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Day 8 and I feel like my chops are blown. I dunno if I need a rest or what but I've played at least an hour every day albeit in broken 15-20 min sections. I've been working on the first couple Arban exercises and can barely make it through a single one without splatting a note this morning. I can barely stick a high E.
I did watch/listen to a two hour Arturo Sandoval masterclass while I was hanging boards on the ceiling the other day. He blasted anyone that said the Arban book isn't relevant anymore. He says the first section of the book is the most important foundational material you will ever learn for trumpet. Now I know why. It'll probably take me a year to nail it down properly.
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11-12-2025 12:27 PM
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Yes, you need to take a day off.
Arturo also swears by "the 6 notes", it's a Caruso exercise. Look it up,easy to find.
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Thanks, I'll look up the Caruso exercise. As for taking the day off:
Originally Posted by JGinNJ
Rocky - THERE IS NO TOMORROW - YouTube
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Take it slow. It's definitely not a race. You will get there eventually, just like playing guitar. Originally Posted by DawgBone
As far as the Arband book goes - all lesson books are basically the same. Scales and arpeggios are your friends. One of the things I love to practice is something I learned from an Urbie Green clinic - take a nice breath and play a two octave major scale up and down and hold the last note as long as you can. Or do minor, if you like. Or both.
I'd stay away from any cornet. It's a different mouthpiece. I'd stay away from flugelhorns for now, again, a different piece still (and there are 3 different shanks).
Stick with that trumpet. You're off to great start.
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Thanks 58. I want to get good as quickly as possible. I only gig weekends lately other than some festivals so I have time. That could change with a few phone calls so I need to maximize my time. My embouchure is weak enough that I can play between guitar breaks and when I break working on the house. Originally Posted by 58flame
I don't ONLY want to do exercises so I been learning a couple heads also. La Vie En Rose and Fly Me To The Moon in C. Kinda waiting on my hard copy of the Arban book cause I hate reading off the computer but I still been using the PDF of it plus Yamaha has all the fingerings listed on their website on a PDF file also.
As for trumpet vs cornet vs flugelhorn, well, I loved the flugel initially but the cornet seems like a nice mix of the two. I been looking at some Conn Director cornets with a big bore. I guess I naturally gravitate towards louder stuff, Twin Reverb and what not. I don't have any money right now anyways but it's fun to shop. Once you buy the work starts, lol. I'm really enjoying the trumpet for now and want to get good! For some reason I can understand sight reading with a trumpet but not really with a guitar but I'll def have to commit myself to learning to sight read better.
I did order a harmon mute so I don't drive my wife nuts every night. She's actually pretty tolerant of it but my son ripped a very loud Star Spangled Banner the other night that pissed her off. She thought it was me so I took the rap for the minute, LOL.
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Trumpet? Absolutely. Began at 13. Still own several. But my preference is Flugelhorn. It has a fuller and mellower tone to my ears.
No need to spend an arm and a leg for a decent horn anymore. Even China is producing some very good horns today. Here’s one of my Flugelhorns.
Today there’s great instruction on YouTube. I’m old school and a big supporter of playing pedal tones. How low can you go? And as a kid, I remember first beginning with nothing but playing the mouthpiece. I carried it in my pocket and played it all throughout the day. I don’t if it’s in vogue today but it was a thing in the 60’s.
Freddie Hubbard was a huge influence on me in my youth.
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I went on a flugelhorn kick for a while. Had all the Yamahas, and ultimately settled on the Courtois 154. I had 3 different Courtois at one time. I liked the big bell the best. Ultimately, I sold all of them. I found the best intonation and tone in the Courtois, but it still wasn't enough for my trombone ears. The 154 only has one note slightly out of tune - high concert G. Yamahas have out of tune noted everywhere, and I remember a particular blessing horn that had a super flat concert C first valve. I never tried a Chinese horn. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Trumpet? Absolutely. Began at 13. Still own several. But my preference is Flugelhorn. It has a fuller and mellower tone to my ears.
No need to spend an arm and a leg for a decent horn anymore. Even China is producing some very good horns today. Here’s one of my Flugelhorns.
Today there’s great instruction on YouTube. I’m old school and a big supporter of playing pedal tones. How low can you go? And as a kid, I remember first beginning with nothing but playing the mouthpiece. I carried it in my pocket and played it all throughout the day. I don’t if it’s in vogue today but it was a thing in the 60’s.
Freddie Hubbard was a huge influence on me in my youth.
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Another one…
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That was a good one, thanks for both of those. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Day 12 and I can get some half decent tones out of this thing semi-reliably until my embouchure craps out. Been doing the Arban exercises and added a couple easy tunes to the practice regimen. White Christmas, Moonlight in Vermont, and Somewhere Over The Rainbow. I still need to get my slurs between pedal tones down better but it's coming along. Yesterday was rough. Had a gig to prepare for and my embouchure was just kind of toasted so it was a little frustrating. One day at a time!
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Day 15 I can hit a high F# on the staff. The Arban book is brutal. Got my hard copy in the mail today but I been slogging around the first five exercises for two weeks on the PDF file, lol.
