Looks like I won’t quit trumpet after all

At one point, it was what I lived, breathed and bled.

That is no longer the case. I’ve since become involved in the podcasting industry, to the point that I make my living producing shows for myself and others – and I don’t need to chase the wayward students and one-off church gigs so I can pay my rent.

It was still a hobby, one which I enjoyed rather well.

But the last few months, I just didn’t enjoy it all that much. There didn’t seem to be be much of a challenge with it. Even though I had booked a couple of gigs here in Vietnam – playing challenging stuff to be sure – it just didn’t light my fire.

I thought to myself, “Maybe it’s just time to retire.”

Athletes go through that. They love doing something, but they just know it’s time to hang it up.

I thought I was at that point. It’s just time to hang it up and focus on other things. It was a good run. I did some cool things, but it’s just time.

So my plan was to do the shows I had committed to, then give away the horns I brought to Vietnam to save precious luggage space for our move to the U.S. (whenever that happens, we’re still unsure) and just not play anymore.

Until yesterday, when my wife Sana said something along the lines of, “Babe, I love it when you play, I think you should continue with it.”

I replied, “I would need a really good reason to do so.”

“I’m your wife, isn’t that a good enough reason?”

Silence.

She’s right. When your woman is your biggest fan at something, or even your only fan for that matter, it’s enough motivation to do it – just for her.

Chalk it up to the “iron sharpens iron” category, but that’s why we need a solid companion. To tell us what we need to hear, even if it’s not necessarily what we want to hear.

So I thought a bit more about why I had made this decision. I realized I had been playing on basically student model equipment since 2017. That was a rough year financially, and I had sold all of my professional model trumpets just to pay a few of the bills.

Maybe that’s why it wasn’t much fun… Playing with equipment that was designed for children is, shall we say, less than optimal.

And then, not to toot my own horn, but I’m really good at it. Never quit something you’re good at. If nothing else, you can perhaps inspire someone else to pick it up and learn some of the good things you’ve learned along the way.

So now the plan is to still leave my current horns here (we do need the space in our suitcases), and buy good quality instruments when I’m back in the U.S. Then just book some gigs and have fun with it.

In 6 months, maybe I’ll be announcing a concert tour of the U.S. with gorgeous wife at my side. You just never know.

As a side note, the Trumpet Dynamics podcast is still available for free on your favorite podcast platform.

The url to listen and subscribe is https://trumpetdynamics.com

There’s also a project in the works to make the original series from 2016 available on the mobile app. I know a few folks have inquired about that, so an announcement on that will be coming soon. I was just looking over the playlist and there was some really good stuff in it, so I’m excited to be sharing it soon.