A FOUR YEAR SYLLABUS FOR

APPLIED TRUMPET

Individual Lessons: Skybo Gym

Day and Time: Mondays, times TBD

Instructor: George Vosburgh; vosburghmusic@comcast.net

Course Description

A comprehensive study of standard etudes, concerti, sonatas, and orchestral excerpts set in a progressive curriculum to

promote musical and technical growth in the student. Goals are established each semester culminating in either a jury or

recital, depending on where the student is within the four-year program.

Grading

Lesson Participation : 40 %

Homework Practice : 40 %

Jury/Recital : 20 %

Curriculum

In the interest of standardizing and cataloguing my teaching methods for applied trumpet course work, I am

presenting this methodology, which reflects my teaching philosophy as well as my approach. My intent here is to give

some insight as to my own musical beliefs incorporated into a four year trumpet program which includes the following:

trumpet history, practical performance theory in ensembles, performance technique, fundamentals of trumpet playing, solo

repertoire, chamber music, and orchestral excerpts.

The course work is taken primarily from the following texts and etudes:

Altenburg Trumpeters and Kettledrummers Art Brass Press

Arban Grand Method Leduc
Backus Acoustical Foundations of Music Norton
Benade Horns, Strings, & Harmony Doubleday
Bernstein The Unanswered Questions (Six Talks at Harvard) Harvard
Blum Casals and the Art of Interpretation University of California
Boutry Twelve Studies for Virtuosity Leduc
Brandt Orchestra Etudes and the Last Etudes MCA Music
Charlier Thirty-Six Transcendental Etudes Leduc
Dale Trumpet Technique Oxford

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Green The Inner Game of Music Doubleday
Kliewer Music Reading Prentice-Hall
Petit Grand Etudes Leduc
Pietzsch Die Trompete University Music Press,
Ann Arbor
Pietzsch Twenty Two Virtuosity Studies Southern Music
Schilke Schilke Brass Clinic Schilke
Smith Thirty Modern Etudes Fischer
Tarr The Trumpet Batsford

The program is supplemented by other etudes as well as my own personal studies, which I prescribe to students to

deal with particular technical problems. I work with roughly one hundred etudes, starting freshman on a diet of 80% B-

flat trumpet and 20% C trumpet. In the second year, I increase the C trumpet exposure to 40%, 60% B-flat. In the third

year, the mix becomes 60% C trumpet, 40% B-flat. Also in this year, I encourage the student to begin warming up on the

C, since this is the standard trumpet being played in symphony orchestras worldwide. By the fourth year, I expect the

student to be playing 90% of all practice and performance on the C trumpet. Auxiliary trumpets, such as piccolo, cornet,

flugelhorn, D, E-flat, E, F, G, and rotary trumpet are worked into the program through corresponding repertoire.

For students interested in pursuing jazz or a commercial type career, the C trumpet exposure is greatly decreased.

In its place, I work with the students in the following texts:

Cassel Trumpet Sessions Shawnee

Isacoff Miles Davis - 11 Important Solos Consolidated Music
Bobby Lewis Fifteen Etudes Extraordinaire Colin Music
Bobby Shew Exercises & Etudes Balquhidder

These books deal with increased range, modal scales, and style characteristics which jazz and commercial players

regularly use. In conjunction with my standard program, I feel the jazz student will receive the proper training in the

popular style while maintaining good fundamentals of trumpet technique.

Using these various texts, I guide the student through the fine art of music making on the trumpet. All of my own

interpretations are strongly based on historical considerations relevant to a particular piece or general style. For example,

it is not enough for a student to know that the trumpet part for Strausss Don Juan is in E trumpet. They must understand

why Strauss wrote for a trumpet in E in the first place! When Mahler asks the trumpet to play in the style of a military

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triplet, they must know what particular articulation he is talking about as well as knowing the history of how the military

triplet evolved through the centuries. Concepts of articulation and dynamics have changed drastically in the past two

hundred years. Students must understand that an accent written by Stravinsky is not the same accent written by Mahler,

which is different from the accent written by Wagner. By understanding these differences, the study of history becomes

relevant to the student as a performer.

Similarly, theoretical knowledge of music is vital for performance. A student must be able to identify structural

forms and recognize how their own particular part fits into the entire piece. As I stated earlier, it is not enough for the

student to recognize he or she is playing the third of the chord. The student must understand the different application of

intonation between major thirds and minor thirds, as well as the physics behind why it is necessary to play these intervals

differently.

When I refer to solo technique, I am referring to how a student goes about preparing for a performance. Whether

the performance is full orchestra or a solo recital, preparation is often the greatest key to success. For a trumpet student,

this largely relates to endurance of embouchure. Practice must be regimented to assure the learning of the music, but also

to condition the chops for the particular performance at hand. While every student has different weaknesses and

strengths, I believe in detailed practice schedules similar to Jean-Baptiste Arbans schedule, How to Prepare for a

Competition, which is found in his method book. All too often, I attend a student trumpet recital in which the trumpet

player runs out of endurance before the end of the recital. My methods are proven, and like Arbans, they work to correct

this problem. One part of this method involves the technique of getting the pieces into the chops the same way a

vocalist must get an aria into the voice. This type of conditioning produces strong, confident performances.

