Dr. John Pursell presents at NAME national convention

Yamaha Trumpet Artist Dr. John Pursell was recently a featured clinician at the National Association for Music Education national convention, held in Nashville, TN.  The convention, which draws thousands of music educators from around the country, this year featured clinicians with new ideas concerning creativity in music education.

Pursell's presentation, entitled "Practice Smarter, Not Harder," examined three ideas about practice, including the application of athletic weight-training principles to embouchure development, an examination of how the human brain functions, and the idea of random practice.  He then combined all three ideas into what he terms a "Comprehensive Training Routine."  According to Pursell, understanding how to use the body in a more physiologically correct way, and the brain in a more neurologically correct way, will lead to greater efficiency in practice.
 
Pursell is retired from his position as the Senior Ceremonial Trumpeter with the United States Air Force Band, and has performed as a Yamaha Trumpet Artist since 2003.  He appears as a soloist and clinician throughout the eastern and mid-western United States.  He teaches trumpet at Mount Saint Mary's University in Maryland, and is a prolific author, with dozens of articles published in national journals, including five in the ITG Journal.

Source: Susan Lucina, personal representative of John Pursell