Rafael Mendez - Flight of the Bumble Bee & Mexican Hat Dance

In the third installment of the Rafael Mendez special entitled "The Trumpet," Mendez discusses his amazing finger dexterity and breath control, and then to illustrate these concepts he plays Flight of the Bumble Bee (with a super close-up on his fingers) and an excerpt from The Mexican Hat Dance (played entirely in one breath).
Mendez is a tour de force on the trumpet. Anyone who is interested in trumpets and trumpet playing should not miss this video.

[@i_n_t_d]

It's all in the mustache.

[@Jacob-mx6ie]

definitely

[@iancanfly9676]

100%

[@crispyfryy3972]

5 years late

[@davidcardenas1175]

Oof

[@onemoremisfit]

That 'stache is bad ass.

[@johnpknuckles4739]

Flight of the Bumblebee actually sounds like a bee on the muted trumpet.

[@eggsbenedict7367]

+JohnPKnuckles that's....that's the point....

[@DaKapta1nn]

What mute is it tho

[@VorTex_413]

nicolas reyna a mute is used for basically like lowering down the volume of the trumpet you can buy different kinds I have a mute and it's pretty useful since I have 3 dogs.

[@aidenmeyerbasschannel]

That One Trumpet Player not cup? Doesn't look like a straight, maybe a wow wow?

[@riccracc6547]

Titan Warrior it's a cup mute.

[@brebrad5744]

*looks at trumpet* *looks at video* *looks back at trumpet* *trumpet and I laughed cause hell no lol*

[@MoodyBlues22]

Lol

[@coleburling3416]

Bre Brad im sitting here thinking "well i might be able to play that never"

[@chasebergeron2019]

same my dude

[@MauveEclipse]

Me too

[@jenyg2426]

Same

[@MsSemibreve]

The secret is... If you can play it slowly You can play it quickly

[@Squibob]

Sacregilious

[@insouciantFox]

@@Squibob Absolutely. Especially for Mendez.

[@adam5446]

Lingling 40 hours

[@jkopoulos8096]

twosetviolin

[@salvat3735]

I cant stop finding these comments

[@thepotatomaster980]

I'll stick to hot cross buns

[@dri7473]

I'll stick to good king wenceslas lol 😀

[@Troitaa]

The Potato Master I’ll stick to on the warpath lol

[@ivanpro7252]

ill stick to whole notes

[@statingtheobvious8119]

@Yasin Tiham isn't that the whole point? You'd have to be an idiot not to believe that.

[@extr3mebtw]

E d c e d c c c c c d d d d e d c

[@talonouellette5815]

My trumpet was next to me when I started. I paused halfway through. And when I look at where my trumpet. It’s in its case shaking. I let it sleep with me so I didn’t have nightmares that night.

[@talonouellette5815]

I was high while writing this

[@g-whittington]

@@talonouellette5815 that's cool

[@Ownxer]

@@talonouellette5815 an entire year later

[@Auhtist]

TryHardEdgeLord BRUH LMAO

[@theraginginfernape9496]

Honestly, my trumpet was giving me glares

[@stumpmtsr]

One of the greatest trumpet players ever to live and he gets 367 thumbs down. Must be woodwind players, or 2nd trumpets who thought they should be 1st?

[@AndyZach]

Viola players. See Two Set for an explanation.

[@flufffffffffffffffffffffffffff]

I was 3rd my whole life and now im a 1st in my 10th grade year qwq h e l p m e

[@Kilo-sz4ch]

F L U F F look up TrumpetGains on KZbin, you might find his videos interesting. I also heard from someone to play high notes as if they are easy, don’t think of them as hard.

[@ramengod513]

I played 2nd trumpet in my schools concert bands for three weeks before my band director put me on 1st

[@rubydailey1094]

So true I’m a first trumpet and every one else is salty.

[@PAPOOSELAKESURFER]

I got to accompany Rafael Mendez (french horn in youth orchestra performance), he was very generous with his time, kind and patient encouraging children with music. I have special memories listening to "Flight of the Bumble Bee" in person.

[@mistyeyes101]

How? Just...HOW?! *curls up into a ball and sobs*

[@mistyeyes101]

***** Well, yeah, but I meant rhetorically.

[@mistyeyes101]

***** Oh okay.

[@jayhong2855]

....duh practice....

[@mistyeyes101]

Jay Hong I know that -_-

[@friendlyhatespeech3300]

Right?

