The Baroque Trumpet: Trumpet and Piano Book

These pieces sparkle with the clarity and grace characteristic of Baroque writing for trumpet. The collection balances formal structures (Sonatas and Rondeau forms) with shorter dances and airs, creating variety within a coherent musical language; the accompaniments sit back gracefully, letting the trumpet's natural brilliance speak.

Trumpet students working at early intermediate level and beyond will find authentic baroque literature that sounds and feels idiomatic to their instrument. Teachers building comprehensive solo repertoire lists appreciate having sixteen substantial pieces in one source, each short enough for recital programming without overwhelming preparation demands.

• Attend to articulation style across the collection; Baroque trumpet writing favors clean tonguing and shorter note values than modern legato convention suggests.
• Balance the trumpet line with the piano accompaniment by thinking of the keyboard as harmonic support rather than equal partnership; this is fundamentally solo repertoire.
• Explore the ornamentation possibilities inherent in these pieces. Miller's straightforward notation invites informed interpretation of graces and turns where the style permits.
• Work rhythmic precision in the dance movements (Ecossaise, Minuet, Rondeau) first; once the rhythm settles, the melodic character emerges naturally.

Students can draw one or two pieces from this collection for studio recitals throughout the year without committing to a full Baroque program. Alternatively, program three to five selections consecutively to anchor a concert segment in authentic period literature, or rotate selections as contest and festival repertoire across multiple years since the collection provides enough variety to prevent repetition.

• Reading Baroque rhythmic conventions and articulation patterns
• Phrasing and breath placement in structured melodic forms
• Ornamentation and embellishment appropriate to period style
• Balancing technical demands with musical expression in relatively modest ranges
• Accompanying awareness (following the piano without being driven by it)