Recommended list of resources?

[rhatheway]

Is there a recommended list of resources for those of use who are coming back to playing trumpet after many years away?

After a 30+ year break (life, family, work, etc.) I picked up my horn again 10 months ago. I've joined a local community band with a director who constantly pushes us to play more advanced music than many of the members like (but I appreciate as it helps me improve). I've gone from playing 4th parts to playing mostly 2nd (and a few 1st) in only 10 months, so I know I'm progressing. I've posted a couple of questions in other areas of this forum about related topics and have received a lot of good advice and suggestions from the members, which I truly appreciate. I also realized that there are LOTS of available resources out there, some of which are good, some not so much.

That leads me to ask, is there a recommended list of resources? I've got my Arban Complete Conservatory Method, Rubank Advanced Method, and Voxman Selected Studies books that I'm using. I've had a few others recommended, but as I'm sure you're aware, you can quickly go broke trying to buy all the books.

So..., is there a list here on the forum somewhere, or maybe online that a music school has published?

Thanks in advance for your help and responses.
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Richard H
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Working on getting my chops back...

“Without music, life would be a mistake” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

1968 Getzen Eterna Severinsen
1958 Conn Director 14A

[JayKosta]

I think there are basically two types of 'resources' that could be useful.

1) For people who already 'know how to play' - meaning they know / remember what works (do physical actions) that enabled them to have good sound, range, endurance, etc. They need material that is interesting and enjoyable to play and practice to recover their ability to DO IT.

2) People who 'used to play' but recall their struggle with things such as range, tone, embouchure, rhythm, etc. They need need material that will help them learn / discover the cause of their earlier problems and help them find a way to overcome those problems.
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Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[rhatheway]

Thanks JayKosta.

I think I'm somewhere in the middle of those two, so will keep on keeping on!
_________________
Richard H
------------------------------------------
Working on getting my chops back...

“Without music, life would be a mistake” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

1968 Getzen Eterna Severinsen
1958 Conn Director 14A

[Dayton]

[CaptPat]

Some of the material (e.g, Arban's) mentioned by Dayton is available for free from https://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page I also recommend Eric Bolvin's Arban Manual which outlines a series of exercises from Arban, much like a method book, as Arbans is not arranged like a method book.
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Bach Stradivarius 180S37
Getzen Custom Series 3895
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I play trumpet because I like it, not because I'm good at it.

[rhatheway]

[rhatheway]

[Steve A]

There are always more books to be bought, if you generally like getting new books (and music, and ideas, etc.), and have money to spend on it, but most people will probably give you a list of recommended sources that have a few key things in common.

If you have the Arban, Clarke (Technical Studies), and Schlossberg books, you have an adequate degree of coverage of probably 90-95% of the technical materials anyone needs. Beyond that, unless you're interested in the materials that are specific to particular schools of playing (Claude Gordon's books, or James Stamp's book, etc.), you get into diminishing marginal returns very quickly. Also, I suspect you can find all of these three either free, or very cheap in pdf form.

However, if you're someone who plays a lot of etudes as part of your ongoing practice (which some people are, and other aren't), there's a virtually endless list of music that one might eventually cycle through. (Brandt, St. Jacombe, Concone, Getchell, etc., etc., depending on the purpose and degree of difficulty that suits you.)

But, when you get right down to it, you don't really need many books, and you certainly don't need to go broke buying them. The vast majority of the content of most books largely overlaps with other similar books (see: most books of flexibility studies). I think people often treat these books in a way that's kind of similar to mouthpiece safaris - they say that, to improve your high range, you really need to buy a whole bunch of high note books (but, Maynard did okay with transposing Arban melodic studies up), or that to improve your articulation, you really need dedicated articulation books (but simply following the optional articulations in Clarke studies cover an awful lot of what you need), etc. There's nothing wrong with getting more books - I've got whole shelves of them, but improving any aspect of your playing has more to do with how hard, smart, and patient your work is than what book is on your stand (or what mouthpiece is in your trumpet).

