4 Studies for Faster Fingers + Faster Lips
Developing fast fingers is one of the quickest and easiest upgrades one can make to their playing.
Unlike lip flexibility and range which can take a lifetime to develop, fast fingers is something that improves with simple repetition.
The problem?
It can be really boring.
The solution?
FINGERLIP TWISTERS (yep, that’s a thing now.)
In an effort to help make your fingers as fast as possible, I scoured the repertoire for the toughest licks in classical music, and here’s what came of it: 5 finger dexterity studies that sound great (the exercises are snippets of Beethoven, Paganini, Bach and other greats, after all), are fun to learn yet difficult to master. And like any good finger speed study, they can’t be outgrown – one can always make them cleaner, faster, in more keys, etc.
Most importantly, they work for me and they work for my students, and as such result are quickly becoming a standard addition to standard trumpet method books! Did I mention these make a great gift for trumpet players? :)
Enjoy!
-Chris
I wrote this Range Extender / Advanced Lip Flexibility Exercise for myself and my students and all I can say is this: It works.
Flexibility is perhaps the most important and difficult to teach technical aspect of brass playing, particularly for trumpet players.
Well, actually, “flexibility and articulation.”
Fortunately flexibility and articulation go hand-in-hand as mastering these aspects of playing is achieved by mastering your air. This exercise does just that AND increases your range by bringing the notes closer together.
This is an advanced exercise, however. It won’t do much good unless a high C above the staff is already part of your working range.
If this sounds like you, I promise you’ll be impressed with how easy your high notes feel, how rich your sound is, and how much easier the trumpet feels in general after doing these for 1-3 weeks.
The 5th variation from Bach’s incredible Goldberg Variations arranged trumpet duet by Chris Coletti. Works best with two Bb trumpets or C trumpets.