Matt Roberts, my protege and now fellow professional trumpet player, recently uploaded his first video in a series of episodes following the antics of his brass quartet, The Quarter Tones, on their 2007 European busking tour, happily and conveniently entitled Eurobusk.

I’ve mentioned Matt before. At the age of eleven, or maybe ten, or nine, since my memory seems to be working at half speed this morning, Matt was my star pupil. In fact, for many years he was my only pupil. As a professional trumpet player I don’t have time to do a lot of teaching. This allows me to only teach the best and most rewarding pupils, a situation that attracts criticism from some corners but is genuinely the only way I can work given the constraints on my time and the balance of my career.

As Matt went from child to teenager it became apparent that he had what it takes to make it. A few years later and he’s blowing up a storm in one of the country’s leading Music Conservatoires. Another few years later and he’s out the other end, making his living just like me, as a professional trumpet player. And like me, he’s blogging. No one can say I don’t lead by example!

Although Matt’s blog is still in a state of flux as we toy with the idea of moving his design over to a more de rigueur magazine style, he’s already building a good amount of traffic and a growing following.

Having just watched this video I’m confident that his following is about to rise, and rise fast.

Equipped with nothing more than a handful of personal video cameras, nothing fancy, nothing expensive or prohibitively professional, just the sort of thing that many people either have already or can acquire easily, Matt and his quartet of musical marauders have managed to capture and document their travels in a way that is entertaining for anyone with either an interest in music, or a funny bone.

Add a Macbook running nothing more than Apple’s wonderful iMovie, some music provided by his friends, giving them exposure and negating any licensing problems, and the result is a series of videos that will bring tears of laughter to anyone who has experienced what it’s like to be a young musician carving out and clawing out a career.

However, the focus on the comedy of the situations they find themselves in, and the precedence this takes over the music making, is what makes the video funny and entertaining to anyone who can spare fifteen minutes for the first episode.

Put aside the fact that they are young professional musicians and enjoy watching this quartet do all the things that you expect young professional musicians to do when they invade Europe. Lose passports, forget to get currency, say inappropriate things when they don’t know they are being filmed, nearly get run over by maniac drivers and hire the services of their home on wheels, The Flash. Insert obligatory jokes like ‘how many fat brass players can you fit in a car’ and inevitable Blair Witch Project references and this is the result.

Grab a drink, find fifteen minutes, and watch this video. Hopefully it will make you laugh and show you how episodic video can grow your readership.

If you enjoy it, leave Matt a comment. If you really enjoy, subscribe to his site. And if you really enjoy it and are feeling generous tell your friends, blog about it, and generally throw traffic at him in large quantities.