... a fantastic website dedicated to the teaching of Claude Gordon.

Dr. Michael Anderson
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
International Trumpet Guild Website
Oklahoma City University

Trumpet Lessons with Jeff Purtle

I began studying with Jeff Purtle in June 2016 having been a successful semi-professional player for 13 years.  I read Roger Ingram's book "Clinical Notes" and recognised myself as someone who was beginning to feel no benefit from routines designed 13years ago to keep me gig fit.  After reading about Claude Gordon's approach on Jeff's website I attempted to study Claude's books without instruction.

This only yielded minimal success so I started a three-month course of study (how I spent my summer vacation) taking weekly lessons with Jeff in order to fully comprehend the Claude Gordon approach.  Taking lessons after 13 years without any was one of the hardest undertakings of my life because, as an employable and capable trumpet-player, going through the process of reviewing my whole trumpet technique felt like starting again and really challenged my ego.  Having committed to this course of action I promised myself I would take the medicine every day for as long as each week's work took.  By experiencing this style of learning I found out things about my playing I had never considered; genuine insight is a powerful reward for hard work.

Seven months on and my trumpet playing is easier, my whole range is higher and stronger, my flexibility is honest, my whole technique is more secure but most of all my confidence is through the roof.  The seven elements that form the basis of Claude Gordon's approach are interrelated so a weakness in one area is due to an imbalance in the other six.  Human beings are great at compensating and once the seven elements are unequal it is easy to convince ourselves there is only one weakness.  With Claude's approach, everything is addressed everyday so everything has the opportunity to strengthen and improve.

Ultimately I have made a success of this way of studying because I followed the instructions I was given; the man with the plan is Jeff Purtle and worth every cent.

David Bertie
Freelance Trumpeter
Brass Teacher
Wincanton, Somerset
United Kingdom

Dr. Bruce Cox about Jeff Purtle's Pedagogy Masterclasses

Jeff's 10 year relationship with Claude Gordon is something that most of us on the East Coast cannot draw on, and his visits to my brass pedagogy class have brought helpful exposure to Claude's teaching that my students otherwise would not have had.

Dr. Bruce Cox
Bob Jones University - Trumpet Professor and Music Department Chairman
Foundation Brass Quintet
Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Greenville, South Carolina

Jeff Purtle has raised consciousness about the trumpet and its pedagogy throughout the upstate. He is a fine player and an excellent communicator. He offered a masterclass at Furman University on the playing principals of Claude Gordon--it was well-received and all the students were impressed with Jeff as a player and teacher. Jeff has made a significant contributon to trumpet playing and teaching in this state. Personable and engaging, Jeff has really envigorated the musical scene in Greenville--there are few brass players in the state who aren't aware of his influence on the craft.

Dr. Gary Malvern
Furman University - Trumpet Professor
South Carolina Governor's School for Arts and Humanities - Trumpet Instructor
Greenville Symphony Orchestra - Principal Trumpet
Greenville, South Carolina

Jeff, Your tip about tonguing with the tip on the bottom teeth made an incredible difference for me. I wanted to thank you again!!

Steve Watkins
Music Director and Trumpet
United States Air Force Band Of The West
Lackland Air Force Base
San Antonio, Texas

I met Jeff online while doing research for a paper I was preparing for a class on Technology in Music at George Mason University.  My topic was online music lessons and I decided to contact Jeff after seeing his fine website.  Jeff was pleased to give me a lengthy interview.  Better still, Jeff arranged for me to have an iChat with him and one of his more advanced students.  And best of all, I got to watch and “listen in” on a portion of the actual lesson. That few minutes of viewing the lesson in progress was worth the rest of my research combined. I can state emphatically that technology has reached the state where online lessons, especially lessons with as qualified and helpful a teacher as Jeff, are clearly a choice for any serious student.  (And I got an A on the paper!)

Carlton Howard
Fairfax, Virginia

David Cutler about Jeff from The Savvy Music Teacher

“Trumpeter Jeff Purtle dreamed of balancing a nice standard of living with an independent teaching career while impacting students from across the globe. As an early adopter of video conferencing technology, he recognized that geography was largely irrelevant to reaching these aspirations. Moving to Greenville, SC, he built a vibrant teaching business while residing in this beautiful, affordable city that is close to family.”

Excerpt From: David Cutler. “The Savvy Music Teacher: Blueprint for Maximizing Income and Impact.”

