Whether Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn or Tuba, Brass Lessons Are Great Fun

“For there’s Basie, Miller, Satchmo,
And the king of all, Sir Duke”
— From “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder

Want to blow off some steam? We have a suggestion: How about picking that old trumpet or trombone up and coming down to Piero’s Music for some lessons?!

We were sitting around the store musing about the lyrics by Stevie Wonder we quoted above, and you know something? Two of the four men name checked were fantastic horn players. Glenn Miller is probably the best-known trombone player of all time, while “Satchmo” Louis Armstrong is probably the best-known trumpet player. Sure, Count Basie and Duke Ellington were piano players, but you’ve got to admit that these two horn players were something! (Both Miller and Armstrong had postage stamps…back when they were just 32 cents each.) And think about it: beyond Satchmo, guys like Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis are among the greatest American musicians, let alone horn players, ever. It’s incredible. If you love music, you have to be moved listening to Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” or moved to dance when you hear Miller’s “In the Mood.” 

Our hometown of Bayonne has a deep and fascinating history when it comes to horn players. For a few decades, local residents could head down to Bayonne Park on weekend mornings to catch the famed Bayonne Bridgemen rehearsing. The Bridgemen were a renown drum and bugle marching band that competed against similar local drum and bugle corps. Drum and bugle corps use a variety of brass instruments: trumpets, trombones, tubas and baritone/euphoniums. 

The Bridgemen weren’t the only brass band to come to mind. The story of the fictional Grimley Colliery Band and the shutting of the coal mines in England were at the heart of the wonderful 1996 movie Brassed Off. That wasn’t only a really good movie, it was filled with fantastic horn music. Among the most recognizable songs are Rossini’s ”William Tell Overture” and Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance.”