[@sierrabear8370]

Notice that he's circular breathing 😍 the only time he breathes is when there's a break in the solo

[@eth3rn4l]

Not even sure! Like he shows afterwards he has tremendous break control

[@kaliarecords1511]

I was looking for circular breathing but I couldn't see it. besides as a trumpeter circular breathing is nearly impossible. every time I do it my pitch goes down as much as a half step.

[@row0111]

no he just holds his breath

[@danielsantoyo6927]

row0111 No he is circular breating

[@IfItsNotFun]

A trumpet player learns to take good breaths and control their breathing. Profesional players like him are able to have amazingly long pieces like these, without the need for circular breathing

[@mikejohnsb]

He's The only reason why I'm proud to be Mexican.

[@boostedcortez3156]

Yeah

[@ks-bz4uh]

mikejohnsb yup he was from my same town Jiquilpan Michoacán!

[@zenobiawinston4607]

To be clear, I'm not saying it's the only valid reason to be proud of your heritage, but Rafael Mendez is a great one.

[@natefroggy3626]

what about tacos

[@anarchySandwich]

@@armandocastro6914 i 100% disagree

[@celestiadevonshire4620]

ok now that you have scales down... lets move on to something a little harder... like flight of the bumble bee... a song notorious for being hard to play

[@markhowell1495]

lol right

[@jlj1757]

+Bee Mud he is trying to put upon the *point* that all music is really just scales.

[@celestiadevonshire4620]

Jonah Kyle i get that i just find it funny that he moved on to a crazy fast song

[@loulou3t]

+Bee Mud He just says it so casually like its no big deal, hell Im afraid to even glance at the sheet music for it...lol

[@stormiestarz]

loool

[@jerryg65]

In the late 50's , I attended High School in Colorado Springs Colo . Our band teacher was a friend of Mr.Mendez , and every year he would come to our town a do a concert with our High School band . He was a true gentleman and a great musician . Some memories last forever . Thanks for posting this .

[@noemartinez3125]

Awesome

[@dsharpness]

My band teacher knew him too, and after concert introduced me-I got his autograph! I set aside playing trumpet, but not the memory. ☺

[@eggplantwizard8]

IT'S WALT DISNEY!!

[@fullmetal8518]

The Eggplantwizard Mexican Walt Disney

[@Wunderklopp]

Yes my nigga

[@virtualadventur663]

Yes it is

[@korrupt93]

Si señor 😂

[@solid765]

Omg :v

[@rory_mercury4437]

Its been almost 40 years since he died and there are still some stuff he did that no else could

[@XxChenxX-ur1tz]

"Well, it's been 5 years, I think I can try more advanced stuff." " Watches video." ....I'm just going to stick to Mary Had A Little Lamb....

[@friendlyhatespeech3300]

My life

[@juliotecuanhuey7243]

I'll just stick to hot cross buns.

[@ShaquilleBourne]

+XxChenxX0121 I've been a player for 7 years and I think I'll stick to normal scales and songs no less than 4/4

[@elleondejuda4681]

+Shaquille Bourne lol Me too :)

[@xXEpicMehXx]

songs no less than 4/4? eh?

[@trulybubbly]

I love how it's so fast yet you can here the sound and tone of each note clearly

[@MrOptomai]

He was a true master! He was doing a little circular breathing at the beginning. But he has tremendous breath control which is at the heart of great players..

[@brianfadams]

I was fortunate enough to have him living 3 blocks from my house when I was 18 and played alongside him at LA Valley College. He walked in one day and said can I join the concert band? We had a great time and became friends. He made many personal recordings of his techniques, and song studies for me on cassette. He was one of the long-time greats! Along with Maynard of course!

[@babyzorilla]

OMG the level of instrument mastery of people that lived and played before the computer age may never be matched. He has inspired me to go for it now.

[@TobailaGib]

I could practise 25hrs a day, 8 days a week, for the next 200 years and still never be anywhere near as good. Amazing talent

[@carlossantos8007]

You can my brother.

[@larbueno]

If you DID practice that much, you might now be exactly like Mr. Memdez, but you'd be phenomenal.

[@9RJR9]

3:35 Dj Khaled 😂😂😂

[@markhowell1495]

lol I thought of the same thing when I saw that......

[@AwesomeGamingz305g]

lol same

[@kingdavey90]

and another one.

[@vc2900]

Why is your pic the roblox death sound?

[@themarkway292]

😂😂😂

[@Adomeliss]

This is what you call a MASTER!

