focused on? Someone like James Morrison who literally can play almost anything well. A high school kid I saw during Covid who compiled a video of himself playing a fairly difficult wind band piece and he was playing every instrument in the band to create the video.