“Free Arrangement Contest”- Winners

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The results of our “Free Arrangement Contest” are in and the winning entries will be sent out in the next few weeks. I would like to thank all of you that participate in this exercise and we will offer this option again next year. The benefit of the contest has resulted in giving me some ideas as to what kind of arrangements you are interested in as well as the winners receiving free material; so we all benefited from this venture. Thanks again to all and if you have any requests for your ensemble, please contact me and I will…

“Free Arrangement Contest”

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Due to the fact that I have been regularly posting arrangements on our site for the past 13 years (ugh) I, from time to time, run out of ideas to work on. I am offering a contest to my friends which should both generate inspirations for me as well as fill request from my supporters. Below are the rules for this contest. Rule 1. Any song/tune/style/instrumentation/number of players and difficulty can be entered. Rule 2. Only one suggestion can be submitted at a time. Suggest as many as you wish, but each has to be submitted individually. Rule 3. You…

Accuracy Study

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One of the more difficult requirements of trumpet players is coming in on a note with very little reference points. To become more accurate, I have found that isolating notes and playing them short tends to make the player more conscious of where the note must be played. In this recording you are expected to listen to the passage the first time through and then on the repeat, play the same notes as you heard. When a note is centered properly, it has a very distinctive sound which can be describes as “fat” and when the player is a little…

Patriotic Transposition Study

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Transposition sometimes is required for trumpet players. It most often occurs while playing in an orchestral setting but can surface in other venues such as reading out of a Fake Book, transposing from a hymnal or working with bad singers. To a younger player this can be a shock and for that reason I have included this study which uses a melody everyone should be familiar with and in a range most players will feel comfortable. Remember to use your eyes first and if your melody goes astray, your ears will guide you. Eyes first! Ears second! Patriotic Transposition Study