Trimpe Music Publishing

11/02/2024

Judging season is officially over. Honored to have been asked to do finals in Michigan. Lots of great stuff here. Very enjoyable day. And now, I get to be a fan!

10/04/2024

One of the things that I enjoy most about my job is getting to write what is usually considered "traditional collegiate music". This is the stuff that gets performed year after year and becomes almost a tradition at the school. These are things like pregame music, stands tunes, and the like. I've written a number of new fight songs, alma maters, and fanfares for schools, and the intense feelings of pride that I have when I hear them being played sometimes decades later is one of the absolute high points of my job.

Here's a new one that was commissioned for the trumpet section of The Marching Virginians at Virginia Tech in honor of their 50th anniversary. It's written in 8 parts with stereophonic passages and incorporates four of their traditional songs. I love doing things like this, and cannot thank my friend Dr. Polly Middleton for letting me continue to be a part of this fantastic organization.

Please enjoy "Virginian Voluntary"!

09/22/2024

29 bands, 87 degrees, and 350 miles later…

I’m so tired. But man. What a great contest. Well run with some really great programs. Saw lots of old faces and made new friends. Can’t ask for anything more from a judging weekend. Thank you Indiana. I always enjoy my time with your music programs.

I’m so tired.

09/15/2024

Today was the beginning of my judging season. I’m on every weekend until November. Starting in northern Indiana is always a joy, and the quality of those programs, even as early as the 14th of September, was something special. And if that wasn’t great enough, the panel I was working with was absolutely stacked with insight and talent.

After months of marching band from behind a computer screen, getting to live it in person and connect with so many colleagues was absolutely wonderful.

08/21/2024

I've finished all high school music and drill for 2024!

Next crisis scheduled immediately: college music and drill!

08/09/2024

Nothing says “it’s time to melt some faces” like a big fat opening impact wedge of doom.

07/17/2024

Had an interesting moment tonight when I accidentally printed the score to a closer of an original composition instead of creating a PDF. There it was. 4 sheets of paper, double sided. One third of a show. All of that planning, tweaking, formatting… Four sheets of paper. A little over a grand worth of work reduced to…

4 sheets of paper.

But that right there is the trap when it comes to creative work. You don’t see the effort. You don’t see the planning. You don’t see the meticulous formatting. You don’t see the tweaks. You see one professionally formatted finished product.

Four sheets.

And that is precisely the wrong way to look at art or any creative output.

This happened to be a marching band show, so you don’t see the feeling. The emotion. The education. The camaraderie. The memories of the season. The friendships. The hardships. The people. The audience.

None of those are on those sheets of paper. But if you know HOW to look at it, it’s plain as day. Without those four sheets, none of it is possible.

That’s why I do what I do. And that’s why I charge what I charge.

And I’m proud of it all.

06/24/2024

Today seems like a great day to share some lyrics from my upcoming album “The Magma Opus”!

All I am is all I’ll be
But all I was is all you see
-Magma (Part 2)

06/13/2024

I don't say this often when I'm working on original music, but when I do, look out:

This one is gonna be GOOD.

06/01/2024

Holy crap. Finale doesn't support VST3, the only format moving forward for sounds. This is like a gas station refusing to sell unleaded gasoline because they have not gotten around to this newfangled UNLEADED TECHNOLOGY.

Glad I wasted my money on the upgrade...

06/01/2024

05/26/2024

Here’s something that I need to keep in perspective more often: hard work, especially in terms of composition or drill writing, doesn’t always mean you are bolted to the computer 24/7.

Sometimes, I get up. Sometimes I wander around the house. Sometimes I even go and play a game that allows me to “zen out” and let my mind wander.

This is important. I’m still thinking about work. I’m still thinking about that one transition. I’m still working out how I get one idea to communicate the way I ultimately hope it will. Banging my head against the keyboard doesn’t always do the job. Sometimes, after having a little time away to really work through something in my head means I will come back to the computer armed with the tools to make it great.

Just because I’m not at my computer, doesn’t mean I’m not working or creating. And that is okay.