"I have to say I'm LOVING your tone right now! Ready to have some more fun?! Below you will find a progressive set of exercises that you can apply your new knowledge of tone and intonation to. Our trumpet expert is here with us as well so you can listen to him play each exercise first, or even play along with him! Ready? Set? Let's gooooo!"
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These 3 Notes are E, D, C
*** You should recognize these notes from the first 5 you just learned! Keep actively listening to your tone and intonation as you play. And speaking of intonation, if you recall your knowledge on trumpet pitch tendencies you will notice that the D you are playing is naturally sharp on the instrument unless you remember to kick out the 3rd valve slide with your left ring finger. Keep this in mind as you are practicing this exercise and those that follow. ***
Catching the Light of the Moon
*** A phrase is a musical sentence. In this exercise, try to keep your air and sound going until you get to each rest. Then you will be playing 4-measure phrases! It may be a challenge at first, but through correct practice and repetition, it can be achieved! ***
Mary Had 3 Little Notes
*** Mary has the same notes you have been playing! You may notice the little 'comma' at the end of the 4th measure. In music, this is known as a breath mark. In addition to long rests, breath marks show where to breath so that you don't interrupt the phrases. ***
Mary's Reaching Higher Now
*** You will notice that an additional note from the beginning method book is being used here. In addition to the D, which is naturally sharp unless played with the 3rd valve slide kicked out, you will also want to take note of the G you are playing, which can sound slightly sharp on the trumpet since it is the 3rd partial when being played with the open fingering. Keep this in mind as you practice this and the next exercise. Time to reach higher! ***
Holidays with ExTon!
*** Whew, this is going to be a workout! Some things to focus on with this longer exercise are the 4-measure phrases, the natural pitch tendencies of D (sharp on the trumpet), G and F (can be slightly sharp since they are both 3rd partial notes), and of course great tone! ***
Flying Along! ...
Wasn't that fun?! Well we're not done yet! Before we bring things back down to earth, there are some clips of master trumpeters for your Listening pleasure we would like to make available so you can continue to train your ear in the pursuit of the perfect tone!