Tag Archives: half valve

The Double-Bell Trumpet

When I first saw Marco Blaauw’s double-bell trumpet, I was fascinated but skeptical. The effects are great, but are they enough to justify this huge modification of the instrument? Not to mention the expense of having one built! I avoided … Continue reading

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Glissandi

Glissandi on the trumpet are kind of a mixed bag. On one hand, the trumpet can produce the super cool falls and doits that are familiar from jazz music. On the other hand, it’s nearly impossible to produce a pure … Continue reading

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Half-Valve

In classical trumpet playing, half-valve sounds are usually unintentional and a sign that you aren’t fully depressing the valve, or that you seriously need to oil your valves because they aren’t coming back up fast enough. This “mistake” has been … Continue reading

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Trills, Shakes and Tremolos

Trills Standard half-step trills are easily played across the trumpet’s entire range using the valves. Whole-step trills can be tricky depending on the pitches and fingerings used. Listed below are the more technically awkward whole-step trills on the trumpet. Tremolos … Continue reading

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Split-Tones

My first venture into split-tones was over ten years ago for a performance of the piece “Humans in Motion” by Canadian composer Annesley Black. If I remember correctly, there was one single split-tone in my part – one of the … Continue reading

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