The Inside Story of Jason Harrelson’s Health Battles and How They Shaped His Trumpet-Making Mastery

Brass Mastery

Jason Harrelson is the founder of Harrelson Trumpets, and has been universally reviled by professional trumpet players the world over as a peddler of snake oil, overrated, garbage, and much more.

But he's been at it a long time, and so there's got to be some method to the madness!

Jason and I first met in the early 2000's in the fledgling days of his now-successful trumpet-making business. He modified old trumpets into things that looked like spaceships.

Did it make them play better?

It's been so long, I honestly don't remember.

But it sure looked cool!

At any rate, Jason and I reconnected at the recent ITG conference in Anaheim, CA and he was game to record a podcast.

I've now shared with you what you likely already knew about Jason.

What you likely did NOT know is that Jason has suffered from mild heart attacks and mini-strokes his entire life due to a birth defect.

In fact, around 2012, Jason nearly succumbed to a massive heart attack and stroke which left him alive, yet completely without memory of any part of his past.

In this episode, Jason will share about his condition, his medical "event" as the doctors say, and the long road to recovery to form as not only a great trumpet maker, but as an exceptional human being.

Episode Highlights:

00:30 Early Days and Unique Trumpet Designs

01:56 Personalization and Client Reactions

05:11 Health Challenges and Musical Passion

08:03 Living with a Hidden Disability

09:11 Experiencing Heart Attacks and Strokes

12:46 The Major Health Event of 2012

18:32 Seeking Medical Help: Finding the Right Doctor

19:54 Understanding PFO and Aura Migraines

22:30 The Role of Trumpet Playing in Health

24:54 The Road to Recovery: Overcoming Strokes

30:25 Relearning Life Skills Post-Stroke

36:20 Future Aspirations and Final Thoughts

Resources mentioned:

Harrelson Trumpets

Brass Mastery YouTube channel

About the Guest:

Jason Harrelson, founder of Harrelson Trumpets, was playing a 60's Bach Stradivarius in 1992. When asked to trade horns for a few minutes, he took his friend's brand new Bach Strad 37 into a practice room and was promptly blown away. The new Bach played circles around his own horn! And his friend returned the vintage Bach complaining that it didn't play very well.

This was the beginning of what has become the world's most comprehensive resource for the advancement of brass instrument technology. Jason began experimenting with trumpet design and the tedious work of dispelling hundreds of unfounded brass playing myths. Three years later, he began formally exploring the physics of sound and brass instrument design in the physics lab under the supervision of an accomplished acoustician. His mentor was the lead physicist working with Yamaha to re-design their line of acoustic guitars. Needless to say, Jason listened, learned and eventually dropped out of college to pursue his passion designing, building and performing a new breed of brass instruments.

Body + Mind + Spirit = Mastery. Now available is a collection of excerpts from some of the most popular episodes of the Trumpet Dynamics podcast featuring the likes of Chris Coletti, Sergei Nakariakov, Manny Laureano, and more.

It's a FREE download available right now on brassmastery.com!

Mentioned in this episode:

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