Best books and literature for C trumpet

trumpetman7984

Hello all,

I just purchased a C trumpet and am over the moon excited about it. I was wondering which method books I should be using to improve my skills on the instrument as well as which literature to be looking at? I know that it is a totally different animal from the Bb as I used a C a few times throughout high school for orchestral work, but now that I have my own I really want to master my instrument.
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Schilke B1 Bb
Yamaha 8445 C

Craig Swartz · Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 7:04 am Post subject:

Just use the same"Bb" tech and etude books you've been playing from on your C. Be aware that a lot of C horns will require alternate fingerings around the 4th line D/4th space Eb and E and sometimes the F and G above as well as 3rd space C. You may also need to kick out the 1st slide on 12 combinations more so than on Bb. Bored with all that? Just learn to read down a step/add two flats and transpose the C to Bb trumpet. Play your college band music on your C in rehearsal, when no one complains you'll see you're getting the hang of it as per pitch, intonation and tone color.

Good luck. And next horn? Pic. Besides the more stable upper register, it'll double for many of the D and Eb parts using the same transposition method and switching the pipes from Bb to A.

kehaulani · Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 7:13 am Post subject:

^^^^
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"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

Dayton · Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 8:41 am Post subject:

cheiden · Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2020 10:18 am Post subject:

Play your regular methods and literature. Wouldn't hurt to play some as written and some transposed. The goal is to get you body and head aligned to the new pitch centers so it becomes second nature.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart

GizB · Veteran Member Joined: 11 Jan 2005 Posts: 200

When I got my first C years ago, my teacher had me use our same Bb materials, but I transposed everything down a step, and I mean everything. Try transposing some of those Mel Broiles duets! It's an excellent transposition to master, and has the added advantage, IMO, of making things seem a bit easier because you're transposing down.

For quite a while, I practiced the C almost exclusively, relying on funk/jazz gigs & rehearsals to keep up my Bb chops. I just sent my Bach C to Osmun for blueprinting & chem cleaning, so I am excited to get back my reconditioned horn.

Conversely, most of my jazz fake books are in concert, so I'm always transposing up. I honed this skill quite by accident, as I had filled several notebooks with my transpositions done by hand, and found that I could do it at sight relatively easily.

Have fun!

CJceltics33 · Veteran Member Joined: 24 Aug 2017 Posts: 475

I just got a C a few days ago, so I am in the same boat!

It is super difficult. I am practicing a lot of Arban and Schlossberg on the C, and warming up with long tones to drones to get a more internal feel of the pitch tendencies.

I am trying to do more listening to C trumpet rep as well.

cheiden · Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2020 8:37 am Post subject:

When I got my C I played everything flat and pushed the tuning slide way in to compensate which made every thing harder. My teacher made me put he tuning slide in a more typical place and had me work on playing higher in the slot. I bit like lipping up but not quite. After a short while every thing lined up and got easier. If you don't make this adjustment and instead try to play the C like the Bb it will fight back.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart

Shark01 · Veteran Member Joined: 10 Jun 2017 Posts: 283

As I think of the C as more of a specialty born, I like to play actual literature on it, as opposed to etudes. So I end up playing a lot of oboe music.

benlewis · Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:25 pm Post subject:

This approach worked for me as I was learning to play the higher horns:

I bought the Marie-Claire Alain/Maurice André transcription of the Telemann Heroic Marches and would play each piece on Bb, C, Eb, and piccolo back to back on the same sounding pitch, trying to match intonation and beauty of tone. This helped establish intonation parameters and helped with transposition. I played the piccolo in Bb when needed to facilitate key signatures.

I will say that now, after 30+ years, I never practice C unless I'm working on a particular piece for a performance. I just pick it up and play it on gigs. In fact, unless it's a jazz piece or musical theater, I rarely play Bb on gigs. I guess I'm just an odd duck.

HTH

Ben