Limited Range Etudes - Trumpet

This is not a beginning trumpet book. Though the exercises in the following fourteen studies never ascend beyond the top line of the treble staff, they are designed for college students and professional players who wish to:

• Develop skill on Eb or piccolo trumpet apart from the canon of solo and orchestral repertoire;
• Perfect the low register of the Bb trumpet, including use of the third valve;
• Improve technically while in the midst of an embouchure change, braces, or other situation that makes the high register prohibitive.

I first recognized the need for this book when I met a college student who, seemingly as the result of a medical procedure gone wrong, proved to be incapable of playing any note above a fourth-space E. Having studied for several years, he possessed a thorough understanding of scales and keys, basic fundamentals and articulation patterns. However, his musical growth was hindered not only by his physical limitations but also by the lack of repertoire that would adequately challenge his technical abilities without also becoming musically stale. (One wants to play only so many Clarke studies per day.) As I began to write pieces for his lessons, I began to see the broader implications for my own playing-particularly on auxiliary trumpets. The studies in this book will make demands on the performer in nearly every area other than the upper register-soft, rapid double- or triple-tonguing; wide slurs; infrequently-used keys; multiple tonguing in the low register; unusual tonalities; facility with the third (and fourth) valve; extended phrases. In some cases, these demands may seem extreme or even unrealistic; however, sincere practice over these passages will almost certainly improve the player's overall technique, and may make more standard repertoire seem easier by comparison. Above all, these etudes are intended to be performed; whether in lessons or in front of an audience, players should always strive for musical expression and dramatic presentation. -the author