The following is a list of recommended solo repertoire:

Works for Trumpet and Orchestra

Baroque

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J.S. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 2
J.S. Bach Cantata No. 51
J. Clarke The Prince of Denmarks March
Corelli Sonata con Tromba
Fasch Concerto in D
Handel (Thilde) Concerto in D
M. Haydn Concerto No. 1 in D
J.M. Molter Concerto No. 2 in D
L. Mozart Concerto in D
Purcell Sonata
Richter Concerto
Telemann Concerto in D
Torelli Concerto in D
Classical

Albrechtsberger Concertino in E-flat

J. Haydn Concerto in E-flat
Hummel Concerto in E

Modern

Dubois Concertino
Jolivet Concerto No. 1 and 2
Krol Magnificat Variations
Persichetti The Hollow Men
Tomasi Concerto

Popular

Anderson Trumpeters Lullaby

Arban Le Carnaval de Venise
Copland Quiet City
Riisager Concertino

Works for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble

Arban Le Carnaval de Venise

Husa Concerto
Mendez La Virgen de la Macarena

Works for Trumpet and Piano

Balay Petite Piece Concertante

H.L. Clarke Sounds from the Hudson
H.L. Clarke Southern Cross
Davies Sonata
Enesco Legend
Hindemith Sonata
Kennan Sonata
Simon Willow Echoes
Tisne Heraldiques

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Wormser Fantasie Theme et Variations

Works for Trumpet and Organ

Jolivet Arioso Barocco

Persichetti The Hollow Men
Thilde Sicilienne et Allegro Baroques

Works for Unaccompanied Trumpet

Adler Canto I
Henderson Variations Movements
Reiche Abblasen

Recommended orchestral excerpts are too extensive to list. It suffices to state that excerpts from the standard

orchestral repertoire are a must.

Thus, through this curriculum a sound foundation for a trumpet studio can be accomplished. I have been teaching

these principles for the past thirty years with great success. With the augmentation of trumpet choir, brass quintet, and

brass choir, this program offers students a wide variety of positive musical experiences, which I hope will ultimately

enrich their lives.

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 Suggested Etudes for Study

Arban 14 Characteristic Studies moderate

Balay 15 Etudes moderate advanced
Bitsch 20 Etudes advanced
Bizet 12 Grand Etudes advanced
Bodet 16 Studies of Virtuosity advanced
Boutry 12 Etudes advanced
Brahms 12 Etudes moderate
Brandt Orchestra Etudes and Last Etudes moderate
Charlier 36 Transcendental Etudes moderate advanced
Clarke 24 Characteristic Studies moderate
Clarke Technical Studies moderate
Dubois 16 Concert Etudes advanced
Duhem 24 Etudes moderate
Geier 11 Studies moderate advanced
Harris Advanced Studies advanced
Laurent Etudes: Book 1 moderate
Perrin 14 Transcendental Etudes and 6 Preludes advanced
Petit Grand Etudes moderate advanced
Pietzsch 22 Virtuosity Studies advanced
Reynolds 48 Etudes advanced
Sachse 100 Etudes moderate advanced
Smith Top Tones 30 Modern Etudes advanced
Werner 40 Studies moderate

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 Suggested Trumpets for Specific Repertoire

Bach Christmas Oratorio Selmer Piccolo in A

B Minor Mass Schilke P54 or Monke 3 valve rotary in B-flat
Beethoven Symphony No. 1 E-flat rotary
Symphony No. 2 Monke D rotary
Symphony No. 3 Monke B-flat or C rotary
Symphony No. 4 Monke B-flat rotary
Symphony No. 5 Monke C rotary
Symphony No. 6 Monke D rotary
Symphony No. 7 Monke D rotary
Symphony No. 8 E-flat rotary
Symphony No. 9 Monke D rotary
Berlioz All cornet parts Schilke C cornet
Faust, low solo 4-valve rotary flugelhorn
Brahms 4 symphonies Monke D rotary
Bruckner Symphonies 1 through 9 Monke C rotaries
Mahler Symphony No. 1 C piston trumpet or Monke C rotary
Symphonies 2 through 9 C piston trumpet
Posthorn solo E-flat trumpet (long bell) with hat
or C trumpet with hat
or C cornet with flugelhorn mouthpiece
kliene piston in Symphonies
No. 7 and 8 Schilke 3-valve piccolo in B-flat
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exibition C piston trumpet
and Schilke P54 with Stoneline mute
Tchaikowsky All cornet parts Schilke C cornet
Ravel Bolero Monke rotary-valve piccolo in B-flat
Strauss All tone poems, all parts C piston trumpet
Note: Low passages in Ein Heldenleben E-flat trumpet part should be played on a B-flat piston
trumpet
Stravinsky Petrouchska 1911 Schilke C cornet
Note: Ending is played on a Schilke P54 in B-flat with Stoneline mute
Sacre du Printemps Selmer piccolo in A with Stoneline mute
Wagner Ring Cycle Monke C rotary

