The Haynie Legacy, by R. Dale Olson

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John James Haynie of Texas epitomized the cornet virtuoso school of cornet and trumpet playing, as his artistry was equal to that of many of the most famous soloists of all time. However, he moved from that genre to the French Conservatory Concours, to contemporary atonal music, and to other styles far removed from the cornet virtuosi of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

After receiving a Master’s degree from University of Illinois after his discharge from the United States Army in 1950, Haynie accepted a part time position as trumpet instructor at the then North Texas State College in Denton. The six week temporary position quickly moved to permanent, which lasted for forty years and led to international acclaim.

As a public school, the now University of North Texas accepted students from all backgrounds, and levels of ability. In the early years of Haynie’s teaching practice, he taught musicians who even then possessed highly professional level skills, but he was also required to teach others whose abilities were far removed from some of Haynie’s foremost students such as Marvin Stamm, composer/trumpet player Fisher (“Mickey”) Tull, Robert Ferguson, soloist with the United States Army Band in Washington and an estimated 2,000 more.

Haynie taught “trumpet”, and how to play the trumpet. He did not teach orchestral trumpet, jazz trumpet, lead trumpet, or any other sub-categories of the major subject of “trumpet”. Ray Sasaki, Professor of Trumpet at the University of Texas, referred to his teacher John Haynie, as “one of the greatest trumpet teachers of all time”, an opinion shared not by dozens, or even hundreds, but possibly thousands of other Haynie students.

The Haynie Legacy rises far above a typical biography of a teacher. Approximately one-half of the book addresses very sophisticated pedagogical issues and compares Haynie’s teaching methods with other master teachers of the era. Every element of trumpet performance is dissected into the most minute particles. As such, approximately 150 pages are pure trumpet pedagogy at the highest level.

R. Dale Olson studied with John Haynie for five years at University of North Texas, during Haynie’s formative years as a teacher, from 1952 through 1957, and was the first to ever receive a Master’s Degree in Trumpet Performance from that famous school. Olson and Haynie collaborated for over two years, sometimes multiple times daily, to assure accuracy and in an attempt to create one of the most complete and educational books ever published about a trumpet teacher.


R. DALE OLSON

Holding and Master’s Degrees in Trumpet Performance (University of North Texas), and Experimental Psychology (California State University, Fullerton), R. Dale Olson brings a new level of expertise to the fields of brass instrument acoustics, design, construction, history, and performance. In 2007, he was named Distinguished Alumnus of the University of North Texas.

Over a period in excess of sixty years, Olson has been co-researcher in brass instrument acoustics and design with Dr. Robert W. Young (then President of the Acoustical Society of America), acoustician William T. Cardwell, Jr., and instrument maker Zigmant J. Kanstul.

He has delivered lectures at numerous Universities and over ten presentations at International Trumpet Guild Conferences.

Although now retired from performance, Olson performed professionally on trumpet for over 60 years in all genres.

Olson was Director of Research for the firm, F.E. Olds and Son, Inc. for nearly a decade, and later consulted on instrument design and testing for firms such as Besson and Kanstul.

His writings are examples of in-depth, deeply researched, precise works that expand the boundaries of the subjects at hand, and are not simplistic restatements of previous authors. Olson’s works typically carry large numbers of references, indices, and appendices to assist in future scholarly investigations.