LaTorreMusic.com

Announcements:

my getzen! Hello, and welcome to La Torre Music! This site exists primarily to display and sell the trumpet method books of BILL KNEVITT, who in my opinion was one of the best trumpet educators in the country. I now must say "was," because I must announce with great sadness that Bill passed away last summer (July '09) from a brain tumor. Over the years Bill wrote sixteen trumpet method books, which have been used by hundreds of students to improve their trumpet technique, range, endurance, and all around musicianship. It is my special privilege to continue making Bill's materials available to those who are serious about improving their trumpet-playing skills.

I first heard about Bill's trumpet method books in 1996. As I studied his methods, Bill and I established a good working relationship, and I ended up editing and re-engraving all of his books. When Bill retired from his book distributorship, he did me the great honor of letting me take over his business. Bill's trumpet books give anyone who wants to learn trumpet, or improve their trumpet skills, a solid grounding in the basics of trumpet playing and overall musicianship, and in my opinion have the same sort of timeless appeal of Clarke and Arban.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! In the early 1990's, Bill made recordings of all 52 of the lessons from his "Ultra-Trumpet Crash Course" book. A former student of Bill's recently sent me copies of the original cassette tapes, and I just finished converting them into digital form, in order to be able to share them with potential students. I am making them available only as mp3 downloads. See the "Bill's Books" page for information and pricing. Although Bill is no longer with us, it is still possible to have a "virtual lesson" with him, as listening and playing along with his tapes is like having him sitting next to you giving you personal instruction.

NEWS FLASH! Bill also made a series of six other tapes on various pertinent subjects: Increasing range and endurance, developing the pedal register, and companion tapes to a couple of his books. I am happy to make these available at nominal prices. Please find them listed on the "Bill's Books" page.

You will also find a few compositions of my own on this site. After several years of study of Bill's methods, I improved myself from an average player to a very good one, and my musical confidence increased to the point where I decided to try my hand at band music composition. A selection of my works can be seen on the "Bob's Compositions" page. My two main efforts are two cornet solos with concert band backup, written in the good old 19th century tradition of the grand cornet players. You will also find a march for concert band or marching band, a brass quintet, and a ragtime piece for six trumpets and band. I will also be marketing the compositions of a few of my fellow musicians here in Washington State. Check back regularly, because you never know what will be added next!

One thing I like about websites is when there is plenty of free stuff available! As you will see, each one of Bill's method books has a free PDF sample lesson available for inspection, download, and printing. There are also free sheet music samples of my original compositions, including the entire solo part for both cornet solos. And speaking of free stuff, see below for a free PDF download of a 12-page Advanced Trumpet Warmup Routine written of course by Bill Knevitt.

PLEASE NOTE! I RECENTLY UPDATED AND CLARIFIED THE PRACTICE ROUTINE PDFs BELOW. IF YOU HAVE PRINTED IT OUT BEFORE, YOU MAY WANT TO DO IT AGAIN, BECAUSE IT WILL COME OUT BETTER NOW!

Thanks again for visiting my site. I hope to hear from you soon!

-Bob La Torre


28 Jan 2007
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Featured Product:

The Ultra-Trumpet Practice Routine

practice routine cover

Professional trumpet players often need a short practice routine to play on "gig days" in place of a full session. Others may just need a daily refresher in condensed form that hits all of the basics of trumpet playing: wind power, articulation, range, scales, flexibility, etc. Even the beginning player can use a daily routine to boost his or her technique. Available for free download here, this eleven-page Ultra-Trumpet Practice Routine will fit the needs of almost any trumpet player. Play this routine through once daily, and improvement is guaranteed!

To download the free PDF sheet music file, please click here. If you like this routine, be sure to check out what else Bill Knevitt has available by clicking on "Bill's Books" above! Thanks very much.


bob_latorre@hotmail.com