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After three weeks of lockdown it’s been a joy to see my social media feed move on from Brexit to (almost) non–stop music making as friends and colleagues turn to performing online.

From solo performances in the garden of Somewhere Over The Rainbow to complex group performances complete with multi-screen images of all the musicians, the range of creativity and ingenuity has been astonishing. It’s heartening to see the important role music still has in our lives and how much pleasure we derive from performing even the simplest of melodies.

I’ve been doing most of my practice with a practice mute (the joys of living in a flat in London) but I have occasionally given the neighbours full blast to record some of my efforts. I’ve rediscovered the joys and complexities of the Jean Baptiste Arban’s Cornet Method, an extraordinary piece of work written in 1864. The method just about covers everything you need in order to master the technicalities of performing a valved instrument.

So, to keep things interesting, I thought I’d give Arban’s Characteristic Study No 1 the Garageband treatment just to liven things up a little. I hope you enjoy this version and apologies to Arban purists. Might be best to turn away now….

https://soundcloud.com/user-849129909/arban-study-no-1