William Vacchiano and Miles Davis

William Vacchiano, was one of the top trumpet teachers in the country who taught trumpet at Manhattan School of Music Mannes College of Music and at the Juilliard School for 67 years.


















His students included Wynton Marsalis, Gerard Schwarz, and Miles Davis.

Vacchiano was big on teaching trumpet students to transpose various parts for variously pitched trumpet parts.
Miles Davis studied briefly with Vacchiano in the 1950's.

During one lesson Vacchiano asked Miles: "If the piano is in the key of E, where does that put the trumpet?"

Miles replied, "Back in the f**king case."

























explanation for non-musicians: The "concert pitch" is the original key that the instrument is in. Concert pitch can be found from the score of the piano. The piano is a "C" instrument. The trumpet is a B flat instrument. Any B flat instrument will be two half steps down from the original key. That means that if the original key is in C on the piano, you go down two half steps on the trumpet, which is B flat.
The process for transposing is this: if the piano is in the key of E flat, you have to go down two half steps, leaving you at the key of D flat. If you are transposing an entire score, you will do this to every note that you play in order to get the same note as the piano.