First Division Band Method, Part 4: B-flat Cornet (Trumpet) Book

This method has proven itself across millions of students and decades of classroom use. The B-flat cornet/trumpet book maintains the same carefully sequenced learning path that made the series indispensable, giving your beginning brass players a solid foundation in fundamentals without unnecessary complications.

Straightforward and methodical. The material progresses logically from basic breathing and fingering through early melodies and rhythmic patterns, building confidence through repetition and incremental challenge rather than leaps in difficulty.

Beginning trumpet and cornet players in the first year of instruction, working through a structured band curriculum. This book pairs well with ensemble rehearsals where students are learning to play together while building individual technique.

• Establish steady air support from the beginning; the exercises in this book require consistent breath control to maintain tone quality across the range presented.
• Work slowly through new material before increasing tempo; rushing past the foundational fingering patterns undermines the method's pedagogical design.
• Use a tuner during practice to develop pitch awareness early, especially as students encounter notes that demand precise embouchure adjustment.
• Coordinate with your other brass players using the same series to build unison rhythm and intonation skills across the section.

Use this as the primary learning tool during your first-year band's fall and winter rehearsal season. The exercises and songs complement ensemble warmups and technical work, reinforcing concepts students encounter when playing full-band arrangements.

• Proper embouchure formation and breath support
• Valve coordination and basic fingering patterns
• Whole note, half note, quarter note, and eighth note rhythms
• Pitch accuracy and tone control in the low and middle register
• Sight-reading of melodic lines in treble clef
• Counting and maintaining steady tempo