Brass is Special

When you hear a trumpet sound, something is joyful or we’re in trouble.At Visible Music College, where I’ve been serving for twenty years, we see a lot of guitar players, acoustic players, electric speed guys and girls, young newbies, advanced jazz theory nerds, etc. But I started noticing a few years back that some of my true loves in music involved horn players and that many people loved them, just not much in the modern church. I realized at some point that, although they don’t typically wear skinny jeans, horn players were needed for celebration year round, not just the obligatory Easter and Christmas services.Horns call to the soul. Both in great Memphis soul music and huge brass choirs.We started the Commercial Brass division (and Woodwinds and Strings) a few years back to see if we could turn the tide on horn players on stage for worship and Christian players going into contemporary music through a rock school. It has been a trial because it is a new path, but I love that we are seeing brass players especially come around and do music with our young pop musicians and songwriters where someone would be pushing a button on a keyboard to the “Brass” patch if we weren’t here with live sounds. Showing guitar players how to read music, these players are often studio ready, used to a lot of discipline, and fun to be with!And, we used them for the obligatory brass ensemble outside the Christmas show.The Visible Horns!#kensteorts