David Cutler
Author of The Savvy Musician and The Savvy Music Teacher
Keyboards for Boston Brass
Professor at University of South Carolina

Rodney Lancaster Testimonial

I came across your site and enjoyed what I saw.
The Claude Gordon method really changed the way I play for the better!
Thank you,

Rodney Lancaster
New York, New York
Soloist and Clinician

As a testimony to the effectiveness of Jeff’s book, I realized for the very first time just how much I had gained from Claude’s teachings. I was also amazed as to how much I had forgotten, while managing to learn a few things that I didn’t quite understand way back in the day.

Harry Kim
Vine Street Horns, Founder
Phil Collins
Johnny Hallyday

As a comeback player, Jeff Purtle's teachings have been extraordinarily helpful. Within six months (after an eighteen year break from playing) I was playing in local community bands. Within eighteen months I was invited to play with the local community orchestra and got my first paying gig the same week!

KTM has my multiple tonguing faster and more accurate than it ever was in school. The practice assignments are so varied that I'm never bored in the practice room. In fact, I get cranky if I have to miss a day or even shorten a session.

The Claude Gordon method is at once very specific and very flexible, but is never presented in a pedantic fashion. And who better to study with than the guy who studied with the guy who studied under Herbert L. Clarke?!

When I ask Jeff about a specific problem with my playing he subtly modifies my practice routine to deal with the shortcoming and it usually shows improvement within a week and sometimes improves immediately.

I look forward to a long life of trumpet playing and Jeff has given me a strong base from which to grow and I recommend him to players of all ability levels.

Mark Alkire
Foothills Philharmonic
Anderson Symphony Orchestra
Greenville, South Carolina

Jeff is a great teacher. He owns a very informative website www.purtle.com from where I picked up most of my information about the trumpet. I contacted him for more advice and he offered to give me a couple of lessons so that I could decide if that was something I wanted to do. I could immediately see how scientific and thorough his teaching approach was because I started making progress almost immediately. He also responded to my follow up emails promptly though he was not obliged to in any way. He just seems like a person who wants to spread the joy of music. His primary role seems to be that of an educator.. the business aspect of this only comes second to him, based on my experience. I can highly recommend both his website as well as his services as a teacher!

Vishnu Sreekumar
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

After 30 years of playing the trumpet, including several years of study at a very fine Conservatorium in my youth, and even having managed to make bit of a living out of performing during different periods in my life, I was never able to fully realize my aspirations as a trumpet player. Limitations in range, endurance, articulation and speed seemed insurmountable, even with extended periods of arduous practice.

When I began to read about the teachings of (Herbert Clarke and) Claude Gordon, it resonated so strongly with me that I knew I had found a way to finally realize my unfulfilled dreams.

When Patty Gordon put me in touch with Jeff Purtle, I was elated to have access to an expert specialist teacher, but wondered how effective video chat lessons could possibly be. Living tens of thousands of miles from the nearest Claude Gordon certified teacher, literally half a world away, I knew this would be my only chance without travelling from Australia to the U.S.

To my great delight, not only has the on line video chat lesson format proved completely effective and satisfying, but it actually seems to work better than face to face lessons often do. Jeff has a way of redirecting attention to the things that count, and saving the student countless wasted hours of thinking about the stuff that has "very little to do with it". Jeff's reinforcement of the philosophies of Clarke and Gordon has helped me maintain a clear focus and direction, and has given me a feeling of being part of an enduring tradition.

After six months of lessons my playing has been transformed in ways I could not have anticipated. It is very clear to me now, that my ultimate success is just a matter of time. Every couple of days I notice something new, something improved, something becoming easier. I am grateful to Jeff's work continuing Claude Gordon's legacy and for making it possible for me to learn from such a great distance.

Brett Loretz
Queensland, Australia

Though I live hundreds of miles away, your online lessons give me chance to become a great trumpet player!

Winston Shaw
Kingston, Jamaica
Minister of Agriculture

Jeff Ward about Trumpet Lessons with Jeff Purtle

Before lessons with Jeff, my practice was pretty random at best and I found that I wouldn't improve much from week to week. With the systematic approach and fundamentals focused practice, I find myself looking forward to practice each day and seeing improvements daily. Not only that, but I feel good at the start and end of practice. It used to be that I would be worn down by the end of practice where it would even affect the next day. The routines really reinforce each other and create a solid foundation including endurance and range. This has given me much greater confidence in my playing and performing. It's a great feeling to not have to worry before a gig whether I'll "have any lip left" at the end. I'm sure anyone would benefit from lessons with Jeff.

Jeff Ward
Washington, DC

I have been invited to join three bands over the last couple weeks! I'm now good enough to get invites! And your instruction was key! Thank you for the help and the valuable insights into setting up a routine.

Best wishes! Thanks again!

John Wilkinson
Austin Trumpet Company
Austin, Texas