Playing a musical instrument is a good way to spend your time and improve abilities, both physical and mental. The part of choosing your instrument might be slightly confusing and take some time, and it’s impossible to decide without taking a closer look at some of them. Let’s focus on a trumpet today and see what do you need in order to master this brass instrument.

Trumpet Tips for Beginners​

If you look at it, you might think it’s hard enough to play it, but once you try and do at least something simple with it – you’ll fall in love with the sound. The trumpet has been the instrument of choice for a lot of black musicians throughout history and that is one reason I want to focus on it here. This site will always highlight African Americans in music.

• Get yourself an instrument.
  Before you start playing, you need to get your own trumpet, of course. Don’t rush to a store and get the most expensive thing there is, students’ trumpets often come unlabeled, but check the instrument itself to make sure it’s not damaged anywhere and all ready for you to use it.
• Practice sounds without your trumpet.
  If you just got yourself an instrument and don’t understand what to do with it yet, don’t push the valves or try to blow into the horn, actually find some basic trumpet sounds and try to do them without your instrument at first. Even mastering this basic buzzing sound can take you quite some time, so prepare yourself for that.
• Master correct breathing.
  Make sure you always take this good deep breath and don’t tense up. Try to relax your shoulders, if possible – imagine the air coming down to your lungs and filling all of you. Remember, when trying to play the brass instrument – air and breathing are crucial.
• Learn how to hold it.
  There are many keys to that one. Trumpet is a fairly complicated instrument, so make sure you treat it right. Even the way you press the valves is important, since if you’re doing it wrong – you’ll soon get jamming.
• Practice makes perfect.
  This is the most important thing so far. Playing will be hard, you’ll probably feel like giving up and forgetting it all, but that’s how the learning goes. Try to practice daily and do it calmly, no rush, even some minutes a day are better than nothing.
• Get a good espresso machine.
  A good coffee machine can make all the difference. I never liked coffee until I got myself an expensive espresso machine. Now I love coffee, which means I’m not just sucking it down to give me a boost, but actually enjoying the moment and really relaxing. That brief moment outside the daily stresses adds to the caffeine boost and really gives me the jolt I need to work extra hard.

Why Learn Trumpet?

Since this instrument is indeed quite difficult to master, let’s look what benefits are you getting from mastering it.

• Trumpet involves your breathing and is technically good for your lungs and health in general. Plus, it will feel good. Like the breathing yoga techniques or meditation breathing skills, it makes you feel connected and nice.
• The sound itself.
  It’s awesome and different and there are plenty of different pieces of music to master. Trumpet sounds heroic and deep, and this is probably why it’s so often comes in front of other in an ensemble.
• Inspiring players.
  Even Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis are worth learning it. But there are many others, and watching them playing is an amazing experience.
• Comparing to other instruments, trumpets are fairly cheap and you can definitely spare some money to get yourself one, maybe even a used one from a student. There is nothing bad about that, as long as you check the instrument itself and it’s not damaged.

As you see, the instrument itself is worth trying to learn. Yes, it might be difficult enough, but the challenge only makes the desire stronger. And if you ever think you don’t have enough motivation to continue – watching Armstrong will give you inspiration and open this second breath in you.