Read Reviews from Our Brass Instrument Students 

I have been studying with Bruce Haag since January of 2014. I have a Bachelors of Music Education and have studied with some very fine teachers throughout my career of playing trumpet. Bruce is a certified Claude Gordon teacher and knows how to get results by passing on firsthand what he has learned from Claude. Bruce has brought my playing to an amazing level, way beyond my expectations. As a trumpet teacher, Bruce is in a league of his own. I went from playing high “G’s” on good days, but now to double “C’s” and my tone went from average to powerhouse. Bruce has taught me how to play with more ease, more air, and more stamina. My range is now double high C to second pedal C. When I play jobs, my colleagues have been amazed at the difference that Bruce has brought to my playing. Bruce gets results!!!

-Bob Dreyer BM Ed

Bruce is an extremely talented musician with a great insight to the physical as well as mental aspects of playing brass instruments. I have been studying with him for over 6 years and his tutelage has brought my trumpet playing to a whole new level. He was a student of Claude Gordon and has been certified by Claude to teach his method. I have also purchased several mouthpieces from Bruce as well as a new Kanstul Flugelhorn.

-Kevin Thornton

“After retiring I decided to dedicate myself to learning to play the trumpet the right way in order to build range and endurance. A 34 year career in electronics and raising a family did not afford me the luxury of progressing on the horn. I looked around Silicon Valley for the available trumpet instructors. In the meantime I had also done some study of the methods and there are many of them. Bruce Haag was the first to reply to my emails to several instructors. His reply was informative and he emphasized his long relationship with Claude Gordon himself and that he was a certified teacher of Gordon’s method.

I have been taking lessons now over two years and have made important strides in the right direction. My range was stuck at high Eb, I was playing incorrectly and had a thin tone. Now I am able to play correctly up to F# or G in my daily practice. Also I can now survive a two hour big band gig playing second trumpet whereas before I was wiped out after 30 or 40 minutes.

The best part is working with Bruce’s teaching style which is relaxed, to the point, patient and encouraging. I would recommend Bruce to anyone wanting to learn or improve themselves on this most difficult instrument, the trumpet.

When Bruce announced he was moving to Ohio, I thought I would need to find another trumpet teacher. But he had a solution in mind. I now am able to continue my lessons with Bruce on the webcam and it’s working very well. I am not going to claim it’s the same as being in the same room as Bruce but it comes very close…..and I don’t have to drive to a lesson….I just have it in my own home in my computer room.”

-Mike Bottini

My son Josh is the first chair and high brass leader of the CNE Band, and has made every honor band he’s tried out for. He has been in the Ohio State Fair Band for 3 years now at the young age of 17. He performed a trumpet solo last week and about blew the crowd out of the stadium. The band director told me that he was just about blasted out of his high perch. He has one person to thank for those skills and the confidence of knowing he’s capable of doing that well, Mr. Bruce Haag, the finest trumpet instructor in the U.S.A.

Sincerely,

-Roger Pollock

I have known Bruce Haag for over 30 years. I first knew of Bruce when he came back to the San Francisco Bay Area from Las Vegas where he had been a great player at many of the hotels and had toured with Elvis Presley. I then played next to Bruce for over 25 years in various big bands in the Bay Area. That is how I learned to play a lead trumpet. He had a sound that was brilliant over the band. His accuracy was perfect and his phrasing was an education to all.

Both Bruce and I took lessons from the great Claude Gordon for many years. I was the director of the Claude Gordon Brass Camps for 12 years and Bruce was on staff for 9 of those years. Bruce practiced faithfully under Claude Gordon’s tutelage and understood everything that Claude taught. Bruce has taken that knowledge from Claude and has taught and produced many excellent brass players over the years.

-Tom Brozene

Though at first skeptical about taking trumpet lessons online, I soon realized that it works great for Bruce Haag’s systematic approach to teaching. The skills he has taught me by way of the Claude Gordon method have noticeably increased my playing abilities and have challenged me to view the music I read from a whole different perspective. Using the web-cam has proven to be just as effective as when I was taking lessons with Bruce live. Anyone who is intent on being a good musician should consider taking lessons with him.

