Make your first sound on the trumpet
Lesson time: (2min 5sec)
Kay Charlton helps you put it all together and produce your first notes on the trumpet, from posture and mouthpiece to buzzing through the horn.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Introduction to the Trumpet: My First Trumpet Lesson
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Lesson: Producing Your First Sound on the P Trumpet
So now you're making a buzz with your lips and you're buzzing through the mouthpiece. Let's put it all together and make your first sound through the P trumpet.
Posture
- Remember to keep your shoulders relaxed.
- Stand up straight or sit up straight. That's fine.
Mouthpiece Preparation
- Hold the trumpet up in front of you.
- Place your fingers on the valves.
- Important: Don't press them yet. There's no need to press them yet.
- When you put the mouthpiece into the P trumpet, don't bang it in; just place it in. A little twist will make sure it's in there securely.
Producing Sound
Now, we'll buzz through the mouthpiece and then through the trumpet. You might get any of those notes to begin with. Don't worry!
- The lower notes are produced with a more relaxed embouchure or shape of your lips.
- Note C: This is the note C.
- Note G: You might get a little bit higher; this is the note G.
- Upper C: If your lips are squeezed a bit more, you'll be getting upper C.
Remember: At the moment, it doesn't matter which note you get. Just produce a good strong sound.
Tips for Success
- Don't worry if you don't get a sound straight away.
- It might take you a while to keep practicing.
- Your sound will improve the more you play; the easier it gets.
- It really is about getting those lips in the right position, not too tight and not too open.
- If your lips are too open, they're not vibrating in the mouthpiece.
Experimentation
So, you need to get that buzz going so that the air comes out and you get a good strong sound. Keep trying and experiment with different ways to see if you can get that sound to really, really work.
Next Steps
In the next video, we're going to learn some skills, some trumpet techniques that will help to improve your sound.
About the instructor
Kay is a trumpet player, composer and teacher of brass and curriculum music, specialising in primary classroom teaching - KS2, First Access/WCET (whole-class ensemble teaching, where a class learns an instrument together) and teacher CPD (continuing professional development). She completed a Masters in Music Education - 'Teaching Musician' at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in 2018. Kay plays trumpet with the Bollywood Brass Band, a 9-piece band of brass and drums whose 2017 CD Carnatic Connection was nominated for a Songlines Magazine 'World Music Award' and given a 5-star review in the London Evening Standard. Kay composes and arranges for the band and leads on their education work, founding the Bollywood Brass Academy in 2017. Kay has presented her research into whole-class teaching at the Music Education Expo and the First Access Forum. She has designed and led CPD for LSO Discovery, Trinity College London, Music Education Solutions and the Bollywood Brass Band, and is an education consultant for Warwick Music. Kay's book of beginner repertoire, 'Are You Ready?', is published by Warwick Music; in 2017 Kay was commissioned by Warwick Music and Music Education Solutions to compose songs for a new KS1 scheme of work for the pBuzz, which was nominated as 'Education Resource of 2018' by the 'Education Awards'. Other publications include pieces for Trinity's Initial (2015/2018) and Grade 1 (2018) piano syllabus, Bollywood Blast! (Spartan Press) - a series of brass and wind tutor books with backing tracks in a Bollywood style - and Whole Class Bollywood Blast with David Rose (Bedford Music Hub), which is aimed at teachers of whole-class instrumental lessons and includes an Arts Award Discover programme. Her MusicGurus courses bring that classroom experience straight to you: from your very first trumpet lesson through two sets of tunes for beginners, Kay sets out exactly what to play and how to play it. www.kaycharlton.co.uk read more