Category Archives: Uncategorized

03 Nov

Lesson Policy

LESSONS

  • All students must have their own instrument in proper working order, a pencil, notebook and folder.
  • To facilitate remote-lessons, you must have a computer, tablet or smartphone and a reliable internet connection. I strongly recommend against using a smartphone.
  • Parents are welcome to watch all lessons, remote or in-person. Students are welcome to record their lessons.’
  • For In-Home Lessons: a parent or other responsible adult must be present for the entirety of the lesson.

 

ATTENDANCE:

  • Lessons should begin within 5 minutes of their scheduled time. If you are going to be any more than 5 minutes late for your lesson, please let me know by phone/text (516-234-5299). In the case that a student is more than 10 minutes late without any contact, the lesson may be cancelled and will be treated as a student absence.
  • 24-hour notice is required for all cancellations. Students are responsible to pay for any lessons cancelled within 24-hours (with the exception of medical emergencies). In the case of technical difficulties, we will do our best to reschedule the lesson.
  • In the occurrence of a teacher cancellation we will try to reschedule the lesson. The student will not be expected to pay for any teacher cancellations.
  • In-Home & Studio Lessons may be rescheduled as Remote (Zoom) lessons in cases of  illness, travel, inclement weather or scheduling difficulties

 

ADDITIONAL COVID HEALTH PROTOCOLS FOR IN-HOME LESSONS

  • In-Home lessons should be taught in a relatively well ventilated area that is not overly trafficked. Additionally high-traffic areas of the home often lead to frequent interruptions.
  • Common use items in the lesson area (music stands, tables, pianos) should be cleaned shortly before the lesson.

 

ASSIGNMENTS:

  • Assignments for remote-lessons will be posted to a Google Doc and files shared through Google Drive. While a Google account not needed to access these files, it can be quite helpful.
  • Assignments for in-person-lessons will be written in the student’s notebook. While I will provide hard copies of most sheet music and exercise sheets, access to Google Drive is also advisable for the sharing additional files.
  • It is advisable to print out weekly handouts, songs and lesson sheets. If you do not have access to a printer (or want to save paper) make sure that:
    • All handouts, songs and lesson sheets are loaded onto a computer or tablet. Reading off of a smartphone screen is almost impossible.
    • All files should be downloaded and easily accessible. Searching for an eMail link to a google drive link every day is time consuming and makes practice difficult.

BILLING:

  • Lessons will be invoiced at the beginning of each month. If you anticipate any cancellations due to holidays, vacations, etc. please try to let me know by the end of the previous month. If I find out about a cancellation after the invoice has been sent, a credit will be applied to the following month.
  • If you wish to pay week-to-week, payment is due on the day of the lesson.
  • Acceptable payment options include:
    • QuickPay / Zelle: scott@scottkulick.com
    • PayPal: scott@scottkulick.com
    • Check payable to:
      • Scott Kulick
        48-56 44th St. #6G
        Woodside, NY 11377

 

14 Nov

How to Clean Your Trumpet

Over time the inside of your trumpet will get pretty nasty. Your constantly blowing warm, moist air through your horn, then storing it in dark place. That’s not even accounting for all the bits of food that can get stuck in there when you eat and play.

How often should you clean your trumpet? That all depends how often you play. For the average student once or twice a year should be enough. A professional player such as myself will clean my trumpet far more often. Additional cleaning may be necessary if you have a tendency to eat and drink (especially sugary foods) when you play.

 

Total Time: 45 minutes
Active Time: 15 minutes

Before you start, make sure to pick up a Trumpet Cleaning Kit. You can find it at most music stores, online, etc.

Your kit should include:

  • A Trumpet Snake: along wire with brushes on either end.
  • Valve Casing Brush: A Brush about 1/2″-3/4″ in diameter and a few inches long. Should be about the same diameter as your valves.
  • Mouthpiece Brush: A small, thin brush (thin enough to fit in the shank of your mouthpiece).
  • Polishing Cloth

You’ll also need:

  • Valve Oil
  • Slide Grease

*Oil and grease may be included in your cleaning kit.