-David Creel

What can I say about my teacher, mentor and good friend Bruce Haag! I found Bruce online and began taking lessons in 2010 shortly after I started to play again after a 25 year hiatus. From the very first lesson, I knew I was dealing with a very special kind of teacher. Bruce is kind, encouraging, understanding and diligent. He is the kind of teacher that develops players over time into fine professional level musicians. Whether or not you are trying to get to that level is up to the individual, but Bruce is the kind of teacher that can take a student from beginner to professional. His ability to troubleshoot chop issues and recommend successful strategies to resolve those issues is unmatched. Bruce combines the depth of his professional experience and overall knowledge of music theory in general with his encouraging and kind demeanor, producing a powerful resource for music professionals of all levels. 

From our initial discussions I discovered that the CG method was going to change everything I knew about playing the trumpet. I played quite a bit in High school and accomplished much and had the desire to play like that again. However, with a different life style now (family work etc.), I did not have the luxury of 8-10 hours a day to devote to the horn. So, I figured if I was going to make a change in the embouchure, this was the time to do it. After almost four years I can honestly say I have never played better and I have a bright future ahead of me.

When I started with Bruce, here is where I would say I was playing-wise:

Range: I could play to Eb above high C and down to first pedal C, had a working upper range of about an A above the staff.

Tonguing: Sloppy and slow

Sound: Brittle in the upper register and notes not slotting.

Technical: Poor

Flexibility: Stiff

Sight-reading: Forget it!

Four years later… 

Range: I can play to G# above high C and down to third pedal D, Have a solid working upper range of about an F above high C.

Tonguing: Crisp and fast

Sound: Fat and full in the upper register and notes are slotting nicely.

Technical: Much improved!

Flexibility: Smooth and slotting correctly from the pedal range up to F# above high C

Sight-reading: Immensely improved! I sight-read my first gig a couple of months ago. Never in my life did I ever think that was possible!

Anyway, I just wanted to share some personal experience with Bruce and the CG method. I have heard other players say they tried it, and then moved on to something else. I would say, if you are honest and really focus on it, the payout is well worth the effort. And, work with a great teacher like Bruce. I cannot stress enough the positive impact he has had on my playing.

Sincerely,

-Jeff Beights

Hello,

I’m a comeback player of sorts. I have been playing semi-professionally for over 40 years and I am a recording engineer and studio owner. I have never made my sole livelihood from playing the trumpet, hence the “semi” tagged to the front of the word professional.

A couple of years ago I put my horn down, thinking my playing days were pretty much over. I was wrong. I was contacted to play lead in a Dixieland band. I knew a couple of the guys already in the band, and because I knew them to be quite good players I said yes, of course.

The first band rehearsal showed me to be woefully inadequate for the playing required. In short I was a long way behind. So I decided I needed to kick start my practice and “get up to speed”. I designed my own practice routine and started in. After 3 months of practice I was progressing, but at a pretty slow rate. I knew I was doing something wrong, but didn’t know what.

So I set out doing some homework on how to play the trumpet. I reviewed a number of different “methods” and decided for me the Claude Gordon method made the most sense. I had no idea how to implement the method so I needed to find a teacher.

After a search, Bruce Haag’s name surfaced many times.

I decided to sign up for trumpet lessons via Skype and see if he could help me.

Well it has turned out to be an incredibly good decision. I have been taking lessons now for approximately 4+ months. My endurance is up, range is increased by 1.5 notes and overall playing has been much improved.

I can highly recommend Bruce, and the Claude Gordon method. Bruce knows the method well, and has a great deal of insight into trumpet playing. He has helped me improve. He’s patient, understanding and knows what areas of weakness your playing has and what to practice to correct it.

In short, he knows the Claude Gordon axioms of “know how to practice and what to practice.”

Thanks Bruce. You’re a goldmine of knowledge and a great resource for anyone looking to improve their trumpet playing.

-John Hoekstra