trumpet (idea)

The range of a typical Bb trumpet is about three octaves, the lowest note being F# below middle C. The upper octave is sort of negotiable. Many high school players will have a tough time playing a high C (a C two octaves above middle C). Lead players, or perhaps good lead players, in a high school setting will be able to extend their range higher than a C, possibly up to an E. Professional players can obviously top that. Their range will extend to at least the third G above middle C, and if not higher. Maynard Feguson has some notes in his lead charts extending up to the third C above middle C.

Another important issue is counterpoint. It is rather difficult for a trumpet to run between octaves. Woodwinds can do this rather easily with the help of an octave key. However, brass players must change their embouchure. This is rather difficult to do quickly and repeatedly. This is not to say it is impossible, it is just to ask that a composer doesn't write a trumpet part of random notes from alternating high and low octaves.

There are some tricks that are unique to trumpets which may be useful in jazz composition. One is a valve smear or called 'half valving it'. This is denoted by just a glissando from one note to another or a curve indicating a fall. In either case, the valves are only pressed half way down. The sound that comes out will be a sort of whine, but it will have no distinguishable tone. Dizzy Gillespie was able to give these whines a tone allowing him to have a different tone to his playing. A valve smear will be a glissando like on a trombone, only trumpets have no slide, so the glissando can go even farther down.

Lip trills are a very cool sounding trick. On any Maynard Ferguson album there will undoubtably be lip trills. Lip trills are simply trills done using the lips, and the tongue and throat to an extent. Because the trills are done without keys, there is no sudden change in the note. A lip trill is thus a smoother transistion. Lip trills are done exclusively in the upper octave. This is because the lip trill utilizes the alternate fingerings that are very common in the upper octave.

Another trick is a growl. The first trumpet lick in Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing" (The Chips Ahoy Song for the non-jazz inclined) is a growl. This can be faked using a flutter tongue. The real way is a growl in the back of the throat.

One last trumpet trick, which really isn't much of a trick, is a shake. Shakes sort of sound like a lip trill, but are usually done much lower in the range. To do a shake, a trumpet player will basically shake the trumpet back and forth while sustaining the note. This makes the tone go sharp and flat, sort of sounding like a lip trill. However, doing a shake up top is very difficult since the embouchure has to stay very tight to play high notes. A notation for this is basically the same for a classical trill, only you might want to write 'shake' to get your point across.

Trumpets also can use mutes to affect the tone. One common mute in jazz is the plunger. Plungers create a 'waa waa' sound. In written music, the plunger can be open (denoted by 'o'), half open (1/2 +) or closed (+). Harmon mutes can be used as well. Dizzy Gillespie used a harmon mute a lot on his recordings, or the trumpet part in Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time is Here" has a harmon mute part. This creates a more mellow sound. Cup mutes can muffle the sound as in Glenn Miller's "Tuxedo Junction."