Cleaning Procedure:

  1. Gather all of your supplies including:
    • All Brushes
    • 2 Bowls
    • 2 Towels
    • Dish soap (for handwashing dishes, not dishwasher soap)
  2. Fill a sink or bathtub with lukewarm water
    • The sink should be large enough to fit your trumpet
    • Place a towel in the sink (so you don’t dent or scratch your horn)
    • Make sure the water is not too hot (if you put your hand in the sink and say “ooh…that’s hot” it’s too hot). Hot water can strip the lacquer off your horn.
  3. Fill a bowl with lukewarm water & line it with a small towel (or paper towel)
    • This is where you’ll soak any smaller parts.
  4. Disassemble your trumpet:
    • Remove your valves. Remove the top valve caps and finger buttons if you can.
      • Check that each valve has a number (1, 2, 3). If not, pay careful attention to which valve is which. You do not want to mix them up.
      • If you can remove the felts, place them in a dry bowl.
      • Place all metal parts in bowl of water.
    • Remove bottom valve caps, place in bowl of water.
    • First and Second Valve Slides should go in bowl of water.
    • Tuning slide and Third Valve slide can go in either the sink or bowl.
      • You may have to remove a slide-stop screw to remove the third valve slide. Place it in the dry bowl.
    • Place your Mouthpiece in the bowl of water
  5. Let your trumpet soak for 30 minutes
  6. Lay out a dry towel (to dry your trumpet)
  7. Drain the sink
  8. Put soap on the trumpet snake brush. Brush out each slide. Be sure to rinse thoroughly & place on towel to dry.
  9. Snake all pipes of the trumpet.
  10. Put soap on the valve casing brush. Brush out all three casings. Rinse thoroughly and place on towel to dry.
  11. Brush the holes in your valves. Put soap on a paper towel and wipe off the outside of each valve. Rinse thoroughly and place on towel to dry.
  12. Put soap on your mouthpiece brush. Brush out the mouthpiece. Rinse thoroughly and place on towel to dry.
  13. Let all parts dry.
  14. Grease each slide and put the trumpet back together.
    • If you had to remove any screws, be sure to put them back on.
  15. Reassemble your valves. Make sure that you put them in the right place (1st valve in the first casing, etc.). Oil your valves.
  16. Replace the bottom casings and any other parts that remain.
  17. Polish your trumpet and enjoy!

 

With just a little care your trumpet should last a lifetime!

19 Feb

Where to practice?

When it comes to learning a musical instrument, we all know that practice is critical. A weekly lesson can give you the tools but you have to learn to use them on your own.

You can’t get in good, regular practice without first finding the right practice room.

 

Choose Someplace Convenient

Practicing alone at the top of a secluded mountain like some warrior monk you saw once in a movie may seem idyllic, but its just not practical. By the time you gather your equipment and hike to the top of Kilimanjaro you won’t have any energy to work on your scales & etudes.

There are fore more convenient options closer to home: bedrooms and basements are great options!

Make it Practical

Don’t make practice an inconvenience. Leave your case out where you can see it. If you have a low-traffic room to practice in, leave your instrument out on a stand. If you have the guitar in its case under your bed -well- you know what they say: out of sight, out of mind.

Your music should be well organized and accessible. The week’s assignments should be ready to go at a moment’s notice. Buy yourself a music stand. They are inexpensive. You’ll thank yourself later.

Make sure that you have plenty of light. It’s amazing that I arrive at many students’ homes and can barely see the music myself! When I work in pit orchestras or dimly lit club, I always use a stand light. If moving a lamp is out of the question, think about getting a stand light yourself.

Avoid Distractions

Your piano looks beautiful in your living room, but is that the best place to practice? We put the drum set in the basement along with the kids’ toys.

Yes you want the practice area to be practical and convenient, but distractions will make it impossible to concentrate. It will take much longer and be much more frustrating to learn Chopin if there’s a basketball flying past your head every few minutes. Simply put: if you can’t concentrate, you can’t practice.

If you’re not working on music together, do not practice simultaneously with another musician in the same area.

Setting up a practice area in an out-of-the-way room will also help keep the noise down for the rest of the family!

Bedrooms, basements, offices and living rooms are all great options, just make sure that it’s far away from the action. Just remember to find someplace Convenient, Practical and Private.