[@GetTheGrandFunkOut]

That man could move a house with his breath!

[@weirdchild8044]

omfg cx made my night

[@SuperRAINONE]

Dad introduced me to this guy when he was playing in the pit on Broadway. I asked Maynard about him and Maynard said he was amazing. Notice Rafael's rotary breathing, a technique also utilized by Bill Chase, Lyn Nicholson,Maynard etc. Thanks for posting. True Natural Greatness!!

[@SuperRAINONE]

Sure did for over 30 years, regret not trying out for his band!

[@SuperRAINONE]

Yep, thats one of them. He could tongue like no other and was the fastest that ever lived!

[@Funwithhighnotes]

Maynard didn’t circular breath. It was all for show(his body movements, for example).

[@LowReedExpert1]

I'm quoting this man in a packet I'm making for my students, so I thought I'd post the transcription here (I cut out a little to keep things clear) “There are no shortcuts learning how to play the trumpet. It takes practice and patience. I know that it’s monotonous, but finally [there] comes a time where you can express your emotions with music - and this brings you such a pleasure, that all the dull hours are forgotten. All you have to do is practice scales. Scales, scales, and more scales …When you no longer need to think of the mechanics of the instrument, you can begin to think of playing things like, well… the Bumblebee … There is an old saying, that cleanliness, is next to Godliness. With trumpet, cleanliness is purity of tone. It must be kept clean always. The trumpet is a wind instrument. And you need plenty of wind to play it. Not that one forces the wind, never that. You never use more effort to produce the tone, than you do in ordinary conversation. But breath control is one of the most important factors in trumpet playing. ”

[@SeansMashups]

153 Clarinets did not approve

[@kameronpeterson3601]

And with the snap of a finger, 99 egos slowly inflated.

[@M1GYT]

SeansMashups 153+ clarinets

[@gtran2536]

SeansMashups make that 267

[@danielakinoshita]

271

[@imapro719]

I am a clarinetist, I approve

[@jimkuz27]

I have been playing Trumpet over 30 years! I started late in life, I picked up the Trumpet at age 29. Rafael Mendez was a great teacher whos teaching methods are still used today I learned a great deal on range development from Him!

[@gabeandthings2317]

He was on that , another one, before dj khaled

[@finitimadrid5191]

Gabe And Things lol homl 😂

[@kenzo5716]

one my heros. a great artist. i remember his great albums from just a kid. i am now 65 and hold him dear in my heart, i am a gosple trumpeter. he was a great inspiration to my study on the horn. thanks for this great video. kenny B

[@TobyTurnerTrashGoblin]

If as a child I had heard this introduction and explanation of how dull, boring practice of scales can lead to a knew way to express your emotions, I would be the best cellist on earth.

[@AlejandroSilva-mr7yy]

Start *today* and become a fairly good one

[@HernandezEncoreDCIMore]

If anyone is wondering what trumpet that is, its a getzen non custom.

[@brassflyer4284]

Kindru GamingxVideos Thank you savior

[@chickafila.thechicken5222]

What model?

[@Mrgop]

Kindru GamingxVideos The trumpet Rafael is playing is an Olds Mendez model designed by Mendez. Doc played a Getzen.

[@WAPITILO]

Wow, that breath control at 3:50 is freakin amazing.

[@armandojaviergarciabarrera8013]

Un orgullo michoacano y mexicano impresionante interpretacion

[@ks-bz4uh]

armando javier garcia barrera así es del pueblo donde yo soy Jiquilpan!

[@zacharyhernandez2892]

That is amazing and his tone quality is really good he is by far the best trumpet player.

[@elviant]

I love this man so much. Been playing the trumpet for 10 year's now and i am always watching this video.

[@josh67fps]

“If you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly.”

[@bg3929Z]

h-how do you go from scales to THAT

[@Dr_Trumpet]

bg3929Z it's more patterns and chromatics than anything

[@boostedcortez3156]

Simple answer. Practice!

[@mpcminecrafter]

bg3929Z years and years of practice my friend

[@azamengl]

How on earth it’s possible with only 3 buttons?!!

[@alexpalmer7018]

Embouchure

[@AndyZach]

I got to hear him play live at my high school in the 70s. Utterly amazing. He also played Carnival of Venice with one finger.

