Do you ever wonder how some things just seem to come together as if they were planned? This has been a common occurrence in my life, yet without explanation. If I had done one little thing differently, then something great may have never come to be. This includes such life events as going to college (rather than getting a job), learning to play trumpet, becoming a police officer, curing carpal tunnel and most recently, meeting the great jazz trumpeter Charlie Sepulveda.

Let me start by saying Charlie is an amazing musician who I have heard on many recordings, but up until now I hadn't connected his solos to his name. He played on the Mambo Kings soundtrack, in Tito Puente's band, with the Talking Heads and of course on an impressive array of his own albums. He has over a hundred recording credits to his name and his latest album, "After Hours" has me ordering more cds. This album is trumpet and acoustic guitar only and I have to say I love it! He is incredibly expressive with every vocal line and after 3 times through this album, nobody in the shop even noticed it had repeated. I hear something new with every new listen. You can check it out here.

You will never believe how I happened to meet Charlie last week. I was on vacation with my parents last week in Puerto Rico. I wanted this vacation to be free of any work so I intentionally did not line up any masterclasses or lessons, nor did I tell any of my PR friends I would be visiting. This was going to be my week of forgetting about building trumpets.

While planning our trip over the phone, I learned that my Mom wanted to see old San Juan since this was her first trip there. I recommended booking the Sheraton Hotel in old SJ to make life easier. By the time we decided this was the best place to stay it was quite late so I told her I would book the hotel in the morning. The next day I was greeted with an email from her apologizing for "accidentally" booking a different hotel nearly an hour from San Juan. She entered a low price on www.priceline.com that was too good to be true and assumed it would be denied. We were both surprised that her bid was accepted and the next step was to rent a car now that this will be a driving trip.

We arrived at the resort hotel after an hour drive to the east side of Puerto Rico near Fajardo. This place was very nice with two impressive golf courses (I don't golf), beachfront property and very expensive restaurants. After our first meal, I suggested we try a little local place for dinner that I saw earlier in the day. We started with $1 cornmeal appetizers sitting on the outdoor patio surrounded by the beautiful sound of Coqui frogs chirping in the darkness. My Dad stepped out for a smoke and struck up a conversation with the owner of the restaurant. He was a jazz fan so my Dad mentioned that I play jazz trumpet and build horns. Call it random luck or fate, but this man replied with, "one of my friends is Charlie Sepulveda, he lives just a few minutes away and I'm sure he would like to meet your son".

The rest is history as I met Charlie the very next night. The following day, he was kind enough to take me to Rene Perez's music store (Pro Music) in San Juan to meet several of his friends, colleagues and students, all of which play tested my personal Summit One trumpet. We had a great time playing horns, sharing stories and talking trumpet. I am grateful that I met Charlie and his friends and owe this honor to either random luck or something else.

I'm not a believer in fate as the successes in my lifetime have never come without tremendous sacrifice. But it makes me wonder considering the circumstances of meeting Charlie. If my Mom hadn't been messing around on the internet, we would have stayed in San Juan. And if Priceline.com hadn't booked us at that specific resort, we wouldn't have come across that restaurant. And if I hadn't suggested that specific place, since there were other options, we wouldn't have met Charlie's friend. And if my Dad hadn't stepped out and started a conversation about jazz with someone who happened to know Charlie personally, etc.

Sometimes things just happen...

I awoke late last night to the phone and immediately recalled dreaming of milling a new finger ring design. This is the design I'm working on this morning, one that had not yet been drawn, yet was on my list the night before. I remember many of my dreams and they are often related to my personal life and work. Since I do not "go to" work, but rather live my work much like a musician, there are no boundaries between personal life and work when it comes to my hands creating something new. I often gain insight into my designs, find new methods of machining or solve physics-related problems through the dreaming process. We think while we sleep so why not tap into this resource to reach our goals more efficiently? It is as close as I can come to cloning myself.

This morning I awoke remembering another vivid dream. One where I had the honor of playing one simple tune on a set with Marlon Jordan. Marlon sounded amazing playing intricate melodic lines weaving in and out of the changes as if his voice were a barn swallow swooping acrobatics effortlessly through the air. His concert was truly inspiring and his last solo of the night had me so entranced I even remember most of it now that I am awake. Keep in mind, this was all a dream. After the set, he was kind enough to sit down with me and chat. I apparently surprised him with my knowledge of his music after asking about the changes on Resolution. So we got to talking about playing melodic lines. He gave me great advice and I remember his words, "Jason, listen to the bass line...always know where the bass is going...sometimes incorporate the bass into your lines...". Sounds like great advice to me, from the Marlon Jordan concert in my overly-vivid dreams!

