Extended Flexibility by Raymond Mase

[Dayton]

I’m highlighting books that might be of interest to the TH community starting with Ray Mase’s excellent and insightful “Extended Flexibility for Trumpet” (2014, Editions Bim).

It has five sections: Slurring, fingering, mixed articulation, intervals and dynamics, and lip fitness. There is a wealth of practice material and insightful commentary spread over 35 pages. Two of those sections stand out for me.

The “Slurring” section incorporates both “lip” slurs and “fingered” slurs into many of his studies. In his comments he points out that our goal should be for them to sound the same, so we should practice them in a way that helps us do so. I find this concept to be quite useful.

The “Mixed Articulation” section has several exercises in 5/8 and 7/8 with a mix of two and three note slurs and tongued notes. The patterns aren’t terribly complicated, but they offer something useful that you won’t find (written) in many of the common books of technical and flexibility studies.

Edit: The "Intervals and Dynamics" section is terrific as well. Imagine increasingly challenging interval studies with tricky dynamic changes. As with the other sections, great exercises that prepare you to perform challenging music.

The exercises in this book are generally at the intermediate level, though the practice concepts themselves are often quite advanced. It is well worth your consideration.