[@hidekiryuga9144]

Ive been playing trumpet for 5 years and this is amazing

[@burnbaby8635]

Alright now that we have finished the scales let's move on to a little more difficult song (plays one of the hardest songs ever)

[@anthonytooley1833]

Actually the piece is over 90 percent chromatic scales, the entire way through. So in theory the piece is not difficult and mastering the chromatic scales could very well set you on your way to learning this piece on the trumpet; it is however played at a very fast tempo, giving it the illusion of difficulty. I am not saying the piece is not difficult, however it is far from one of the hardest songs ever; probably wouldn't even make the top 50. Listen to J.S. Bach's various Fugues, or better yet search on youtube for "the art of the fugue". It's rather long, but I promise watching will open your mind to the simplicity of complexity, or the complexity of simplicity. :) Cheers

[@burnbaby8635]

Anthony Tooley cheers m8

[@HeyyItsJohn]

i thought he was gunna play the Carnival of Venice😂😂

[@jaman198]

Yeah!! We can definitely play as fast as woodwinds!!

[@dominationyt7834]

Coming back to this video after months still amazes me

[@chickentorche]

3:45 Wow! That makes Flight of the Bumblebee seem like an easy feat, he just played this song in 1 breath!

[@jmag579]

I hyperventilated just watching this.

[@DuncanHowell]

This man is an amazing man

[@726Ian]

That’s incredibly clear for how old this video is

[@MauveEclipse]

Thank you Rafael, very cool!

[@k.jjohnson5359]

damn!?! **tears in eyes**

[@dylanmartinez7112]

I’m not even impressed how he can play this IM JUST WONDERING HOW THE HELL HE MEMORIZED THE WHOLE DAMN SONG!!!

[@bedmasterytips]

In his biography, it mentions that he would practice a song until it came out perfectly 100 times. After that many repetitions, it would be crazy to not have the songs memorized!

[@user-mp9vp4kv1i]

Favourite Flight of the Bumblebee performance of ALL TIME !!!

[@ehmproductionz]

Words of wisdoms, it always comes back to the basics.

[@omarhenry3725]

Another one.Another one

[@defgecd6588]

2:19 he misses the 2nd to last note and then legit acts like he’s about it throw his trumpet on the ground, but then he keeps his cool and moves on

[@jinjuanli4337]

theborkonthepork yea

[@larbueno]

Thanks for that observation. I saw it, but didn't understand why he reacted that way.

[@steveallison5856]

Mendez was shaking the horn to get the water out of the valves (through the bottom caps),not getting ready to throw the trumpet to the ground. I and other trumpet players will do this occasionally.

[@davidm8717]

My trumpet hero when I was a junior high/high school cornet player

[@reddyaquaria689]

The final part was simply un-human, Kudos to you sir.....

[@khansaraihani2613]

"IF YOU CAN PLAY IT SLOWLY, YOU CAN PLAY IT QUICKLY"

[@patrickalvarado7687]

-Ben Lee

[@farrasalmeda654]

Yea i think playing slow is actually harder than playing fast

[@MrM3galodon]

2:40 The trumpet is a WIN instrument, and you need plenty of WIN to play it!

[@brianbaumgarn5795]

His embouchure always looks relaxed. I hadn't seen this since high school and it is even more amazing now.

[@420Megaskunk]

I'm learning the violin at the moment, but just the very few beginning seconds of the video was more than enough to remind me and inspire me why I wanted to play an instrument

[@superdynamite7800]

Holy trumpeter Batman!

[@donnabelhadj5106]

Dude that was so good it's not physically possible. But I'm not a trumpeter...I'm a...A PERCUSSIONIST! But still, great job, very great job.

[@anthonycheramie8102]

im in percussion too

[@donnabelhadj5106]

Cool!

[@christianfox8265]

I play trumpet

[@donnabelhadj5106]

That's cool too!

[@anthonycheramie8102]

+Donna Belhadj My girl plays flute

[@chrisbaker2903]

I was privileged to see Rafael Mendez in person and while this is fine music, his rendition of The Trumpeter's Lullaby has stuck with me for the last 60+ years as the best I've ever heard.

[@donaldduke2233]

One of my musical Idols.

[@akiogames4549]

Imagine playing this for your addition for school

[@kmorongell]

3:38 DJ Khaled 😉😉

[@sweetoneloves6811]

Much respect to you Rafael Mendez, you were the greatest trumpeter

[@Eliusalmo1]

Out of this world! Exquisito!

[@VC27]

Maestro!

[@brannonmoore9779]

Wtf that was amazing

[@nickames3808]

Thanks, Zooter! Fantastic!

