Vibrato

written by Bruce Chidester on October 10, 2026

Download exercise sheet Trumpet Vibrato Basics I mentioned in my previous post that I feel the best vibrato for trumpet playing is the hand vibrato. Some of the reasons I feel strongly about this form of vibrato over other techniques are- 1. It does not interfere with the basic sound of the note. 2. It is easier to control. 3. It can be turned on and off much easier than other methods. 4. Even though it might not be the best technique for other brass instruments, in my opinion, it is the best technique for the trumpet.…

Outstanding !!!!!!!!

written by Bruce Chidester

What You Should Know Before Buying A Flugelhorn

written by Bruce Chidester

To many people, the flugelhorn is a unique and interesting instrument. It looks bigger than a trumpet and in some ways it is bigger. It is heavier and has a larger bell. But when stretched out to its full length, a Bb flugelhorn is exactly the same length as a…

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Many Thanks to Our Readers

written by Bruce Chidester

We, at thetrumpetblog.com wish to thank our readers for their patients during the past three month. Due to the decline in my wife’s (Karen) health, I have been slow at posting new material on our site. Now that all the issues dealing with her death have been completed and I…

So You Want A Career in Music? Part 1

written by Bruce Chidester

So You Want A Career in Music? Part 1 So do tens-of-thousands of other people. Wanting something does not necessarily make it happen. Even with all the “If you want it badly enough, it will happen” believers propagating all their wonderful and deceptive rantings. In order to focus on a…

Selecting the Best Music School- Part 3

written by Bruce Chidester

What to Expect from Your Teacher When you visit your local physician with an ailment, you expect to leave with a solution to your problem. If you visit your dentist with a tooth ache, you expect to leave his/her office with relief, but too often trumpet students leave a trumpet…

Selecting the Best Music School- Part 2

written by Bruce Chidester

The first part of this post dealt with issues related to terms and your direction in your musical career. This post will focus on an area that I know well and that would be the study of an instrument (in my case the trumpet). No matter what your area of…

Selecting the Best Music School- Part 1

written by Bruce Chidester

Many are currently considering a career in music and wondering which school would be best to attend. This is a very important decision and choosing the best school to attend will affect your life in many ways. After more than fifty years teaching and attending colleges and universities around the…

Who Has More Air- Trumpet Players or Trombone Players?

written by Bruce Chidester

To my knowledge, this question has never been addressed, and some may wonder what difference does it make anyway? As some of you may know already, your host has been performing regularly on trombone. In fact more on trombone than on trumpet this month. As a new member of the…

Guess Who’s Stealing Our Gigs Now?

written by Bruce Chidester

Once upon a time in a land far away, lived a very talented musician who longed for the opportunity to play his instrument and actually get paid to do so. Oh what visions of grandeur passed through his/her head as he/she dedicated his/her every waking hour to practicing his/her favorite…

Copy Cat Trumpets

written by Bruce Chidester

One of our readers brought up an interesting issue which I thought would be helpful to other readers and that was the quality (or lack of) of many imported trumpets on the market. As the unaware shopper begins to search for the perfect instrument for their kids or themselves, the…

Random Thoughts on Improvisation- A Little History

written by Bruce Chidester

Now that we have covered a few of the elements used to build a cohesive and interesting improvised solo, I felt it necessary to establish a little of the history behind jass (original spelling). I found this yesterday and believe this is the only video I have found which actually…

Random Thoughts on Improvisation- Octave Choice

written by Bruce Chidester

Seldom do improvisers recognize the value in changing octaves when performing a solo. Many times your improvised solo can be repeated in a different octave and sound completely new. Changing a melodic line by inverting it to a different octave can give your solo a whole new meaning. To give…

Random Thoughts on Improvisation- Dynamic Changes

written by Bruce Chidester

1950 Rock and Roll was the beginning of the volume invasion. Even Folk music was limited in decibels until the day Bob Dylan went electric. Once amplification was established in pop music, nothing would be the same. Every garage band was twanging away with 10 on their dials. As time…