the neighborhood honky-tonks. At night, Little Louis fell asleep to the sad songs of the local blues singers. Those sorrowful songs sounded like they were full of all the pain in the world.Little Louis enjoyed all kinds of music, but he loved the music played by the brass bands most of all. Sometimes after a parade, Joe “king” Oliver, the best cornet player in New Orleans, would let Louis carry his cornet case. Little Louis wanted to make music too. He wanted to play a cornet just like King Oliver.In music, Armstrong discovered the path to success, after a New Year’s eve prank in 1913. He had taken his stepfathers .38 caliber pistol and six blanks and fired them into the air. Before he knew what was happening, a policeman had grabbed Little Louis by the arm. Off went Little Louis in the custody of the New Orleans police. The judge decided to send him to the Colored Waifs Home for boys to keep him out of trouble.The home gave poor boys a chance to finish school and learn a trade. A military man, Captain Joseph Jones and his wife ran it. He ran the home military style. Little Louis was heart broken and home sick. Then one day he heard a brass band playing. He followed the music and found himself in a room full of boys and instruments. He went to band rehearsal everyday and finally he was asked to join the band.The conductor of the band, Mr. Davis, first gave him a tambourine. Then Louis tried the drums. Then he tried the saxophone to play, and finally a cornet. Mr. Davis helped Louis learn how to play the cornet properly. He showed Louis how to hold his mouth and use his breathing his throat and his stomach muscels to produce a good tone.In 1914, when Louis was thirteen years old, he was allowed to leave the home. Louis wasn’t little anymore. After two years of hard work, he had become a talented musician.Louis noticed that New Orleans music was different. Ragtime was almost gone. A swinging new type of music was b...
