So you finally found that trumpet for sale and now you want to teach yourself to play it - don't do it! Learn on your own, that is. I have followed that path and, let me tell you, it's a HARD road! The trumpet is a hugely challenging instrument to learn at first but, once mastered, it is remarkable how little effort it takes to coax expressive, warm sounds out of this bewitching instrument - or shrill and rousing, if you please! But it needs as much attention and lip service as any life partner. Like a learner pilot, you simply have to put in the hours in order to fly your beautiful notes in the air!
Ok, so I'm stretching the analogy a bit. But there can be no doubt that you have to do it right from the get-go, or suffer the same fate I did: utter frustration and bust lips, ridicule by your family members and friends who have had their ears hurt once too often, and of course the readily-given advice to immediately cease and desist from your foolishness because they felt there simply wasn't a hope in Hades that you'd ever get it right. And those were only the polite comments!
GET A TUTOR
A tutor is an absolute must. Which is usually easier said than done, with the cost of each lesson seemingly equal to the yearly budget of Haiti. It is of course possible that you have a close friend who just happens to also be a decent, experienced trumpet player who can easily identify your technical errors and help you right from the start. Free of charge. But the law of averages would naturally have seen to it that you do not fall into that fortunate category, not so?
The hardest thing about learning on your own is not knowing what you are doing wrong. It seems that the more you try to rectify your shortcomings, the worse you sound, to the dismay of your sniggering listeners. And then you still have to learn to sight read music at the same time! Where will this madness end, you wonder?
ONLINE TRUMPET GUIDES
If you are reading this online, it means that you have the great modern luxury of access to the internet. A large part of the world has never even heard of the internet, never mind being in a position to afford it, and that is assuming that adequate infrastructure allows an affordable service to your home or nearby internet cafe. With a few clicks of the mouse you can browse for free jazz instructional material such as Jamie Aebersold's Jazz Handbook or his How To Play Jazz and Improvise tutorial book, generously setting you on the road to jazz greatness. What a dream to have! A huge volume of jazz solo transcriptions are also available on numerous dedicated sites. Here are just a few:
LEARN FROM THE GREATS
Fine free articles may be found on Jeff Purtle's website, which is dedicated to legendary trumpet player and teacher Claude Gordon and his method, and on various other webpages - you only have to search around a bit. You can even watch short video lessons by the unbelievable jazz and classical wizard Wynton Marsalis, or the great modern classical trumpeter Haakan Hardenberger on the Trumpet World website. Yes, gratis.
YOU NEED A HORN
Needless to say, a decent trumpet is absolutely essential, but this does not necessarily mean it has to be an expensive one. Type "buy a trumpet" into any search engine and you will be bombarded with links to sales pages attempting to sell you instruments costing $1000 or more. Which is fine if you are the heir apparent to Rockefeller's millions, but for us ordinary folk? Just not possible; especially if you are just starting out, or have been struggling with a really inferior horn that you maybe feel is hampering your progress way too much.
To find a really affordable yet high quality trumpet for sale, read this review of the LJ Hutchen Bb trumpet. If you are a newbie to the trumpet, I hope that the 'bug' will bite you. Become addicted to practicing every day. Strive to make good music. Enjoy the ride!
Ok, so I'm stretching the analogy a bit. But there can be no doubt that you have to do it right from the get-go, or suffer the same fate I did: utter frustration and bust lips, ridicule by your family members and friends who have had their ears hurt once too often, and of course the readily-given advice to immediately cease and desist from your foolishness because they felt there simply wasn't a hope in Hades that you'd ever get it right. And those were only the polite comments!
GET A TUTOR
A tutor is an absolute must. Which is usually easier said than done, with the cost of each lesson seemingly equal to the yearly budget of Haiti. It is of course possible that you have a close friend who just happens to also be a decent, experienced trumpet player who can easily identify your technical errors and help you right from the start. Free of charge. But the law of averages would naturally have seen to it that you do not fall into that fortunate category, not so?
The hardest thing about learning on your own is not knowing what you are doing wrong. It seems that the more you try to rectify your shortcomings, the worse you sound, to the dismay of your sniggering listeners. And then you still have to learn to sight read music at the same time! Where will this madness end, you wonder?
ONLINE TRUMPET GUIDES
If you are reading this online, it means that you have the great modern luxury of access to the internet. A large part of the world has never even heard of the internet, never mind being in a position to afford it, and that is assuming that adequate infrastructure allows an affordable service to your home or nearby internet cafe. With a few clicks of the mouse you can browse for free jazz instructional material such as Jamie Aebersold's Jazz Handbook or his How To Play Jazz and Improvise tutorial book, generously setting you on the road to jazz greatness. What a dream to have! A huge volume of jazz solo transcriptions are also available on numerous dedicated sites. Here are just a few:
LEARN FROM THE GREATS
Fine free articles may be found on Jeff Purtle's website, which is dedicated to legendary trumpet player and teacher Claude Gordon and his method, and on various other webpages - you only have to search around a bit. You can even watch short video lessons by the unbelievable jazz and classical wizard Wynton Marsalis, or the great modern classical trumpeter Haakan Hardenberger on the Trumpet World website. Yes, gratis.
YOU NEED A HORN
Needless to say, a decent trumpet is absolutely essential, but this does not necessarily mean it has to be an expensive one. Type "buy a trumpet" into any search engine and you will be bombarded with links to sales pages attempting to sell you instruments costing $1000 or more. Which is fine if you are the heir apparent to Rockefeller's millions, but for us ordinary folk? Just not possible; especially if you are just starting out, or have been struggling with a really inferior horn that you maybe feel is hampering your progress way too much.
To find a really affordable yet high quality trumpet for sale, read this review of the LJ Hutchen Bb trumpet. If you are a newbie to the trumpet, I hope that the 'bug' will bite you. Become addicted to practicing every day. Strive to make good music. Enjoy the ride!