First, he said, today's typical player, whether a professional attempting to earn his or her living by playing, or an amateur amusing him- or herself in community organizations, needs to be versatile, and have an ability to play any style, whether it be orchestral, pops, traditional, big band or small group jazz. Vax himself prefers to use the same equipment regardless of style and let the brain alone dictate the physical modifications necessary to make stylistic adjustments. He demonstrated, in quick succession, a couple of Hummel Concerto licks, big band lead phrases, a passage from the Arban variations on the Carnival of Venice, and a few bars of dixieland, each with the appropriate sound, articulation, and style.  His point was that the brain, in Vax's words, is "the great computer," and each stylistic demand is like a new disc that the computer can access. He admitted that to make such changes, one needs to change as a person as each style requires an authentic presentation from one's heart and soul.

Secondly, he emphasized that time spent listening was of equal importance to time spent practicing; that listening to great trumpet players can help one achieve the desired sound--which is critical--but that trumpet players additionally need to learn from saxophone players, pianists, vocalists, etc. He emphasized that one must want to be a musician, not a trumpet player. He commented on the need, for example, to learn the words of songs one is playing in order to understand the phrasing and the emotional context of the piece. He gave a terrific example of him requiring his young students to write lyrics, based on the somewhat sappy song titles, to the tunes found in Arban's The Art of Phrasing, starting at page 191. After the students have written the words, he said, the improvement in their playing of the passages was immediate.

Thirdly, to complete the process, Vax noted that one can play only the music that one can sing, and that every jazz improvisation solo is accompanied by scat singing of the same phrase in the head. Vax demonstrated by singing a couple of intricate improvised lines and then playing them back perfectly.

John Lufburrow, of Baltimore, Maryland, had bravely signed up to participate as student in the master class. Vax asked him to play something he had prepared and Mr. Lufburrow played two or three somewhat angular demanding big band licks. There was a slightly nervy feeling of suppressed panic to Mr. Lufburrow's first take and Vax had him slow it down for a second take and the quality improved. Vax did notice that the higher notes in the passage (high C, perhaps D) seemed a bit thin.

Vax, continuing to emphasize the mental aspects of trumpet playing, related the teaching method of Don Jacoby, one of Vax's early mentors. Jacoby urged using visualization, to the effect that higher pitches were not higher "up there, above one's head" so to speak, but were rather farther away from one out in front. Vax asked Lufburrow to play a C arpeggio (starting on the C below the staff and continuing up to fourth space C), visualizing that the first line E was a fellow 10 feet away, the second line G was a particular fellow 20 feet away and that fourth space C was a particular fellow at the back of the room. Once done satisfactorily, Vax asked Lufburrow to play the arpeggio up an octave. Mr. Lufburrow's first take seemed somewhat cursory to Vax who, with a big smile, suggested the Mr. Lufburrow's "didn't believe" the visualized metaphor. At that point, Mr. Lufburrow attempted the upper octave arpeggio again and played it easily with a large open and full sound. This demonstrated clearly the soundness of Jacoby's theory that this method of visualizing results in increased air flow and relaxation, improving the quality of the sound and the security of the player.