Trumpet for Dummies is a good book for learning the basics of trumpet playing. If you’re new to trumpets, or if you’ve been playing for awhile but would like a refresher course, this book is a good place to start. It covers everything from choosing the right trumpet to breath control and vibrato. The lessons are easy to understand, and the accompanying audio CD provides helpful examples. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, Trumpet for Dummies can help you improve your skills.
Overview about the book
Trumpet for Dummies book is an award – winning step by step approach by Jeffery Reynolds to learning and perfecting on how to use the trumpets for both learners and high end users, learning and reading music, and how to play songs in a variety of styles
This is a self guide to whoever that wishes to learn the instrument. It takes learning from basic to a pro level. It’s user friendly and its exercises are quite relatable. Given all these and more, one might expect it to be voluminous but that’s actually a wrong guess, all these are contained within just 24 chapters; so yeah, It shouldn’t be a problem finishing this book. It has a rating of
4.4 with over 66% users giving a 5.0. Indeed, that’s how useful it can be. As an added advantage, every copy of this book comes with a free CD disc so you can practice and play it at the same time. Thus this book is an ideal pack for new trumpet players
Let’s look more into what this book has to offer inclusively!
Overview of the chapters
For clarity, “Trumpet for dummies” is divided into 5 parts.
Part 1 – (A prelude to Trumpet Playing)
Observing the importance of starting off on a good foot, Trumpet for Dummies gives a good foundation of the brass family as a whole, first steps to take to learning the trumpet, improving upon it and staying at the top of your game.
Gradually, readers are taught how the trumpet works, and how to use the mouthpiece and getting personal with it, an intro into overtone series and how to play the open notes. See? This is basically the first few things one must know as a beginner.
When it comes to the trumpet, there are many varieties out there and as a beginner, this comes as a challenge as you don’t know which one to select from. Fret not, with Trumpet for Dummies, you are covered!. Chapter 3 of this book focuses on personal development. It discusses explicitly what to look out for in a trumpet, weighing your mouthpiece option and of course shopping for trumpet and mouthpiece at a fair price.
This chapter is where you decide on the model and mouthpiece option that suits your taste.
The actual learning starts in the subsequent chapters. Here’s where you learn music as a language; It’s just the written version of our speech. With the simple diction and not so far-fetched examples readers are put through the course of learning Key signatures, note durations and making sense of meter.
Part 2 – (The noble sound of the Trumpet)
This section focuses in the art of breathing. As a trumpeter, one thing you’re sure to never run out from is breath. Therefore, healthy breathing techniques will go a long way to helping you in your career.
This chapter focuses on the importance of breath support, breathing techniques, buzzing on the mouthpiece (very essential because most beginners buzz with the tongue instead), playing songs on the Mouthpiece and forming an embouchure.
To play the trumpet, you don’t assume any position lest, you’ll run out of breath and end up getting fatigued quickly than normal. This chapter made great emphasis on the normal position so you can stay relaxed with your weight distributed evenly between both feet whether you’re standing or sitting.
Chapter 6 of this book discusses the proper way to hold the trumpet, Playing your first note, working on tune and tuning, joining notes together and playing your second note. This is yet a must- read for beginners. These basic lessons are part of what distinguishes you among others.
Coupled with that, you must learn to become articulate on the trumpet. Indeed, the need for this mustn’t be overemphasized. As a trumpeter, you must learn to establish good basic tonguing , learning legato, marcato, and staccato (these are different strokes of tonguing techniques – read to know more) and playing songs with them and eventually, tonguing and slurring combined.
Warming up is a very important part of your trumpet day. Just as a baseball pitcher needs a physical warm-up, and needs to fine-tune the release of the ball, the coordination of the legs and arms, and something almost intangible, a feel for the ball, so it is for a trumpeter. You need to establish physical relaxation and flow, as well as the response of the lips and tongue, and something intangible, a sense of music.
Part 3 – (Developing your technique)
Trumpeters play the loudest notes of the brass family and as such, there’s a need to develop one’s technique meticulously. Chapter 10 and 11 are there to take you through this course. Over here, you’ll learn to adopt the techniques already discussed in the previous chapter such as arpeggios and glissando to mention but a few
This part seeks to help you work on your breathing for more strength and endurance, to increase your quickness on the valves, develop a strong embouchure, do wind slurs for endurance and to get stronger with etudes.
Part 4 – (The Complete Trumpeter: Knowledge and Skills for the Advancing Player)
As previously stated, this book aims to brush up advanced learners into a pro. If you’re already abreast with the knowledge of the first few parts, then I suggest you start here directly.
It includes enjoying scales and arpeggios, setting up the tongue, practicing solos and etudes, adding ornamentation and special effects that leaves you in a good position for the next time. It goes beyond playing at a personal level. One of the chapters here exposes you on how to play in a group of instrumentalists.
Part 5 – (The part of Tens)
The great trumpeters of the present are the inheritors of a long tradition of trumpet artistry. In this Part, readers are introduced to ten members of the “trumpet royalty”: players who are the stars of the present and the future.
And here’s the best part because he felt his work is not finished if he didn’t leave students with dos and don’ts of music. He carefully drafted out 10 bad habits to avoid and 10 ways to be at one’s best.
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Who can read this book
As we’ve seen from the content, this book houses both beginners and advanced users. It covers all scope from the basics to a pro level
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What do I achieve from reading this book?
Unlike several preparatory books by other authors, this book is a total package. It’s what many would describe as an “All-in-one” because it extends beyond the spheres of learning the trumpet to equip you with basic knowledge about other brass instruments, how to read music and other ways to continually improve upon your progress and maintain a healthy technique even after you’ve finished reading the book . With this book. It’s a never ending process that ushers you into your future career. It’s utterly descriptive and down to earth.
Final Thoughts On Is Trumpet For Dummies a Good Book
Trumpet for Dummies is a good book because it teaches people how to play the trumpet. It has clear instructions and pictures that make learning easy.
The book also includes audio files so people can hear what they are supposed to be playing.
-Trumpet for Dummies does not have any negative reviews on Amazon, which suggests that people have found the book helpful. There are many positive reviews that talk about how the author makes learning fun and easy. People who have never played a musical instrument before say this book helped them start playing the trumpet right away.
-If you are interested in learning how to play the trumpet, Trumpet for Dummies is a great option.
