Part I
Ta-Da! A Prelude to Trumpet Playing
In this part . . .
An aspiring trumpeter needs to know a lot about trumpets and how sound is produced, about music in general, and about how to prepare for taking on this wonderful musical instrument.
In Chapter 1, I give you some background on the brass family and lip-reed instruments and about the parts of the trumpet. I also introduce you to making a sound on the instrument and offer some tips on how to practice.
If you like to know how things work (and many trumpet players do), head to Chapter 2, where I explain how the instrument is constructed, the materials used, and how the trumpet uses the vibration of your lips to produce its glorious sound.
Chapter 3 gives you practical advice on choosing an instrument that will help you achieve success.
Because you also need to know about how music is constructed, Chapter 4 is an introduction to music theory — a step-by-step guide to understanding all those strange shapes on the page.
Chapter 1
The Instrument of Royalty
In This Chapter
Getting acquainted with the brass family Taking the first steps toward playing the trumpet Staying at the top of your game Kings and queens have used the authority of the trumpet sound as part of their pageantry since the Egyptian pharaohs. That tradition continues: The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana was accompanied by a brilliant trumpet solo, and modern-day royalty and other dignitaries are invariably announced by trumpet fanfares.
More than any other instrument, the trumpet has always had a mystique about it. Nothing against the clarinet or the flute, but neither of those instruments blew down the walls of Jericho or announced the end of all things, as in Handel’s Messiah. By learning to play the trumpet, you’ve decided to be part of a wonderful tradition.
All in the Family — The Brass Family, That Is
The trumpet is a member of the brass family, which shares a rich history and development. All members of the brass family have one thing in com-mon, besides being made mostly of brass: They’re all sounded by the buzz-ing of the lips. (That makes them part of an even larger family, the lip-reed instrument group.)
Every brass instrument has a mouthpiece, usually detachable from the instrument, against which the lips buzz. It, too, is made of a brass alloy. The mouthpiece consists of a rim on which the lips rest, a cup into which the air is blown, and a throat, which is a narrow opening that streams the air into the instrument. The mouthpiece channels the buzz created by the lips and helps create the standing sound wave that gives the instrument tone. (Turn to Chapter 2 for information on how mouthpieces are constructed and Chapter 5 for instructions on how to produce a beautiful tone on the mouthpiece.)
Every brass instrument also has a length of brass tubing that culminates in a widening of the bore (the inner measurement of the tube), called a bell. The bell serves to project the sound, in the same way that your hands cupped around your mouth help you to be heard at a distance. And all the modern brass orchestral instruments have a method of changing the length of the vibrating column of air to produce many pitches.
But the members of the brass family all look different from one another, and they vary widely in size. In this section, I introduce you to the main members of the modern brass family.
The trumpet
The trumpet is the highest voice in the brass family, and it has an important role in orchestral, band, jazz, and popular music. As the top part, it is heard the most clearly and has a strong melodic role. The trumpet has a generally straight tube, with one or two bends to create an oblong shape, making it easier to hold.
The trumpet was primarily a signaling device in ancient Egypt, Europe, and China. In the Medieval Era (from the 5th to the 15th centuries), the trumpet became more of a musical instrument, helped by the high status that it held in its military role. In the Baroque Era (from about 1600 to 1750), an early version of the trumpet called the natural trumpet or baroque trumpet attained prominent status. This simple instrument was a long narrow tube with two bends and a bell section. Unlike the modern instrument you might be used to seeing, the baroque trumpet (shown in Figure 1-1) had no valves. It was used by composers as a melodic instrument and required trumpeters to play in the extreme high register; only a few lower notes could be sounded. Handel and Bach wrote extensively for the natural trumpet, as did many other composers.
Very few players were able to play this demanding instrument. Guilds were formed, with strict initiation and apprenticeship conditions in order to maintain the highest possible skill level and to strictly define the trumpeter’s role in society. These organizations were similar to modern-day trade unions, only far more secretive and exclusive. After Bach and Handel, the guilds fell into disarray and the art of high trumpet playing was temporarily lost. It probably didn’t increase morale ...