It makes me wonder about dreams. Are they more than the previous day's mental processing? Could they be a connection to our world around us that has yet to (and may never) be explained? Either way, I draw a tremendous amount of inspiration from memories of my dreams.

Does this happen with you?

Today's entry is simply a recording of the first notes of the day. I haven't had a practice routine in about 8 years and I never do a warm up. Typically, I will pick up a horn in passing (as I'm walking by) and play for a minute or two, then put it down to work. Sometimes before or after opening/closing, I will practice for 30 minutes to a few hours continuously with no breaks. I usually do this as a free solo playing or with music on the radio of any genre. I almost never read music anymore, but when I do it is usually orchestral excerpts, cornet solos or something by vizzutti. It's a bit rough, but I just woke up and these are my first notes of the day...

Click here: First notes of the day

_As a test of machining more complex shapes with the latest CAM software, I have designed the new SWE Summit Trumpet. This instrument was commissioned by an incredibly fluent young jazz musician in his senior year of high school in the pacific northwest. Tree Palmedo's new Summit trumpet was specifically designed to be much more efficient than a standard Summit, hence the SWE designation. For those of you unfamiliar with SWE, this is an acronym for Standing Wave Efficiency, which is a basic physics principle used in my instruments. The new SWE Summit is not available for order as the production process is not streamlined. However, I did build two of these instruments and the second one will remain in our showroom for sale.

Today's entry is unrelated to trumpets. This is a review of FeatureCam, which is part of the Delcam family of software designed to make cnc machining easier on 3-6 axis machines. I say easier, because cutting complex designs is never easy even with the very best equipment, software and training. Coming from RhinoCam, I can say with certainty that FeatureCam is a huge upgrade in almost every way.

Below is the part in the vise just after it was cut. This program used the following endmills; .250 Rough, .125 Rough, .0625 Rough, .0313 Rough and .015 Finish (for the smallest text). Total cut time was 32:48, which was longer than expected due to running my spindle slower than capacity. Spindle speeds ranged from around 5,000 to 18,000 rpm. I always use coolant when cutting brass despite what most machinists recommend. My tools last longer and I definitely achieve a better surface finish with coolant.

These final photos show the keychain design after buffing and minimal surface finish blending. The raised text is 0.05" above the surface and the recessed text is .02" below. Check back for reviews of much more complicated trumpet parts in the coming weeks.

We've had the idea around HT to create a series of "How to" demonstrations on trumpet-related topics. Since projects like this take time and get lost in the shuffle of a very busy office dealing with multiple daily orders, I thought I'd start here in my blog. Feel free to chime in with suggestions on topics or critique my demonstrations.

A few topic ideas include;

• Trumpet Fundamentals, basic tone production, tonguing, fingering
  
• Air Speed/Velocity theory & practice (with an anemometer)
• Wide interval leaps
• Decibel volume vs. air volume
• Fundamentals of trumpet design
• Fundamentals of mouthpiece design
• Standing Wave Efficiency vs. air flow efficiency
• Memorization (of anything)
• Extreme mental focus vs. self-distraction
  
• The art of learning
• Understanding receiver gap variables
• Endurance
• Extreme high range beyond triple c and pedal tones
• Improving skills without practice
• The art of efficient learning on trumpet
• Visualizing opportunities and success
• The art of kindly saying "No" 
• Mainstream technique & style vs. free musical expression
• Extreme motivation
• Fundamentals of machining
• How physics determines success in almost everything
• How attitude determines long term success
• Unorthodox, yet valuable, practice techniques
• How to measure gap
• How to measure mouthpiece throat size
• How to measure leadpipe venturi
• How to recognize air flow obstructions
• Basic dent removal
• SWE experiments with clay
• Mouthpiece experiments with clay
• Embouchure Exercises to improve range & endurance
• How to keep your horn clean (inside)
• Fundamentals of trumpet case design
• How to ship a trumpet (to avoid damage)
• How to make green eggs & ham
• Removing a stuck mouthpiece
• How to cork a mute (to fit your new large bell)
• Trumpet gimmicks that do not work
• How to resolve a sticking valve
• How to re-lap trumpet slides (to be butter smooth)
• How to remove a stuck tuning slide
• Choosing a trumpet case
• Choosing a mouthpiece
• Choosing a trumpet
• Choosing lunch
• Fundamentals of testing trumpets

I would like to say thank you to my Mother for giving birth to me. I know that sounds strange, but imagine if you were never born! It's her birthday today so I'm also grateful for my grandparents :)

Happy Born Day Mom!

