ISBN 9780825890192. 9 x 12 inches. Text: Frank T. Williams III.
Chops is the ultimate book for building tone, technique and flexibility on a brass instrument. It is written by Frank Williams, one of the best brass pedagogues in the world, who has instructed countless students around the globe in private lessons, high school bands and award-winning drum and bugle corps. Williamsa students range from people (such as myself) in the publishing industry to hundreds of band directors and professional musicians, even reaching to principal players of major orchestras. These exercises are the vegetables that all brass musicians must eat in order to improve their tone, technique and flexibility: a oneof- a-kind collection of exercises and insights into mastering the skills necessary to be a solid player on a brass instrument. They are proven. They work. And with diligence they will help you to succeed as well.
It is with great pride that I write the foreword for this book by one of my mentors and friend. Frank Williams is one of the best brass pedagogues in the worldaperiod! Most of what I know about playing a brass instrument, and teaching people to play a brass instrument, and writing and editing books about playing brass instruments I learned from Frank. Frank is a master teacher. He has instructed countless students around the world in private lessons, in high school bands and in award-winning drum and bugle corps. Frankas students range from people like me in the publishing business to hundreds of band directors and professional musicians, all the way up to the tubist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He knows what he is doing, and he continues to do it day in and day out. I am pleased to be able to get Frank to put down on paper what it is that he does to help his students succeed and improve their achops.a These exercises are not glamorous, but they are the vegetables that all brass players must eat in order to improve their tone, technique and flexibility. This is a one-of-a-kind collection of exercises and insights into mastering the skills necessary to be a solid player on a brass instrument. They are proven: They work, and with diligent work they will help you succeed, too. Frank is not the famous professor at the big-name university or conservatory of music, but that does not in any way diminish his expertise in this area. He lives in the trenches, helping students of all ages become wonderful brass players and better musicians. I know that you will find these exercises daunting at times, perhaps even painful at others. But trust me: Push ahead, try harder, and do what is necessary to succeed. Frank has another wonderful quality as a teacher that rings true in this book. He accepts nothing but your best at all times and helps his students understand that through consistent hard work and dedication, even sometimes painfully, you will get better. I know in my heart this to be true. It is my pleasure to be able to present the work of Frank Williams in this book for Carl Fischer so that many generations to come can continue to know of the legacy of this great brass pedagogue and fantastic musician. Thank you, Frank, for instilling in me the work ethic necessary to succeed as a musician and in life.