[@Froghorn8]

Magnifico!!! what a pleasure to my ears !

[@topwolf2977]

At 3:52 slow it down to .75 then you'll know what he is playing

[@andimuhle]

His poor lips. My mouth dies after simply after playing 16th note slurs. I can't even imagine.

[@elmariachijoven146]

Andi Muhlestein He's double and triple tounging the whole time so :P

[@moonmanmoonman9400]

If you don’t press and build up muscles in the lips you can do that

[@brandongrass2726]

Yeah, try playing 16th notes in cut time (2/4)

[@RoshiiMusic]

@@brandongrass2726 you mean 2/2. the bottom number determines the note that gets the beat.

[@brokengadget3586]

Brandon Grass that’s why double and triple tonguing exists

[@skyguy1236]

Yes! Finally someone gets me! I play trumpet and this guy really explained how hard it is.

[@TonyTigerTonyTiger]

I love trumpets screaching (Maynard Ferguson, Chase, etc.) ... but there's more to playing trumpet than hitting high notes. This guy is amazing ... technical brilliance.

[@CharlemagnePalace]

This guy invented the word "suave".

[@mux3044]

im going to put silde grease in his valves if he doesn't behave 😑

[@jonowen9105]

dude its impossible to use your slide when you're going that fast

[@darkxerneasopenings9135]

this made my day lol

[@darkxerneasopenings9135]

this made my day lol

[@darkxerneasopenings9135]

this made my day lol

[@TheAmazingWalker]

Mux I did that once to my Tuba, and I automatically regretted it.

[@garygreen7552]

I first became aware of Mendez when I was in junior high. He was an artist representative of the F. E. Olds instrument company then, late 1950's and early 1960's.

[@iamstartower]

Never gets old

[@mayragnocchi7272]

The best...has NOT been surpassed yet..........

[@thebradzone3922]

**bows down**

[@catieb9836]

Holy freaking crap that was amazing

[@zachludolph8154]

This man makes me happy

[@jazzora]

*was proud of playing mary had a little lamb* watches video *curls up in a ball*

[@keithallums8900]

0.o i could never play that good -_-

[@nikki9462]

so amazing he inspires me to do better...and his tips are so helpful!

[@Eliusalmo1]

The best of the best!

[@ricksbulbs]

I am NOT WORTHY! LOLOL! ;) This guy plays incredibly fast and smooth! I play--well--not too good yet! I am a beginner though! And I thought "What now my love" by Herb Alpert (my idol as a trumpet player) was fast and kinda difficult! As for scales--yeah I know you have to do it and do it and do it, but I always tend to "burn out" on them and this is a bad habit I need seriously to break! I love my horn as much as life itself--and also the fellow who autographed her twice (my horn's name is "Lucy"), the incredible, wonderful, Chris Botti! this definitely gives me some inspiration, but it'd be so cool to have someone else that plays trumpet in my town come and practice scales with me--it would motivate me so much---I am 47, but even a high school student would make a fine practice companion! It's so much more fun to practice with another player. What a beautiful instrument, albeit one that tends to be difficult, and add to this the fact that I never properly learned how to read music, so at 47 I am learning all this stuff! I guess anything beautiful is worth a little "pain" to learn and master. I taught myself to play drums and am quite good--can hold my own on about any song, easy or complex. The trumpet is an instrument I wasn't able to really get down at all by myself, so lessons it is. My instructor is excellent, and I do believe I'll get over the "scale boredom" issue and get those scales down pat and start playing well. Rick Delair.

[@russianspy5007]

If you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly

[@Marcos-eh8qm]

Uno de los tres mejores de la historia.

[@falcongaming7741]

15 years later. i still cant believe this is humanly possible.

[@weirdchild8044]

when you finally found god

[@juanrodriguez9971]

And he explains you the simplicity of the universe with a single breath.

[@Will-bq7ue]

Dang

[@invisleum9895]

I play trumpet, I’ve been playing for 3 years. All I have to say is… HOW IN FRICKING HELL ARE YOU SO TALENTED!!!!

[@insandodds5443]

THIS IS TURLY AMAZING!!!!!

[@Doostun]

another one. and another one. AND ANOTHER WONE

[@TheTrumpet101]

Everytime he gets done playing he makes a face that's saying "suck it"!!

Incredible!

[@theosoares1597]

show de bola cara eu toco trumpet faz tempo , mas ver um trumpetista que nem esse é fio de ouro 👍✌