Becoming excellent in any field requires a great deal of time and effort and becoming a great trumpet player is no exception. Contrary to many opinions found today in the media; to only have the desire to succeed is many times not enough to accomplish your goal. I will address the several technical areas of trumpet playing and make suggestions as to how you may be able to gain skills in each and thus become a better musician.
The Lip
Trumpet players depend on lip and facial muscles to perform their art and for that reason; they must develop both strength and flexibility. Just as a distance runner depends on body muscles to accomplish his/her goal, the trumpet performer also needs to train their muscles. Both athletes must develop strength as well as flexibility.
Developing lip strength- Most trumpet players will agree that building strength in the trumpet embouchure (lip muscles) requires exercises such as long tones. A sensible application of long tones plus increased work load will increase lip strength and endurance. To accomplish this goal, I would recommend the following book- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Daily-Embouchure-Studies/3553725?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
Developing lip flexibility- Strength without flexibility is similar to a weight lifter who has become muscle bound (having inelastic, overdeveloped muscles, usually as the result of excessive exercise). To increase this element of your trumpet playing, I would suggest this series of exercises http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Twenty-Seven-27-Groups-of-Exercises/162458?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
The Fingers
In order to function successfully as a trumpet player you will have to develop speed and coordination in the three fingers of your right hand. Every note will depend on your skills at moving your valves up and down as effectively as possible. Not only will you be required to move quickly, but your movement must also be coordinated in order to change pitches cleanly. One book stands out as the bible for developing speed and valve coordination and that book is http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Technical-Studies-For-The-Cornet/95485?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
The Air
Just as the importance of the embouchure can not be over emphasized, neither can the importance of developed breathing skills. Air to a trumpet player is the same as fuel to a race car driver. Trumpet performers must- 1.Take in great amounts of air in short amounts of time. 2. Be able to sustain long musical phrases while all the time making them sound comfortable and relaxed. This requires training and is contrary to our natural instincts of tidal (natural) breathing skills. To accomplish this goal, inhale fully and play each line in one breath. When this becomes easy, slow the temp down or increase your dynamics. To accomplish this technique, I would recommend the following material- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/First-Book-of-Practical-Studies-for-Cornet-and-Trumpet/1428167?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
Reading Skills
In the field of trumpet playing, few areas do not require the performer to be able to read music quickly and accurately. The expression “close enough” is used often to make light of a misread passage but “close enough” is not acceptable on stage. There is only one way to increase your reading skills and that is accomplished by regular reading of “new” material. Please read my blog on this subject at- http://www.thetrumpetblog.com/tips-for-improving-your-sight-reading/
Also to that end, I would recommend the following exercises- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/The-Complete-Sight-Reading-Etude-Collection-for-Trumpet/5265841?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
Articulation
Articulate (To utter by making the necessary movements of the speech organs)- As applied to trumpet playing, the term articulation refers to the movement of the tongue required to start individual notes in a musical passage. The articulation required by a trumpet player will range from very subtle legato (sustained) notes to short notes at a very fast (prestissimo) tempo. In order to develop these skills, I would recommend the following material http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Double-and-Triple-Tonguing/5268664?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
Extreme Ranges
The skills required to accomplish the high as well as low registers of the instrument require attention and in many cases, the two extremes are compatible and sometimes complimentary to each other. Sustained high note playing tends to stiffen the lip muscles and sustained practice in the low register tends to relax the embouchure. I would suggest the following book- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/systematic-approach-to-daily-practice-sheet-music/96591
You might wonder why I am suggesting a clarinet book for trumpet practice. The upper range is great and you will have to make adjustments for the note that go below the playable range of the trumpet. The unusual intervals will also be helpful to your playing.
Endurance
The development of endurance requires a gradual increase in “mouthpiece on lip” time. To accomplish this goal, I would suggest you visit my article “Rest as Much as You Play” which can be found at- http://www.thetrumpetblog.com/rest-as-much-as-you-play/
In that article, I suggest this book which should be practiced in the manner described in my article- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Practical-Studies-for-Clarinet-Book-1/1427577?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
Tone
Trumpet players are constantly making reference to tone or timbre (the quality of the sound produced by the player and instrument. I invite you to read my posting on “Embouchure” at-http://www.thetrumpetblog.com/the-correct-embouchure-why-we-teach-it-incorrectly/
Much of the material deals with the definition and description of the correct sound or tone. To help develop this component of trumpet playing, I would suggest the following material- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Melodic-Studies-for-the-Trumpet/18106111?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
Intonation
Pitch of every note should be of great concern to a musician but unfortunately it is taken too lightly. Each performer is affecting the outcome of every player around him/her. You are to be expected to play in tune at all times and to reach that goal; I recommend the following- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Ear-Training-for-Trumpet/19134552?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
Also visit my blog information at- http://www.thetrumpetblog.com/how-to-play-in-tune/
Playing in Time
Rhythmic accuracy is also a factor many time overlooked. Each and every note must line up precisely at the correct time in a composition. The slightest inaccuracy will give the performance an off balance, awkward feel. You must hit your note at the exact time it is supposed to happen. To that end, I would recommend this book- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Music-Speed-Reading/16356611?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
Vibrato
Nothing can add to the overall performance like a well executed vibrato (A tremulous or pulsating effect produced in an instrumental or vocal tone by minute and rapid variations in pitch). And on the flip side, “nothing can distract to the overall performance like a poorly executed vibrato. I have searched the internet for material to recommend when working on vibrato but I could not find anything worth listing. “Looks like I know what my next blog will cover”. Stay tuned for more information on vibrato.
Warm-up
There have been long discussions on the importance of warming up before your regular practice routine and I would suggest the following routine as an effective warm-up to include in your daily practice-
http://www.thetrumpetblog.com/the-trumpet-warm-up-part-i/
http://www.thetrumpetblog.com/the-trumpet-warm-up-part-ii/
Practice Routine
Each player has his/her favorite practice routine and feels everyone should incorporate that routine. Please read my post on this issue at- http://www.thetrumpetblog.com/do-you-ever-get-tired-of-practicing/
I would recommend the following method- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/systematic-approach-to-daily-practice-sheet-music/96591
Transposition
Most trumpet playing does not require a skill in musical transposition (an event in which one thing is substituted for another) for “what you see is what you get”. But in the every day life of a symphonic musician, transposing one note up or down is a regular occurrence and transposition skills are expected. Even in commercial situations transpositions are needed. When a singer has range problems, the accompanying instruments can be asked to “take it down” a step or two. To prepare yourself for this situation, I would recommend the following- http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/The-Orchestra-Trumpeter/3558012?aff-id=449113&aff-link=plg1
Listening
Listening to other trumpet players is essential to your improvement. If you don’t know what a good sound or an advanced playing style is, how can you advance? I have selected four different performances of the same piece so that you can compare each player’s style. Select the player you prefer and start listening to other recordings from this artist.
Three performances of Haydn Trumpet Concerto, 3rd mvt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASB6hFUat4g
