Selections from Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Instrumental Solos, Volume 2: Trumpet Book & CD

Familiar, celebratory, and instantly gratifying. These are songs people recognize and love, arranged so the trumpet carries the melody with confidence. You get the pleasure of playing something beloved without the intimidation of advanced technique.

Intermediate trumpet students (Level 2-3) ready to move beyond traditional solo literature and connect with music they actually know. Band directors looking to offer students a motivating alternative to classical concerti while keeping the technical demand manageable.

• Listen to both the demo and play-along tracks before rehearsing. The demo shows you the solo's melodic intent and phrasing, while the play-along provides the exact tempo and harmonic context you'll perform with.
• Pay attention to dynamics and articulation markings in the part. These songs depend on style and feel, not just correct notes. A crisp tongue on 'I Got You (I Feel Good)' sounds completely different from the legato phrasing that works for 'All I Have to Do Is Dream.'
• Balance blend with projection. When playing with the CD, your tone needs to cut through the accompaniment, but the arrangement expects you to sit within the orchestration rather than dominate it.

Solo and Ensemble festival or winter band concert programming works well, especially if you want students to perform outside the classical tradition. These arrangements also work as a set for a casual pops concert or as motivation-builders during a unit on musical arrangement and reinterpretation.

• Phrasing and stylistic interpretation across rock, pop, soul, and disco idioms
• Balance and blend when performing with recorded accompaniment
• Articulation and tonguing variety appropriate to different song styles
• Reading and executing dynamic and articulation markings that shape melodic character