Kylie Galaviz | October 10, 2024
The average person might not know this, but trumpet players can be best described as egotistical nerds. Two very contrasting stereotypes somehow fit the ideal trumpet player perfectly. I have a couple friends who are trumpet players, and I wouldn’t consider them to fit this stereotype, but after being in the music scene for eight years, I could definitely name people who do. These people spend day in and day out taking music classes, trying to become the best trumpet player in their studio. It seems to me that being a trumpet major entails being the best at the instrument and having a boastful attitude. My trumpet major friends invited me to one of their classes on Wednesday so I could attend and record my observations. This was my opportunity to question if trumpet players really wear the badge of an egotistical nerd or if it’s just a stereotype that should be broken.
As I entered the classroom the next Wednesday, it looked like it had been built 80 years prior and the chalkboard on the wall was silently begging to be put out of its misery. My ears were met with a piercing, brassy cacophony of 24 trumpet players. Laughter and jokes were sprinkled on top of the thick frosting-like sounds being made in the small, echoey room. Trying to put all the sound past me, I scanned the room further and noticed there were chairs and music stands creating a semi-circle around two chairs in the middle. Adding to the sounds of trumpet players warming up, every time someone would move a chair or music stand, it would harshly scrape across the old brown tile in the classroom. Now, I didn’t really know what to expect upon walking into this departmental, which upon research I learned was closely related to a masterclass, but the sensory overload I had was intense. I thought I would just walk in the room and hear a professor talk about trumpet fundamentals for an hour and then leave. I could not be more grateful that I was wrong.
Once the departmental started, groups of two students would come up to the front and play a short excerpt. After they finish playing the professor, DMA students, and undergraduates would take turns giving constructive criticism on the previous playing. I couldn’t help but wonder if these students were extremely nervous to play in front of everybody, but as I kept watching different pairs go up, it seemed like this is something they could do in their sleep. After someone gave a pair a comment on their performance, the professor rewarded them with candy. This honestly really shocked me because there’s a room with a bunch of musicians playing their instrument, and you’re giving them candy?! In the music world, it is considered taboo to eat and play. You don’t want the mouthpiece to get dirty or to have pieces of food finding a new home in the tubing of your instrument. There were jokes made about people not liking Twizzlers and even Reese’s candy, which created a more fun and lighthearted atmosphere in the room. A woman with a long, brunette ponytail, who I presumed to be the professor, told the whole class that being able to give people comments on their playing or constructive criticism is vital in their ability to become better musicians. I guess the candy was just a bonus!
After that class, I thought I had some solid observations to be able to write about the trumpet majors here at UNT. However, one of my friends invited me to a guest speaker presentation the following Wednesday. Honestly, I wasn’t too ecstatic because I didn’t want to sit in a room for an hour listening to an older guy talk about his experience with a metal tube of brass. Despite my doubts, I went anyways and almost immediately regretted it.
As soon as I stepped in the recital hall, I felt out of place. A giant, cavernous room filled with students guarding their trumpet cases like bags of money, wasn’t what I was expecting to immerse myself into at 12 pm on a Wednesday. I shyly sat behind three guys I knew clutching my Voertman’s tote bag, and after a long four minutes of waiting, the guest speaker began. During the first few minutes of the presentation, I felt as though I was walking through a river full of molasses. Time was inching by, but as he kept talking, I became enthralled in his words. He talked about how to be a good music student, create passion within yourself and others, and even about mental health. Something he said really stuck out to me, “The passion for music we have in ourselves is a gateway to creating passion in others.” It was in that moment I realized that these trumpet majors are just trying to spread their love of music. I could count on my hand how many times he said the word trumpet, a crazy thing to say since this guy was a prestigious lecturer about all things trumpet. Time wasn’t inching by anymore, it was flying! Before I could blink again, the presentation was over. As he finishing his closing remarks, I couldn’t help but clap in awe with the rest of the students. Coming from someone who is not a music major and takes absolutely no music classes, I felt like a new perspective of music and music students had washed over me in the blink of an eye.
Concluding both experiences observing the egotistical nerds, the stereotype of the trumpet majors and any preconceived notion I had were shattered. The lively departmental— accompanied by candy rewards—and the captivating presentation showed me a community of students who are all just trying to learn the essence of being a musician and share their passions. Having strong, indubitable passion and grit outdoes any technical passage played perfectly. Reflecting on the experience, I now recognize that these trumpet students don’t care about the notes on the page, they care about learning how to be a better musician and sharing with the world their undeniable passion for music.