Writing for trumpet requires special attention to several key elements.
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Writing music for a trumpet requires the knowledge to take your already notated ideas and edit them to make them performable on the trumpet. You can’t simply take a violin part and give it to a trumpet player. Each instrument has special limitations and idiomatic functions that make playing easier. Writing music that violates the capabilities of the trumpeter will leave you with a composition that at worst is not performable and at best is poorly written.
Step 1
Create the music staff so it is written in treble clef. The trumpet plays only in the treble clef. If you have music that already exists, you may need to change the clef.
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These keys are the easiest for a trumpet to play in. The keys with sharps in them can be very difficult to play because of odd fingerings.
Step 3
Write the music within the correct range for trumpet. Do not go below a middle C (C4) or higher than two octaves above middle C (C6). Take note of any pitches that go higher than C6. This is the range most comfortable for players even though they can play from F#3 to D5. If you are writing for a young player, do not go higher than G5. If it is too high or low, transpose the music into a playable range. This may require that you change the octave of your music if it is already written.
Step 4
Minimize the amount of time the trumpet has to play in the extreme range from G5 to C6. Reserve this range for necessary purposes or for soloists. Even with a soloist, it is still advisable to keep in the middle of the range when possible.
Step 5
Avoid writing anything that requires the trumpet to play any more than four measures without a breath. A measure is the distance from one bar line to the next; in most music, it will be four beats. The trumpet player doesn’t need much time to breathe; place a minimum of a quarter note at the end of each to catch a quick breath.
Step
This is a departure from the original baroque ensemble, tuning, and trumpet. Instead of a piano, a string ensemble would have accompanied the solo trumpet. The tuning used today is not what Torelli would have envisioned, as our modern tuning would have seemed quite sharp to him. The baroque trumpet originally had no valves and was (and is today) considered very demanding to play. Despite these differences, music played on a modern piccolo trumpet is as exciting to hear today as it was in the
The clarinet is a woodwind instrament consisting of a cylindrical wood, metal, or ebonite pipe with a bell-shaped opening at one end and a mouthpiece at the other end, to which a thin reed is attached. The clarinet has five different sections, the mouthpiece, the barrel, the upper section, the lower section, and the bell. The length of the entire instrument is 60 cm long. The mouthpiece section consists of a slotted cylinder, to which a reed is attached by a metal clamp called a ligature. The mouthpiece plugs into the next section which is a barrel. The barrel is simply a connecting cylinder to which the mouthpiece and the upper section plugs into. The upper section is a cylindrical pipe consisting of 4 holes and 9 keys placed in different locations along the pipe. On the back of the pipe there is a hole and a key that is used by the thumb. The lower section plugs into the upper section and is also connected via a special bridge key. This piece consists of 3 holes and 8 keys. On the inward facing side of the pipe, there is a protruding piece of metal called a thumb rest, which supports the entire clarinet. The bell plugs into the lower section. It consists of a cylinder that flares out into a bell shape and ends the clarinet.
“West End Blues” begins with a 12-second trumpet solo that displayed Armstrong’s wonderful range and demonstrated the syncopated styling unique
Large bands, full of unique instruments and amateur musicians, were required to play at festivals and ceremonies. Similar to the evolution of the Wind Ensemble, the Concert Band is derived from military purposes. Instruments, such as the trumpets, horns, and drums, were often used for signaling. In contrast to Wind Ensemble musicians, these Concert Band musicians never played their instruments for military enjoyment.
The musicians were able to keep time by taping their feet, listening to the piano and drums play a steady beat, and along with a lot of practice beforehand. When it comes to the meter of the piece I noticed that when each musician was playing their part in the song the rhythmic structure would change. When the trumpet player and saxophone player were playing together the beat was steady and loud, but when they were playing separately the sound was not as loud, but the beat remained the same. Each instrument created a different feeling to the music, even though they were playing the exact same part.
The brass instruments in the background are played in ostinato form. This piece was written by Puerto Rican Juan Tizol, who played the trombone solo. Cootie Williams would later improvise on the piece, coming up with his own version of "Caravan."
The piano is the most commonly known and most used. The saxophone has the ability to produce a unique sound. The clarinet has a reed connected to the mouthpiece, which the player blows through to create music. The trumpet is another a popular instrument. The trombone is descended from the trumpet that’s with played in bass clef or treble clef. With the larger size the double bass, the player usually has to stand up. The drums include the bass drum, snare drum, and cymbals. Last but not least, it’s good to have a vocalist because songs will sound
up of five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones, and a four piece rhythm section (composed
The orchestration comprises of a standard set of instruments, including two flutes, two clarinets, two oboes, two bassoons, two trumpets, three trombones, four horns, timpani, bass drum, cymbals and strings. An additional instrument is the tuba (Chung 22). Moreover, it appears that the piano is not the only soloist; rather other instruments such as flutes, clarinets and horns make minor appearances for similar purposes.
The University of Alabama Trumpet Ensemble performed in The University of Alabama’s School of Music, Moody Music Hall, on Monday, November 14, 2016. The concert was conducted by Dr.Eric Yates, and it featured members of The University of Alabama Trumpet Studio. The concert opened with the image of two choirs in the piece Canzon Septimi Toni No. 2 by Giovanni Gabrieli. The two choirs created a polyphonic texture, and featured moments of a transition from a major key to a minor key. The piece had a moderato tempo marking or moderate, but also featured moments of ritardando or slowing the tempo for a short moment. The effect of the two choirs being played by one choir caused a state of confusion, yet it also allowed the listener to fully understand the sounds of the piece. The next
This is the second movement of the piece. It lasts around five minutes of the total 22 minutes of the whole Orchestral Suite. Air is written for trumpet, timpani, oboe, violin, viola and continuo. It is written in major key. The meter is duple, and I would dare to say that it is quadruple.
The brass plays an ascending sequence, followed by pizzicato notes played by the strings, and an ascending and descending scale on the harp. Strings and oboe play the rhythmic melody, whilst the trumpet plays fanfares in syncopation. The oboe is then replaced by the flute. There is an ascending scale played by the strings, then the brass section repeats the string and oboe melody with cymbal crashes at cadence points. The orchestra then plays a loud melody with cymbal crashes and drum rolls. There is an interrupted cadence, followed by crescendo with cymbal crashes and a brass ostinato. The piece ends with a perfect cadence.
At first, the “Fighting Answerers”, as Ives calls the quartet, answers slowly and calmly, though not without forming a dissonant chord structure, showing signs of their “fighting” nature. As the piece progresses, it becomes clearer that these “answerers” are getting no closer to solving the question of existence, and their agitation shows as their phrases become increasingly faster and dissonant. Towards the end of the piece, it becomes clear that the “answerers” are fed up with the question, and Ives describes them as holding a “secret conference”, represented in the music as the quartet holding their notes in the section before the second-to-last question is posed. After this conference, the “answerers” in their annoyance, “mock” the question by borrowing the melodic material from the motif and extending it in a state of cacophony until the ending of shrill high notes. At this point, the “answerers” leave, and the trumpet asks the question one more time, only for it to fade away into the
Garner, Bradley. “The Flute Embouchure.” Texas Bandmasters Association. Texas Bandmasters Association, 2007. Web. 8 Sep. 2011.
Along with perfect fifths, Williams believes the French horn and other brass instruments