"Afraid It's Too Good to Be True? One Skeptical Musician's Honest Transformation"
Beating the doubt barrier—from internet skepticism to real results in 5 months
Russ didn't pick up a trumpet for over 50 years. When he finally decided to return to music at 64, he faced a daunting challenge: low endurance, no range, and uncertainty about whether he could ever get back to where he wanted to be.
But within just five months of working with The Returning Trumpet Player Method, everything changed. He went from struggling to play for 10 minutes to confidently playing for over an hour—and hit notes he never thought possible.
In this testimony, Russ shares the breakthrough moment that shifted everything, why he almost didn't take the leap, and the surprising truth about what actually made the difference. If you've ever wondered if it's too late to restart your musical journey, Russ's story will inspire you to believe otherwise.
My name's Russ, and I live in Sioux City, Iowa. I think my main challenges were finding a way to get focused on making improvements and measurable improvements in my playing. Before we met, my playing was low endurance, no range, no solid foundation. It wasn't a good sound. I was away from the trumpet from the time I was 11 years old, and I'm 64 now, so do the math. The return was, I had to figure out why I wanted to play the trumpet and why I wanted to return to it.
And once I figured that out, the return was difficult by myself. There's so much noise on the internet that you can follow. But I searched around and finally found Chris, where I was able to focus and make measurable progress. When I first got my trumpet, I bought it at a music store here in Sioux City, and I took lessons there for about a month and realized that they were more focused towards beginner players, and I already knew how to count. I knew what sound I was after. Then I took a couple of private lessons on another app and kept searching because it just didn't feel right. And then I finally found Chris, started getting the videos, and made an appointment. And once I spoke to him, I could tell that he understood where I was at in my journey. And not only that, he was going to meet me where I was at, not where he thought I was at.
Man, when I first saw the videos and watched Chris, I had a lot of doubts. First off, it was on the internet. I didn't meet Chris in person — I still haven't, but we sure do spend a lot of time in groups and in lessons, so I do know him pretty well now, I feel, as a teacher. But what really kind of held me back is that a lot of times when you see things advertised, they're just too good to be true. Could I really be talking to him, or would I just sign up and be left to a bunch of other people in this group? Would I be handed off to an assistant teacher? Would I not be given attention to my journey? And that's not the case. Everything that I expected has been met and even exceeded my expectations.
What made you commit to coaching instead of trying to figure things out on your own?
I'm gonna give you a Russ parable for that one. If you live in a big city, say for instance Chicago, and you're really into stargazing, you can't do that with all the light pollution. And that's what I felt I was getting from the internet — so much information, so much delusion to what I wanted to get out of it. And when I met with Chris, I knew that I should stop looking around. It turned off all the noise, and I got the coaching that I needed.
Was there a specific moment or frustration where you took action?
The reason that I took action is that I know what I wanted to sound like, and I knew I couldn't do it on my own. If I could have done that, I would have continued playing throughout all these years, but I needed guidance. And I think without guidance, you don't have a goal — you don't even know what your goal is.
And once I spoke to Chris, once I decided that I was going to commit to Chris, then I shut out all the other noise 'cause I don't need it, and I have specific guidance, specific goals, and it's not a one-size-fits-all — just like your trumpet isn't, just like your learning curve isn't, and just like your journey hasn't been. Everybody's journey is different, and Chris meets you at the place you are in your journey, gives you guidance, and not only guidance, but goals. And in order to get good or better at anything, you have to have specific goals.
If you're sailing in a boat, and the wind changes and the current changes and the tide changes, you have to adjust your course, and it's good to have somebody to help you adjust your course to where you're going.
Was there some catalyst that made you say, "let me get some help"?
I think when I would sit down and really commit to practicing — I read all the books, watched a ton of videos on the internet, and then I would play for about 10 minutes, and by the time 10 minutes went by, I had no lips left on my face. I couldn't play anymore after 10 minutes. Now, last night — I probably shouldn't say this — I practiced for over an hour and a half, and not because I had to. It's because it's fun and I can.
What surprised you the most about the process when you got started?