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 Common Sense Audition Strategies

1. Get plenty of sleep the night before the audition.

2. No coffee or soft drinks with caffeine and sugar for at least 24 hours prior to the audition.
3. Stay away from spicy foods for 24 hours before the audition.
4. Eat bland carbohydrates the day of the audition, and stay away from protein.
5. Be sure to drink plenty of water on the day of the audition.
6. Avoid long travel the day of the audition.
7. Dress conservatively.
8. Avoid over warm-up at the audition.
9. Do not engage in trumpet duels with the other auditionees.
10. Try to avoid using your own music
11. Take your time during the audition, but do not take too much time between excerpts.
12. You may play a few notes in the hall before starting the audition.
13. When changing trumpets at the audition, do not play to get accustomed in the hall if the excerpt requires you to
pick up a new trumpet cold in the context of the work.
Examples: Pictures at an Exhibition Goldenberg and Schmuyle
Petrouchka Ending
14. Know the music cold.
15. Play 95% from memory.
16. Do not socialize with the other auditionees until your audition is over.
17. Avoid playing directly into screens or partitions.
18. During the audition, direct any questions to the proctor.
19. Have a copy of your rsum with you.
20. Do not over-play fortissimos.
21. Practice excerpts in difficult orders.
22. Record your playing as often as possible.
23. Remember that your worst audition must be better than everyone elses best audition.

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 Suggested Reference Recordings

Beethoven 9 Symphonies Karajan Berlin Philharmonic

Brahms 4 Symphonies Karajan Berlin Philharmonic
Bruckner Symphony No. 4 Barenboim Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Symphony No. 5 Solti Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Symphony No. 7 Karajan Berlin Philharmonic
Symphony No. 8 Barenboim Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Symphony No. 9 Solti Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Holst The Planets Steinberg Boston Symphony Orchestra
Mahler Symphony No. 1 Honeck Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Symphony No. 2 Bernstein New York Philharmonic (1st recording)
Symphony No. 3 Honeck Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Symphony No. 4 Abbado Vienna Philharmonic
Symphony No. 5 Karajan Berlin Philharmonic
Symphony No. 6 Solti Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Symphony No. 7 Abbado Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Symphony No. 8 Solti Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Symphony No. 9 Giulini Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition Reiner Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ozawa
Solti
Respighi Pines of Rome Maazel Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Roman Festivals Maazel Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Reiner Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 (Organ) Maazel Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Schumann 4 Symphonies Karajan Berlin Philharmonic
Strauss Alpine Symphony Janowski Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Karajan Berlin Philharmonic
Also Sprach Zarathustra Karajan Berlin Philharmonic
Death and Transfiguration Karajan Berlin Philharmonic
Don Juan Solti Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Don Quixote Maazel Bavarian Radio Orchestra
Reiner Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ein Heldenleben Bohm Vienna Philharmonic
Sinfonia Domestica Karajan Berlin Philharmonic
Til Eulenspiegel Solti Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky Firebird Suite Shaw Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Petrouchka Dutoit London Symphony Orchestra
Rite of Spring Boulez Cleveland Orchestra
Tilsin Thomas Boston Symphony Orchestra
Wagner Ring Cycle Solti Vienna Philharmonic
Parsifal Karajan Berlin Philharmonic

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 A Brief Chronology of Important Works for Brass

1807 Beethoven Symphony No. 5

1820 FIRST VALVED TRUMPET INTRODUCED (Stoelzel and Bluhmel)
1823 Beethoven Symphony No. 9
1828 Schubert Symphony No. 9
1829 Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
1842 Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3
1845 Liszt Les Preludes
1846 Schumann Symphony No. 2
1851 Schumann Symphony No. 3
1867 Wagner Die Meistersinger
1870 Wagner Die Walkure
1873 Bruckner Symphony No. 3
1874 Wagner Gotterdammerung
1877 Brahms Symphonies No. 2 and 3
1877 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
1880 Brahms Academic Festival Overture
1883 Brahms Symphony No. 3
1883 Bruckner Symphony No. 7
1885 Brahms Symphony No. 4
1888 Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade
1888 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5
1889 R. Strauss Don Juan
1889 Mahler Symphony No. 1
1889 Dvorak Symphony No. 8
1890 R. Strauss Death and Transfiguration
1892 Bruckner Symphony No. 8
1893 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6
1894 Dvorak Symphony No. 9
1895 Mahler Symphony No. 2
1895 R. Strauss Til Eulenspiegel
1896 R. Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra
1897 Sousa The Stars and Stripes Forever
1898 R. Strauss Ein Heldenleben
1899 Debussy Fete
1902 Mahler Symphony No. 3
1902 Sibelius Symphony No. 2
1904 Mahler Symphony No. 5
1905 Debussy La Mer
1908 Ravel Rapsodie Espangole
1910 Ravel Daphnis et Chloe
1910 Stravinsky The Firebird
1911 Stravinsky Petrouchka
1913 Stravinsky Le Sacre du Printemps
1917 Respighi Fountains of Rome
1924 Respighi Pines of Rome
1928 Ravel Bolero

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