This post touches on a few issues for beginner trumpeters, perhaps as a start to your research. To go more in-depth, you can find uncountable blogs, articles, and videos online.
Beginning trumpeters have a wide variety of musical options ahead of them, if they stick with the instrument. If you truly love (or learn to love) music, are willing to learn all sorts of musical styles, and learn about the different trumpets available, you’ll have beautiful notes coming out of your horn in no time.
Photo by Chris Bair on Unsplash
Stick With It
Do yourself a favor and take private lessons. Yes, it may be tough at first, but don’t give up. This goes for any instrument (or anything you want to do well!) A wise person once said, “If you do something long enough, you’ll get good at it.” This thought will hopefully keep you going through those frustrating times when the notes just won’t come out the way they should. Like most worthwhile pursuits, playing an instrument well requires lots of practice, some talent, and plenty of persistence.
If for some reason you need to stop playing, consider keeping your trumpet. You can always pick it back up a few weeks, months, or even years later. It’s never too late to learn or re-learn a musical instrument.
Music Styles
You should try to cultivate a true love for most music genres, due in part to the trumpet’s incredible versatility. Other traditionally adaptable instruments are the clarinet, trombone, violin, and piano, all with great musical ranges, and all widely used for solo work as well as within ensembles of varying sizes. However, when it comes down to it, any instrument can play any style if the musician really enjoys it.
When people meet a trumpeter, most usually ask if they play jazz. While jazz can be a mainstay in many trumpeters’ repertoire, it is not for all. Some players stick to orchestral music, show tunes, or some other genre, based on what they enjoy.
Trumpeters play such styles as:
- Swing (i.e. The Pink Panther, Stardust, Sing Sing Sing)
- Latin (i.e. The Girl From Ipanema, Tijuana Taxi, A Night in Tunisia)
- Dixieland (i.e. When the Saints Go Marching In, Down by the Riverside)
- Orchestral (i.e. Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Pachelbel’s Canon)
- Broadway (i.e. Phantom of the Opera, Guys and Dolls, The Producers)
However, please keep in mind that quite a few rock groups like Chicago, Tower of Power, Kool and the Gang, The Commodores, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra all made use of horn sections (usually trumpet, trombone, and saxophones). These are older groups, but plenty of current rockers use horns as well.
Trumpet Variants
A luxury of playing the trumpet is that you have the ability to play similar instruments.
The “normal” trumpet is manufactured in the key of B-flat, but there are trumpets in many other keys as well: C, D, E-flat, F, G, and A. The most popular of these is the C trumpet (slightly smaller and brighter than the B-flat), which is usually used in an orchestral or church setting.
Why make trumpets in all these different keys? Some composers prefer the sound of the higher keyed versions, but from a technical viewpoint, if you can get your hands on the same sheet music written in a different key, the fingering (the combinations and order in which the valves are pressed down) can be less complex, making the piece easier to perform. If you ask around, you will no doubt run across composers, arrangers, and other musicians with their own reasons for using their favorite type of trumpet.
The cornet sound is slightly less “in-your-face” than the trumpet, but just as versatile, and is traditionally preferred in British brass bands. The flugelhorn provides a beautiful, rich tone that is mellower than the trumpet or cornet, can blend extremely well with low brass (euphonium, baritone, trombone, tuba), but has an almost magical quality when played solo. Listen to Chuck Mangione for an excellent example.
On the high end, the piccolo trumpet (“picc” for short) sounds an octave higher than the B-flat trumpet and is used primarily for church hymn ornamentation, Dixieland jazz, and if you’re not careful, piercing the eardrums of your fellow musicians. It takes anywhere from a few week to a few months to get used to the feel of it, and to work up the necessary endurance. A picc looks like a trumpet that was run through the dryer – a tiny little thing – but it’s lots of fun to play!
The piccolo trumpet is also in B-flat, but many come with a longer “A” lead pipe, which is the piece of tubing that goes from the mouthpiece to the rest of the instrument. (The piccolo trumpet is not to be confused with a pocket trumpet, which has the same sound and amount of tubing as a B-flat trumpet, yet has been compacted.)
Selecting a Trumpet
When shopping for a trumpet, you will want to be aware of manufacturer names. Like most products on the market, some brand names denote high quality, while others, well…not so much. Most musical instrument sales people are extremely knowledgeable and are musicians themselves, so they will help guide you towards the best horn for your situation.
Opinions differ, but many players consider Bach, Kanstul, Schilke (“shill-kee”), and Yamaha as the top manufacturers. Other brands are Amati, Benge, Besson, Conn, Getzen, Holton, Jupiter, King, Stomvi, and more. Also, big name players such as Doc Severinsen and Arturo Sandoval have designed their own models. No matter what you do, however, make sure you tell the sales person that you are looking for either a professional or student model – this makes a big difference.
Also, be sure to try them out personally, no matter what someone else tells you. What feels comfortable for one person may not feel the same for another, because mouths and lips are all different. Try at least three or four different models and mouthpieces before making your decision. Don’t forget the case, valve oil, slide grease, and mutes!
And lastly, for ladies and others who don’t identify as men: don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t play a brass instrument! Musicians come in all shapes and sizes.
Happy trumpeting!