Greg Spence

Session: Busting and Building Beliefs for Better Brass Playing: #lefthandedgolf #focaldystonia #challengetradition, Part I and 2

Are you a Dreamer, a Dabbler, a Doer or a Driver? Get ready to be challenged! Step into the world of internationally renowned performer and educator Greg Spence and his unique, proven approach to learning by “rewiring the brain.”

Greg reluctantly talks about his performance experiences as a professional trumpet player but can be found yelling about his passion for research and developing his psychology of the learning process, which he now teaches online to help others develop, grow and even heal.

Greg’s current passion as an educator is the result of a long list of career accomplishments. From playing lead trumpet at Carnegie Hall NYC to 10 years as lead trumpeter on Dancing with the Stars Australia and 20 years as a performer with the international music education program Musica Viva, Greg is known for his versatility as an in-demand lead player. He has played alongside trumpet royalty such as Wayne Bergeron, Bobby Shew, Clay Jenkins, Ingrid Jensen, and James Morrison, just to name a few. Greg has backed artists such as Herbie Hancock, Burt Bacharach, Shirley Bassey, Hugh Jackman, Jerry Lewis, Martha Reeves, Michael Buble, and many more. He has recorded on over 100 albums,  performed with Australia’s top performers and played over 30 professional musical theatre shows.

Greg’s career transition from performer to internationally acclaimed educator is where his passion for music has grown into an obsessive hunger for learning and teaching. Greg has delivered masterclasses, keynote addresses, and motivational talks at some of the largest institutions and conferences in the world including the University of North Texas and Baylor University, the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and the Berlin Jazz Institute. Being no stranger to standing ovations with his trumpet performances, his speech “Dispelling Brass Playing Myths,” delivered at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, achieved the same reaction. 

Upon completing his Bachelor of Music at the University of Melbourne (VCE) and entering the professional world, Greg experienced many of the technical issues and barriers that most players face and few ever conquer, to the point where he was on the brink of quitting altogether. Greg threw away the method books and began research on acoustics, physics, and neuroplasticity to overcome the deeply ingrained inefficiencies and misconceptions about playing that had plagued him throughout his playing life.

With a laser focus on his teaching, his first book and the launch of his website www.mysterytomastery.comgenerated international excitement in 2004. He has since published his 2nd book and, in 2018, launched a comprehensive online brass learning course called WindWorks.

Surprisingly, Greg’s unique approach to learning, refining efficiency, and developing pure process on the trumpet has been adopted by musician’s focal dystonia sufferers, who have a condition that should become common knowledge among musicians. 

His approach to having a healthy psychology and an unemotional acceptance of reality is now being adopted in the sports performance world, where he is applying and documenting his techniques by learning to play golf left-handed. He recently won the first day of a four-day tournament and was featured in Inside Golf, Australia’s No.1 golf magazine and he is also currently mentoring a PGA professional golfer.

Don’t be a Dreamer, be a Driver!  Greg will challenge your mindset about your approach to learning that will result in improvements, enjoyment and satisfaction from your playing.