Also known as “How to play trumpet at home – Episode 5” Everyone is doing it and it sounds so easy. Learn a new language, like Latin. Learn to prepare gourmet meals with a can of beans and Spam. Rebuild your car’s engine. Learn to play an instrument. I took that as “learn how to …
I played the “thing” everyday for the last 30. Here’s what I learned. Read More »
Well, here we are, end of the third week. Practiced everyday. Positives? By resting as much as the horn is on my face seems to let me practice longer. Sucky things? Found I have bigger problems than just relaxing my face. Something with my embouchure that is hard. Like never did that before hard. Ever …
Trumpet Fingerings Chart. Every finger position for playing the trumpet with examples.
Comeback or Beginner Trumpet Player? 14 days in. Total practice time: 351 minutes. That’s about 25 minutes per day. I tried to break up my practice time into two sessions because I get tired so easily. But the afternoon sessions isn’t really worth talking about. That sounds like a total beginner player. From day 1 to …
Have you found the perfect trumpet mouthpiece? Does it help you through difficult passages and make the upper and lower register sound exactly like you want them to? Does it support you when you are tired? Me neither. Surely there is magic in a trumpet mouthpiece right? It’s how we connect to our horn, how we make the music. Yes, our lips form an embouchure (om bah sure) which the mouthpiece turns the buzz into a sound that gets changed into a note in the trumpet. But is that all they do?
They say the first step in anything is the hardest. Like the old saying: “It’s not that you had the strength to finish the race. It’s that you had the courage to start”. Someone that said this that one time. Why learn the trumpet? I’m taking the first steps to learn how to play the trumpet. …
How to play trumpet while staying home – Episode 2 Read More »
Hi, my name is Mark. Welcome to my blog on “How to play trumpet”. Episode 1. Have you ever thought “if I ever had the time, I want to learn a new skill like playing an instrument?” Well, I’ve thought about this a lot during this “time” of staying at home. I have finally got …
How to play trumpet while staying home – Episode 1 Read More »
What do you put on the end of a trumpet? Easy. A mute. Mutes are called for during different parts of music scores by the arranger when they want to change the timbre (tone quality) and/or lower the volume. They soften the brightness of the trumpet and some mutes warm the sound. Funny thing, mutes are named for their shape and not how they sound.
It’s no secret that the upper register is a requirement in modern trumpet playing. But what is the “upper register of a trumpet” you ask. The real question you may be asking is, “How high can I play the trumpet?”.
Is it a Piccolo or is it a Trumpet? Can I become a screamer overnight? Sorry to say these were the first things that I thought about when I first heard of a Piccolo Trumpet. So what is it, really? In my mind, the Piccolo Trumpet is to the trumpet, what the piccolo is to the flute. It’s the smallest of the different trumpets you can find and much brighter in tone.
What the heck is a “Water Key”? I’m pretty sure that’s not plain water that’s coming out. “Spit Valve” makes more sense, but it’s not a valve. What gives? What are all these parts and why are they important to the sound? Trumpets, Flugelhorns, and Cornets have a surprising number of parts. Would you like to know all their names to amaze your friends and bore your not-so-friends? Here is the anatomy of a trumpet for your dissection fun.
As a kid, I remember watching the TV show “The Green Hornet” and the wailing, fast hitting trumpet sound of the theme song. I had no idea what a trumpet was or who Al Hirt was back then. I remember that trumpet song though. Fast forward a few years and I’m sitting in the admissions office with my mom for my new school, entering the 5th grade. I knew I wanted to join band. I had every intention of playing the drums, for some reason I thought they were cool. When they asked me, “What instrument do you want to play?” I said “Trumpet”. It just came out. And so, began my journey of discovery of this great instrument, lifelong bandmates, and the fascination with famous trumpet players.
It’s just oil right? Can’t I just use any oil around the house? What’s important to know before squirting oil into my horn? Trumpet, cornet, and flugelhorn valves and inside the brass metal tubes of your the valve casing. Valve oil makes the playability of your horn better and is there to protect the valves and valve casing from wear. The piston valves and valve casings are made of pretty soft metals. Keeping a thin layer of valve oil between them will keep them from wearing and your valves slippery smooth.
All I need is my trumpet, and my mouthpiece, and my mute, and my….wait. Why do I need all this stuff? Am I going to spend a fortune on stuff I don’t need? Every trumpet player will need a few things to support their playing. Yes, a place to practice where you aren’t disturbing people is great. More important, is keeping your horn performing it’s best and accessories that help you perform your best.
We’ve collected various sources of trumpet sheet music and trumpet songs that you can use to see, hear, and play along to. You can play these with your cornet and flugelhorn too as some of these trumpet songs have softer melodies that sound better with a cornet or flugelhorn.
If you are thinking about investing in a professional trumpet, you’ll want to first think about what you want to accomplish, what are your goals? Are you upgrading from your first trumpet? Are you looking for a trumpet that will enable you to play your best? Are you a professional trumpet player looking for a different sound? Are you looking for the best way to take your sound to the next level? Are you a “come back” player that used to play, and want to take advantage of a better trumpet than you used to have? Are you playing a type of music that doesn’t fit your current trumpet? All great questions.
Frugal what? Flugel bugle? What a funny name for a jazz horn. What is it and why is it called something so funny? The flugelhorn is part of the brass family of instruments. These musical instruments were traditionally made from and continue to be mostly made from the metal brass. The name is thought to come from the German word “wing” which makes the name flugelhorn “wing horn”. The flugelhorn is closely related to the trumpet and cornet.
At the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show, there was one song where dancers held trumpets and trombones. They weren’t playing, but the distinctive trumpet sound was clearly heard coming from the band. This probably wasn’t the reason, but your child has decided they want to play the Trumpet. Great. But when you show up at school, the band teacher puts a Cornet in their hands. What gives? Why?
These life skills will make us happier, healthier, and more successful. These are the real benefits of learning to play an instrument.