[rhatheway]

[Dayton]

Method Books. I've already mentioned "Mitchell on Trumpet," which I think is the best method for someone studying on their own. I’d also suggest that Mitchell’s method contains material that meets the needs of contemporary trumpet players better than the grand methods of the late 19th and early 20th centuries (as written).

Having said that, for those studying with a teacher, and/or more advanced players who have built their own routines, Arban's Complete Conservatory Method is probably the most popular. The structure makes it easy to find particular types of exercises, and the characteristic studies and solos are of such high quality that they remain popular 135 years after Arban’s death.

There is an introductory version of Arban’s method arranged by Robert Foster: “My First Arban” and “My First Arban: Book II.” Bolvin and Prescott wrote progressive practice guides for Arban’s method. Maurice Andre and Jean Maire arranged their own versions of Arban’s method that differ in structure and content from the original. There is even an arrangement of (part of) Arban's method by “Pops” McLaughlin that extends many of the exercises into the extreme upper register. Rich Willey wrote an entire book based on one of Arban’s most well-known exercises (p. 20, #46, cycle of fourths), titled “Arban’s Jazz Scale Connection.”

Arban’s method is certainly not the only complete method worth recommending. St. Jacome's Grand Method, Gatti's Grand Method, and Franquin's Complete Modern Method are also quite popular. Less well-known methods by Balay, Bizet, Clodomir, Dauverne, Eby, Forestier, Petit, Pietzsch, Williams are also full of great material, but if you have Arban's method, none of them are essential.

Alan Vizzutti’s method is also worth mentioning. It has a wealth of great material oriented toward the needs of the contemporary trumpet player, but unlike the other methods I’ve mentioned, is focused on intermediate to advanced players. I’d say the sane of Tony Plog’s very fine trumpet method. Both of them contain a lot of great material that would complement Arban's method or one of the other grand methods.

There are also many introductory trumpet methods that I’ll bin in the category of band methods. Examples include the Belwin and the Rubank series, Accent on Achievement, Breeze Easy, etc. Those books serve an important and useful function in school music programs, but I’d suggest that the methods mentioned above are a better choice for most adults.

[rhatheway]

[Dayton]

The aforementioned methods contain a mix of technical studies and musical studies (etudes/songs). Technical studies eliminate the musical studies in favor of technique-building drills. The most famous, and arguably the most useful and influential is Herbert Clarke's "Technical Studies." Another hugely influential book is Max Schlossberg's "Daily Drills and Technical Studies." Clarke's and Schlossberg's books have served as inspiration for a number of other books. Those two books are useful for players of all levels and can be used by even young students with a bit of modification. I’d put them on the “recommend” list as well.

There are lots of variations and alternatives to those two books, though I’d suggest the originals have stood the test of time, and the alternatives are best thought of as follow-on books rather than replacements.

In the case of Clarke’s “Technical Studies,” there are alternatives (somewhat) similar in concept with different exercises. They include but are hardly limited to Charles Colin’s “Technical Studies,” the first book (“Technical Studies”) of Alan Vizzutti’s method (p. 32-65), books 2 & 3 of Tony Plog’s method (“Fingering Exercises and Etudes” parts 1 & 2), Robert Nagel’s “Speed Studies,” Joachim Kunze’s “Power Play: Speed Up Your Fingers,” book 5 of Bruno Tomba’s “Technical Exercises,” book 3 (Finger Technique”) of Daniel Thrower’s “Comprehensive Trumpet Skills” series, and Julien Porret’s “75 Technical Studies.” I should also mention the Velocity Studies from St. Jacome’s method.

There are also books of variations on one or more of Clarke’s studies. They include but, again, are hardly limited to Pat Harbison’s “Technical Studies for the Modern Trumpet,” Chris Kase’s “Twenty-First Century Technique,” Rich Willey’s three-part “Variations on Clarke’s Second Study,” Pierre Thibaud’s massive “The Technical Studies by Herbert L. Clarke Revisited,” and Bryan Davis’ “Twisted Technical Studies” books 1 & 2. “Pops” McLaughlin’s “The New Expanded Clarke Technical Studies” extends the studies into the extreme upper register.

Many great players never move past Clarke’s “Technical Studies,” which has a lifetime’s worth of great practice material.

[rhatheway]