"I probably practice less than a lot of people, but my practice time is very, very intensely focused."
In this hour-long masterclass, Principal Trumpet of The Cleveland Orchestra Michael Sachs takes you through how he practices: why he never goes past two hours, how every session is built on fundamentals, and the mantra that got him through Mahler 5 at Carnegie Hall.
$9. Every dollar goes to charity.
100% of proceeds go to The Mockingbird Foundation to support music education for kids.
What You Get
- A one-hour masterclass with Michael Sachs, hosted by Andrew Hitz
- Watch on any device, on your own schedule
- Practicing strategies that apply to every instrument, not just trumpet
What Michael Covers
- Why he never practices more than two hours a day, and why two or three focused sessions beat one long one
- His warm-up routines, including the five-minute "microwave" version he used when a snowstorm got him to rehearsal eight minutes early
- Why he sees no difference between warm-up and fundamentals, and how he moves back and forth between fundamentals and repertoire
- A step-by-step breakdown of how he practices Petrushka
- What he does when he doesn't feel good but still has to sound good
- The realization that fixed his slow single tongue: articulation is about the air, not the tongue
- What to do when you can't focus: start with what's working and build from there
- Why it can go great in the practice room and fall apart in a jury, and the mantra he uses to stay out of his own head
100% of proceeds go to charity
About Michael Sachs
Michael Sachs joined The Cleveland Orchestra as Principal Trumpet in 1988 and is the longest-serving Principal Trumpet in its history. He has premiered trumpet concertos written for him by John Williams and Wynton Marsalis, and he received the International Trumpet Guild's Honorary Award, its highest honor.
He is the author of Daily Fundamentals for the Trumpet and The Orchestral Trumpet. He led the trumpet department at the Cleveland Institute of Music from 1988 to 2023 and now teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music. His teachers included James Stamp, Anthony Plog, and Mark Gould.
In Michael's Words
"Same music, same horn, same dude."
"Whether I'm feeling my absolute best or I'm feeling like hamburger, I'm still able for the listener not to know the difference."
"Don't be afraid to sound bad when you practice."
"Some stuff you're going to figure out in two minutes, some two days, two weeks, two months, two years, 20 years."
Every Dollar Goes to Charity
100% of the proceeds go to The Mockingbird Foundation, a nonprofit that funds music education for children across the country. I serve as Vice President of its board, so I can tell you firsthand where this money goes.