In the fall of 2009, I had heard about a well-known trumpet teacher, Jeanne Pocius, doing a nation-wide lesson tour, and that she would be stopping in the Chicago area. Figuring it might be time to finally make a last-ditch effort to figure out exactly how to play the trumpet (once again, after a 2 year hiatus), I decided to get in touch with Jeanne to set up a lesson. Little did I know the event would have such a lasting significance.

First, I’ll cut to the chase: no, I didn’t get any better...