I can get a halfway decent tone on the staff but my low notes D and below are kinda crappy so I guess I need to work on those some more. I usually put time in on them when my embouchure is starting to feel worn. I got a harmon mute to keep the wife from going crazy. Neighbors are def digging my playing tho haha.
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Bam! That's one month. Practiced everyday about as much as my face can stand. I can hit a C above the staff when I'm rested but E-F-G are becoming a matter of routine. My son even bought me a Denis Wick Heritage 3c for an early Christmas, which helped things. Has a bigger hole through it than the Blessing 3c I was using so it's a little freer blowing. Having a good time!
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Personally I swear by Jo-Ral mutes. I also use one of their practice mutes for flugelhorns.
These are supposed to work on reducing lip fatigue. Keep with it, you’re making great progress!
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Maybe I'll grab a Jo-Ral straight mute next. I already grabbed a Harmon branded Harmon mute, not realizing other companies make the same thing. But it was under $40 anyways. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Personally I swear by Jo-Ral mutes. I also use one of their practice mutes for flugelhorns.
These are supposed to work on reducing lip fatigue. Keep with it, you’re making great progress!
Thanks for the encouragement! It's doing me some good all around, even for guitar, as it's training my ear to better recognize pitches. I don't have a great ear but learning a single note instrument where you work from the partials for some of the exercises and songs seems to be helping. I'm getting real close to hitting an A above the staff consistently. I realized last night I've been working too hard, fatiguing myself, and then all my notes tend to fart out so I cut back from 45 minute sessions to 30 minutes. Sucks cause I enjoy playing it but hopefully I can work towards longer sessions so I can get more time in.
My son bought several two valve G bugles in Houston the other night so we went on a horn cleaning binge. Unfortunately one of the corks on the Conn I've been using just crumbled so I ordered a kit to freshen up the horn with new corks, felts, valve springs, and water key corks. Until then I am borrowing his Bessen which doesn't slot quite as easily but is freer blowing. The power of those G bugles is insane btw. We plan on dB'ing them this week. Pretty sure they will get louder than my Twins, LOL.
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Absolutely, cut back when there’s fatigue or discomfort. Originally Posted by DawgBone
My absolute favorite Trumpeter, who of course also plays fabulous Flugelhorn, was the late great Freddie Hubbard. As it turned out one night while playing at Seattle’s Jazz Alley, I got to meet and speak with him at length during a set break. His personality was just like another guy from the neighborhood. We must have talked for some ten minutes. So, the real of it is, when you become famous, don’t forget us!
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BTW, I’ve got a flugelhorn that I’ll gift you if you pay the freight. It plays well and looks great.
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You serious about this? You're in the continental 48 states? I think I can do it. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
BTW, I’ve got a flugelhorn that I’ll gift you if you pay the freight. It plays well and looks great.
I'm supposed to look at an older Conn cornet this weekend that is real cheap but supposedly in good condition. My bad trumpet skills been testing my wife's patience and I def qualify as a bad trumpet player so I'm thinking a bit more mellow cornet-flugel sound would help keep the peace (plus I been listening to quite a bit of Nat Adderley). My goal is be able to improvise passably on Work Song and Caravan in three years so I been hitting that Arban book and working on my slurs, articulation, and some scales.
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Absolutely. Yours if you want it. Much mellower tone than a trumpet, and fuller than a coronet. The offer stands. Originally Posted by DawgBone
Near Seattle.
But you’ll need a Flugelhorn mute for when the Mrs is around.
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Right on. Would you take paypal friends and family? I can do a venmo too if that is preferred. Lemme know how much to send and your payment address if you wanna shoot me a message for your address I can get it to you tonight. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
Absolutely. Yours if you want it. Much mellower tone than a trumpet, and fuller than a coronet. The offer stands.
Near Seattle.
But you’ll need a Flugelhorn mute for when the Mrs is around.
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PM sent.
Even the greatest don’t hit the high notes every time. But they still groove, which is the point. Not everyone can be Maynard Ferguson.
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Btw, this is my Flugelhorn mute. Saved a lot on it buying online. Less than a hundred.
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That's a great jam, actually first heard it watching Bill Colletti do Carol Brass cornet reviews on youtube. I watched the whole recent documentary on him a couple weeks back. Really too bad he went so soon. Very talented guy. RIP. Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
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I was able to snag that Conn cornet for really cheap the other day. It could use some new valve springs so i ordered a set but for 1953 its in pretty good shape I thought. Loving the tone on the Coprion bell.
If they had CL listed it as a trumpet instead of a cornet it wouldve been gone months ago. So basically it was hidden from view, lol
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Nice shape- did it come with a mouthpiece?
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Yeah, a Bach 3c and a Bach 5c plus the original mute. Has a few small dings and some marring near the leadpipe water key but otherwise in pretty good shape. It's supposed to use a short shank but the Bachs are long shank. I got a UMI Conn 7 short shank for a darker tone but I think I'm gonna try to track down something shallower than a C cup in a short shank. Options are more limited. Seems like everyone uses deep n dark mouthpieces with cornets now so that's most of what's available without spending $200. Originally Posted by JGinNJ
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