I would like to wish my sister, Jenn Harrelson, of Jennuinely Sweet Cakes a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

check out her amazing cake creations here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennuinely-Sweet/310052937229

This message is for everyone. Yet it is mostly directed to those in a hurry to receive a unique custom-made brass instrument built to their exact specifications. Do you have what it takes to be patient? To illustrate, I would like to share with all of you one of my favorite holiday memories.

Two years ago, Cindy and I thought it would be fun to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center. I flew into Newark, met her in Rutherford then we took a bus into Manhattan and walked down to 5th and 48th. It was a cold sunny day in December and NYC was buzzing with Christmas shoppers. We arrived to find a very long line and a ton of people filling the square. After a brief huddle, we decided we definitely wanted to wait in line no matter how long it took to get on the ice. We were in the midst of making a great memory so nothing would stop us.

After we stood in line for about half an hour, we started asking people if they had noticed the line move. Nope, nobody noticed it move one inch. An hour went by, nothing. Then about 90 minutes into waiting, the line started moving...finally, we'll get close to the ice soon! Or not, we had moved up one row. We entertained each other as we passed the time and it eventually got dark. Hours went by and we forgot how cold we were, now it was time to find a restroom! After 4 hours (I am not exaggerating), we finally got into the little run down room at the bottom of the stairs to fork over our $42 plus the cost of renting skates! My day had begun at 5am getting on a plane to do this and, at maybe 7pm, we finally hit the ice.

That night was magical. Cindy wasn't much of an ice skater, so I mostly pulled her round and round the rink while we laughed and played. It was one of those moments that makes all of life's hard efforts worth while. We stayed on the ice for two hours only getting off because we couldn't stand anymore. Our photo in front of the lit up Christmas tree truly tells a thousand words. :)

I could have told you how much I disliked standing in the cold for hours on end amidst strangers who often cut in line using every trick in the book. How there were no restrooms and the employees were rude or did not attend to our needs. I could have suggested we leave and find something better to do. After all, NYC has a lot to offer over some expensive crowded ice time!

I could have remembered this experience as one of the worst customer service situations in all of history. But I didn't for two reasons...I was with someone who cared about my moment as much as I did hers AND I chose to make a good memory.

Hiring me to build your trumpet is very similar to skating at Rockefeller Center. I am 100% committed to fulfilling your needs and expectations in your new trumpet. After all, it is my trumpet too and I take great pride in everything I do. However, like waiting in line to skate, there is sound logic in place here. Not everyone will fit on the ice at one time and there is no room to make the ice rink any larger. There is magic there, you simply must wait your turn. And when it is your turn, the world is yours!

Some trumpets get on the ice (my work bench) once and then they are finished. But the special projects with receiver text or art must wait in line twice. There is no way around this. I am one man designing and building all of these parts myself. I could hire twenty people to man the phones in the office, yet calling will not speed up the process. Not even calling every single day for months, will your order go any faster. Most likely, it will slow down the entire waiting list because more of my bench time will be taken up working with Jen and Paul answering repetitive facebook messages and phone calls. I encourage you to check up on your order if you want to hear some news, but that does not mean there is news to be heard. ;) Ask Cindy herself, she waited an entire year for her trumpet with anxious phone calls, re-scheduling photo shoots and recordings that were missed again and again. Her horn was the most complicated ever at the time it was built and the build process was slow. Now ask her if it was worth the wait.

The simple truth, there are 200+ individual extremely important people ordering very custom trumpets each year and ONLY ONE OF ME. Just like the ice rink, you will not all fit on my bench. I must take each of you individually, one at a time, sometimes more than once, maybe more than twice and for the Summit One and Art projects, as many as 14 times! It cannot all be done at once due to the nature of the building process. I have dedicated 80-100 hours/week of my life to your individual unique needs in your trumpet orders. I AM FULLY COMMITTED TO YOU.

I receive a great deal of beautifully written praise and testimony on a daily basis. In fact, my collection of notes and letters is in the thousands. Sometimes these are written by people who have only briefly tried one of my horns or accessories, yet they feel compelled to share. Happy customers raving about their new equipment is really good for business and boosts company morale, so we look forward to hearing from our clients. However, a small percentage of soon to be new owners crack under the anticipation of receiving their dream horn. Patience is perhaps not a refined trait or possibly forgotten in our world of fast anything if you flash the cash. That attitude doesn't get you any further ahead in my shop. I guess I'm old-fashioned in some ways and waiting in line has always been a fair system.

