An Intro to Claude Gordon
Perhaps you have never heard of Claude Gordon.
Most likely , though, you have heard of the famous cornet virtuoso and John Philip Sousa band member, Herbert L. Clarke. Clarke not only was the
first cornet virtuoso to be widely recorded, but he also authored some of the finest exercise books for cornet and trumpet that are still, to this
day, a must for the serious student of the instrument.
Clarke was sought after in his later life as a private teacher by many who would go on to accomplish great things and one of them was a young man from
Montana named Claude Gordon. Claude began studying the cornet at the age of 5 and had accomplished a range of F above high C by the age of eight and
that without a teacher!
It was during his study with private teachers shortly after that that his troubles began. By the time he was twelve, the rediculous methods of quack
teachers had robbed him of the successes of his younger years, and the misery began. Desparate for relief, Claude contacted Clarke in his later teens
and ended up moving to Los Angeles, CA to be able to study with the great pedagogue, Clarke.
And study he did regularly for about a decade until Clarke\'s death in 1945. Claude went on to play live radio shows, in the recording studios in LA
and eventually on such TV shows as I Love Lucy. You can hear Claude playing the lead in the original theme music.
In his later years, Claude become a pedagogue himself, giving many private lessons and writing many books published by Carl Fischer publishing. His
text book, Brass Playing Is No Harder Than Deep Breathing, is a wonderful distillation of his teaching philosophy and a great introduction to his
approach to brass playing.
I had the great privelage of studying for many years with Claude Gordon while I was still residing in California and heartily recommend his books,
recordings, horns and mouthpieces to anyone studying cornet and/or trumpet.
I look forward to many engaging conversations and inquiries
regarding Claude and his ideas and teachings here on the threads to come.
Matt Graves
Online Trumpet Lessons Via Live Video Chat
Author of Fundamental Flexibility Studies
Student of Claude Gordon 1983-1990
Private Teacher in Brooklyn, NY
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posted on 14-11-2008 at 05:12 PM