How simple and how complicated it is. The simple part is you can see the exact things that you need to work on, and complicated because you have to commit to making those changes — whether it's in your breath support. There's things I never considered before, like breath support or keeping your face firm, and it's not just all scales. And I've got to mention this as well — I've had teachers and coaches in all aspects of my life. But the teachers and coaches that work best for me are ones that don't scold you. They work with you, and that's exactly what Chris does for me. I've never seen him make somebody feel bad so that they worked harder.
You're at your own pace, so it's great to work that way because I think you move faster and ground more. You learn more that way.
A breakthrough that I had — and this is kind of a tough story to tell — we were in the group meeting, and I was doing tongue level exercises, and it finally hit that it's actually your tongue level that changes the tone that I was after, and I could hit the notes better. But it had to be explained to me because some of these ideas are very hard to get the concepts across. And in the group and with Chris's coaching, you learn.
How is this approach different than other instruction you've encountered before?
This is actually pleasant. It's not a situation where you're made to feel bad, where you feel like you have shortcomings. You're just in a different place on your journey, and I think that's what really stuck with me — that I'm just in a different place in my journey versus other people.
And part of the beginning of the entire course, what I really love, is that there's a part dedicated to "don't compare yourself to other people, look at your own journey." That was really instrumental for me.
What can you do now that you couldn't before?
This is hard to kind of talk about — Chris was working with me, and I hit and played a high C above the staff. It was never my goal to do that, but from working on my progress, I can do it naturally now. It's kind of easy now because I spent a lot of time doing what I should.
My original goal when I picked the trumpet back up and started working with Chris was just to really learn how to sound better and build my endurance. And I realized through the teachings that it's not like building a callus on your hand where you just keep working — you start working on the right thing.
What's the biggest thing that's changed outside of playing the trumpet?
I always loved music — that was just a deep part of me. But now, not only do I love music, but I appreciate it. There are certain tones I'm looking for. It's also been a very good creative outlet. I have kind of a unique story — I was a standup comedian for twenty-eight years, a professional standup comedian. And you get used to being kind of, if I could use the word, naked on stage — there's only a microphone stand and a microphone. And with the trumpet, I kind of get that same rush, because you can't hide when you're playing the trumpet.
What has your timeframe for progress looked like?
To me, remarkable. When I first started with Chris, I could play a C in the middle of the staff. I was really happy when I could play D in the staff. And about four months later, after going from bare minimum, I was able to play a high C above the staff confidently and clearly, and it sounded okay.
How long before you noticed your endurance shift from ten minutes to an hour?
It's sneaky how it happens. You start doing your basics, you start following the program, and I guess it was maybe six weeks, and I noticed that I was playing for like forty minutes and still able to play. But I wasn't trying to hit high notes — I was just following the program. And by following the program, my endurance increased, and I didn't even realize it. It was just, "wow, where did that time go?" Because it's so much fun to play.
Who is this program for?
I would say this program is for anyone searching to get better. And I know that's painting a picture with a really wide brushstroke, but if you're serious and you need goals and a little bit of guidance, this program is definitely for you. If you want to sound better, if you want to play longer, if you want to increase your range, this program is definitely for you.
This isn't a paid advertisement. This is a dude that played for two years and then quit for over fifty years. And I'm playing a high C, and I can play for over an hour confidently. I can keep going, and I know I'm just beginning my journey. So anybody who's wanting to take a journey into their trumpet, into their music playing, into their appreciation — this program is definitely for you.
What would you say to another returning player who's on the fence about reaching out?
I met Chris for the first time in February of 2026. It's now July, and I'm playing for over an hour, and I can hit a high C. And if nobody's looking or listening, I can hit a high D above the staff.
Obviously we're not getting any younger, but if you're really having a tough decision, you were led to where you are right now. And I think the reason people don't make a decision is they're afraid of failure. And if you commit, if you are looking for help, I promise you won't fail with it. It's not somebody who's gonna pawn you off. It's too good to be true, and it actually is true. That's where my problem was — I thought, "nah, this can't be true, this is too good to be true." And it's not. It's real.
And I think with as much as comes at everybody with advertising — from the time you open up your computer or turn on your radio or television or look at your phone, you're hit with advertising, and a lot of it's untrue — but this really is true. And I just kinda closed my eyes, held my breath, and took that deep dive. And I was really surprised, because I would've been real vocal if it wasn't what I thought it was.