So every month or so, someone calls or writes quite upset that their 4-month order is now overdue. In almost every case of a late order, either all orders are running behind for good reason OR they modified their order to include elements that add to the wait time. In both cases, manufacturing is a physical process that cannot be easily rushed. Getting upset about this does nothing to solve any problems. When this happens I usually wonder how anyone (no matter your stature in the "trumpet" world) could say or do some of the negative things I have heard and witnessed. Did they lack the simple patience, understanding and mutual respect for a process that is both logical, necessary and inherently slow? Would they rather I rushed every horn out the door cutting corners? Am I expected to compete with the speed by which their fingers can type an angry message and press send to all of the world via facebook or an online forum? Would anyone want a trumpet built that fast and easy?

I have heard complaints that my work is too slow since I began working when I was 11 years old. Take a moment to consider the facts and someone out there may someday realize that I could in fact be very productive and efficient...maybe even prolific. Very few people comment on speedy production of their dream horn, but if you could see everything I design and build in a week, you may start to wonder why anyone would say I am, "slow".

I challenge anyone reading this to introduce me to the one person (not a factory) on this planet that will produce the trumpet you ordered built with better craftsmanship, design and care, faster and with better customer service. I'll make it easy, just give me the name of the person that will build you a simple custom horn with no innovations in less than six months. There's only one of me and it is somewhat on your shoulders to give me the benefit of the doubt now and then. I am the one taking all the risk learning new techniques, manufacturing processes and putting up the capital to purchase machinery year after year to make your dream trumpet a reality. I have a proven track record of extremely satisfied customers from all walks of life in over 50 countries. I am here for you.

Happy Holidays and please remember Rockefeller Center :)
Jason Harrelson

This morning I looked at a servo bar feeder to add to the new cnc lathe. You'd be surprised how every little thing adds up to a lot of money on a new machining process. I was lucky enough in my months of shopping to buy my lathe at a fraction of it's original price tag because it was used 6 months and we're in a machine-buying slump. It's a good thing I didn't pay the $140,000-$250,000 price tag of a comparable machine made in Germany. I saved by buying a high quality Taiwan machine slightly used. But then you add all the things necessary to make this machine run at capacity efficiently and the nickels and dimes start to add up.

A new bar feeder runs around $28,000-$35,000 new, but once again I got lucky. I asked a friend who has a machine shop nearby if he knew of anyone selling a bar feeder. It turns out his friend has a brand new 1997 bar feeder for sale for $4500. It is bolted to his shop floor right next to a lathe like mine, but was never hooked up. Either I'm extremely lucky or America is selling off its capacity to produce quality products. I suspect both are true. I just saved around $28,000 finding this one tool!

Software is another expense that doesn't come cheap. Sadly, I've been advised by several people to simply download bootleg software rather than purchasing through the manufacturer, Delcam. I'm honest and this is not an option, so $19,000 later I have the right software for the job. Yes, the software that converts my drawings into motion code for my machine cost as much as a decent car! Too bad I'm still driving a '97.

I wasn't so lucky with spindle collets. I need at least 6 to get started and around 25 once I have every part in production. These don't come with the machine, yet they're necessary to cut anything. And they're only available new at $165 each. That adds up to over $4000! Next on my list are cutters and holders, which will add up to another $3000+ to get started. Then to add the 4 high speed electric spindles is another $12,145 and there's no option of finding these used or at a lower price. Add in the cost of spindle liners ($2000), live tooling ($3000) shipping ($1600) and rigging ($400) and you now have the price to plug this machine in and turn it on to cut the first part.

If I had bought everything new, the price would have been at least $217,000. After all of this, I need to continue to buy cutters, metal stock, pay for more electricity, pay people to run the lathe (in this case, me), finish, plate, stock and ship the parts, build new website pages, create and buy packaging and build new displays in our showroom and shows to hold the new products.

Maybe this explains why none of my competitors are jumping into the modular trumpet mouthpiece business. Yet I see all of this as a great opportunity to solve some real problems. I am putting everything I have into the new 5MM Modular Mouthpiece line just like I've put 100% of my effort and capital into my trumpet business for the past 10 years. And I'm confident there will be a real impact on the personal playing achievements of thousands of individual musicians. It will all be worth the years of time, energy and risk...it's been worth it all along. I guess that's why I don't mind getting nickel and dimed on a machine that offers endless possibilities!