The Really Easy Trumpet Book: Trumpet & Piano Book

These pieces respect the beginner's intelligence while acknowledging their technical reality. Each arrangement pairs a limited trumpet range with a piano part that's genuinely musical, so the accompanist isn't just playing roots and fifths. You'll find your students actually listening to what the piano is doing, not just following along.

Each piece unfolds as a small discovery. The melodies are unpretentious but genuinely shaped, supported by piano writing that ranges from spare and direct to gently colorful. You feel progression not as struggle but as gradual confidence.

Absolute beginners on trumpet or cornet who can produce a steady tone on a handful of notes and are ready to move beyond single-line exercises into actual pieces. This book works for students in their first semester of playing, whether in a school setting or private lessons.

• Balance the tone production across the limited range you're working with; beginners often flip between registers without realizing it, so consistent air support makes the progression from piece to piece audible.
• Work with your pianist on pulse first. These pieces are short enough that a locked-in rhythm section frees the trumpet player to focus on sound quality and phrasing rather than counting.
• Mark the dynamic shapes in pencil before the first run-through. Beginners benefit from seeing that a whole note at the end of a phrase isn't supposed to last forever; let it decay naturally while the piano finishes.

Assign pieces sequentially as students master them, using completed pieces as short recital repertoire throughout the year. A beginner trumpet student can perform one of the early pieces on a student showcase or family recital within the first month or two, which builds momentum and morale.

• Sustaining steady tone across a limited melodic range
• Reading and executing basic phrase shapes and articulation
• Listening to ensemble balance with a piano accompanist
• Understanding how step-by-step transposition of similar melodic patterns builds confidence
• Matching breath placement to logical musical phrases rather than arbitrary phrase lines