Thanks to everyone in the PartTimeMusician.com family for making September an inspiring, fun-filled month! For all you have done to make your site a good one, THANK YOU!
Here are some of the “blue ribbon” articles from September that you may want to revisit:
September 3: YouTube for musicians: boosting the burn!
September 4: Loud music stimulates your brain
September 8: Videogaming helps your mad music-making skillz!
September 10: What is holding you back?
September 11: What is holding you back? No, it isn’t!
September 15: Learning a new instrument…as an adult
September 17: YouTube for musicians: equipment setup
September 22: YouTube for musicians: technique
September 25: How to replace the pickups in your guitar
September 28: Transposing for Trumpet: A Handy Reference
Another quick plug for the PTM advertisers: if you need anything for your music-making, please check with them first. They’re good folks, and their prices, service, and quality are tough to beat. Their ads are in the right column…please give them the chance to earn your business and in doing so, you’ll be giving back a bit to the PTM community at the same time…without paying a single dime more! And please don’t forget about the PTM Guide; we guarantee it will save you money, and all updates are free…forever! (Note: v2 to be released early October!)
Thanks to all involved for their contributions and the shared information and camaraderie. You really are the best out there.
Keep playing,
Mark
September
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It’s been awhile since we’ve picked on the horn section here, so we’re going to fix that now. 
This one was sent to me by a horn player himself who thought it worth sharing. Enjoy!
Q: How many horn players does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Just one, but he’ll spend two hours checking the bulb for alignment and leaks.
Keep playing,
Mark
it’s (past) time to share a good oneA
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Several years ago, I resumed playing trumpet after about 20 years (!) away from the horn. As I’ve mentioned before, I was surprised at what I remembered…and also at what I had forgotten. I was never that good at transposition before, but upon returning to playing, it looked like a steep uphill climb.
At that point, I worked through the basic concepts of it with a good friend and musician (horn/trumpet – thanks, Steve!) and found this helpful document online: Dr. Gary Wurtz’s Transposition Issues page. What a lifesaver! A printed copy of Dr. Wurtz’s transposition chart was a key part of my gear my first full season back with an orchestra.
I recently rediscovered that worn copy, and after finding its current home online, I’m sharing it with you in the hope that you might find it useful as well. If you’re returning to orchestral trumpeting after some time away, or if you just want to verify your grasp of transposition, this is a great document to have.
Transposition is a big subject that affects many instruments (and instrumentalists!), and this is only a small segment of that topic…but more is on the way! In the meantime, if you have anything you’d like to share about your transposition trials and triumphs, please post a comment or drop us a line! We’d love to hear from you.
Keep playing (in whatever key!),
Mark
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Tags: chart, Gary Wurtz, Orchestra, reference, transpose, transposing, transposition, trumpet
Brass, Learning, Orchestra | Mark September 28, 2009 | 
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If you’ve ever daydreamed about replacing the pickups in that old axe of yours but thought it would be too difficult or risky, your waiting days may be over.
Written by a fifteen year-old – yes, fifteen! – this article details how to remove and replace your existing pickups, ending up with something a little more to your (ears’) liking. Though it wasn’t a perfect ending, it demonstrates very well that with a little time, money, and patience, you really can get a great new sound from that old guitar!
My first foray into working on (rather than playing) guitars was when, out of desperation, I experimented with adjusting the intonation on a faux Stratocaster I owned. The results were beyond encouraging, as detailed in this article. I always figured swapping pickups would be too involved to tackle myself…but now I’m getting ideas. Aren’t you?
What do you think? Are you up to the challenge? If this has pushed you over the edge, please let us know! And if you’d like to chronicle your upgrade, we might even post an article about your travels. Drop us a line; we’d love to hear from you.
Keep playing,
Mark
Note: If you’re shopping for pickups or other gear, please consider supporting your PartTimeMusician.com advertisers! Just follow the links in the right-hand column to explore your upgrade options. Thank you!
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I think thus far that we have left the conductors among us alone, but no more. With the Joke of the Day, no one is off limits!
Q: What is the difference between a conductor and a sack of fertilizer?
A: The sack. 
Keep wavin’ that baton,
Mark
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