Gear List: What Every One of My Students Must Own
Essential Sheet Music, Gear and Books for Trumpeters
I get lots of questions about what gear I use, what etude books I use in my teaching, and what I expect my students to bring on their first day at Ithaca College. Well, folks, this is that list. If you are an IC student, you will have already seen this in an email from yours truly, but you can use this post as a reference.
NEW: COVID-19 SAFETY GEAR (REQUIRED FOR IN-PERSON LESSONS/REHEARSALS ONLY)
REQUIRED GEAR
In addition to a list of everything you need to get started, I’ve included links to buy everything to make your life easier (thank me later). I tend to shop at Amazon, SheetMusic Plus and Hickey's. Each vendor has it’s advantages, and if price matters to you, its’ worth noting that the cheapest price isn’t always found at the same store. Hickey’s, as you know, is local to Ithaca, has nearly everything in stock, can deliver to IC for free and has excellent service. Amazon delivers quickly and for free if you have Prime for most products. As a student, you can get Amazon Prime free for 6 months and 1/2 price after that (until you graduate). Non-students can get Amazon Prime here, and using this link helps support this site. SheetMusicPlus has an enormous selection and great prices. In the end, how you shop is your choice, and the links will only help you research the best prices and get everything you need quickly and easily.
Sheet music:
* Arban - Complete Method (SheetMusicPlus | Amazon | Hickey’s)
* Clarke - Technical Studies (SheetMusicPlus | Amazon | Hickey’s)
* Clarke - Characteristic Studies (SheetMusicPlus | Amazon | Hickey’s)
* Charlier - 36 Etudes Trancendantes (SheetMusicPlus | Amazon (out of stock) | Hickey’s)
* Brandt - 34 Etudes (Nagel) (SheetMusicPlus | Amazon (not available for Prime shipping) | Hickey’s)
* Schlossberg - Daily Drills and Technical Studies for Trumpet (SheetMusicPlus | Amazon | Hickey’s)
* Concone - Lyrical Studies (SheetMusicPlus | Amazon (not available for Prime shipping) | Hickey’s)
* Bai Lin - Lip Flexibilities (SheetMusicPlus | Amazon | Hickey’s)
* Gekker - Articulation Studies (SheetMusicPlus | Amazon (not available for Prime shipping) | Hickey’s)
* Irons - 27 Groups of Exercises (SheetMusicPlus | Amazon | Hickey’s)
Instrument, mutes and cleaning supplies:
* TE Tuner App (iOS | Android)
* Professional Bb trumpet (Ex: Bach Stradivarius 37 Yamaha Chicago, or equivalent). Must have adjustable 1st and 3rd valve slides.
* 3rd valve slide extra long stop (required for performance majors only) (Hickey's)
* Valve oil (Hetman #2 or Monster), tuning slide grease (Hetman #10) and slide lubricant (Hetman #7) and cleaning supply kit: snake, mouthpiece and valve brush (Amazon | Hickey's)
* Metal straight mute: Denis Wick (Amazon | Hickey's), Tom Crown (Amazon | Hickey's) or Jo-Ral (Amazon | Hickey's)
* Cup mute: Denis Wick Adjustable (Amazon | Hickey's) or Humes & Berg "Stonelined" (Amazon | Hickey's)
* Harmon mute - wow-wow (good) (Amazon | Hickey’s) or Jo-Ral Harmon (best) (Amazon)
NOTE: Additional etude books and solos will be required on an individual basis. While a lot of music is available for free (in the library or IMSLP.org), please budget and expect to purchase more music over the course of your time at IC. This is music you will use for the rest of your life.
STAY IN TOUCH
If you haven't already, be sure to be a part of digital iteration of the IC Trumpet Studio community by joining the IC Trumpets Facebook Page and IC Trumpet Facebook Group (past and present), @ICTrumpetStudio onInstagram and @ICTrumpets on Twitter! I also have my own Facebook,Instagram and Twitter pages as well as this blog where I post trumpet tips and other relevant media worth checking out.
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Warning: This étude is HARD.
Florestan, the 6th movement from Robert Schumann’s famous (and EPIC) piano work, Carnaval, is not the first piece you might want to make into a trumpet étude, but after recording it with Canadian Brass on this album here, I couldn’t help but play as many of the parts as possible, trying to fill in as many of the moving lines I could. This evolved into the etude below–definitely one of the most difficult I’ve ever arranged.
If you think you might want to take a crack at it, I’m practically giving it away (you can download it for just $3).
I’m also hosting a contest to see who (if anyone) can make musical sense of it. Enter to win by recording a video and posting it anywhere on the internet. Just be sure to use the humble hashtag #BestEtudeEver so I can find it.
The prize is negotiable (i.e. it’s up to the winner!) but will be cool, I promise.
Some trumpet tips:
Keep it easy. This étude is all over the map; play nice and light or risk ruining your chops forever (hehe, dramatic, I know)
Focus on the contrasting musical styles–tyhey change quiet frequently and sporadically. Listen to a sample of Canadian Brass’ version below.
Good luck!
-Chris
PS You might also like Coquette, another difficult etude from Carnaval.