The pedagogic influence of Ernest S. Williams on the teaching concepts of four American trumpet professors.

Abstract

This survey examines the influence of Ernest S. Williams on the trumpet teaching of Leonard B. Smith (Detroit Concert Band), Raymond Crisara (The University of Texas at Austin), Robert Nagel (Professor Emeritus, Yale University), and Leonard Meretta (Professor Emeritus, Western Michigan University). Ernest S. Williams has been recognized in instrumental music circles as having a great influence on many performers and teachers today. The questionnaire developed for this study was given to each professor through an interview. Transcriptions of the interviews were examined to gain insight into the teaching of each of the respondents respective to their study with Williams. All of the participants exhibited teaching characteristics of Ernest S. Williams and were influenced by him through varying degrees.