FREE The Ultimate Warm Up For Trumpet by Michael Droste - 50 page excerpt. The entire book is 100+ pages.

The Ultimate Trumpet Warm-Up Guide: A 10-Step Daily Routine
Unlock your full potential with this comprehensive guide to trumpet fundamentals, range building, and tone production.

Are you looking to improve your tone, increase your range, or simply maintain your chops with a consistent daily routine? According to Michael Droste’s The Ultimate Warm Up, the secret lies in how you structure your practice. Droste suggests that for maximum results, two-thirds of your practice time should be devoted to warm-ups, with the remaining third used for repertoire and etudes.

Whether you have 30, 60, or 90 minutes to practice, consistency is key - never skip more than one day of practice to maintain your progress. This guide breaks down the essential chapters of a complete trumpet warm-up.

Trumpet Warm Up Exercises Part 1: Getting Your Air Moving
Target Tempo: 60 bpm
Air is the absolute foundation of playing the trumpet; it is the secret to great tonguing, range, and tone production. Before you even play a note, you must prepare your body and lungs.
* The Concept: Visualize your air as a continual stream of water flowing from a kitchen faucet—constant and never stopping.
* Low vs. High Notes: Low notes require a greater volume of air (think of a large tube), while high notes require fast air (think of blowing through a small straw).
Daily Breathing Exercises:
* Stretching: Perform slow upper body twists and reach for the sky to open up the rib cage.
* In and Out: Inhale for 6 counts and exhale for 6 counts while raising and lowering your arms.
* Voldyne/Breathing Bag: Use respiratory training devices to track your lung capacity and practice steady airflow.
* Inhalation Exercise: Place the back of your hand against your mouth, inhale against the resistance, and then quickly remove your hand to let the lungs fill instantly [cite: 109-111].

Trumpet Warm Up Exercises Part 2: Lip Buzzing
Target Tempo: 60 bpm | Duration: Max 5 minutes
Lip buzzing amplifies what you will eventually put into the horn. The goal here is not endurance but tone quality.
* Focus: Create a full, rich, buzzing sound.
* Technique: If your buzz is thin or weak, your trumpet sound will be too. Listen to yourself or record your buzzing to ensure it is musical and pleasing.

Trumpet Warm Up Exercises Part 3: Mouthpiece Work
Target Tempo: 60 bpm
This section isolates your embouchure without the resistance of the trumpet.
* The Grip: Hold the mouthpiece with only your thumb and forefinger at the very end. This prevents you from using excessive pressure against your lips.
* The Goal: Maintain a constant airflow. Perform glissandos (slides) from mid-range down to pedal tones and back up. If your sound is thin, devote more energy here.

Trumpet Warm Up Exercises Part 4: Long Tones
Target Tempo: 60 bpm
Long tones are the standard for building a beautiful tone. It is possible to make beautiful music simply by playing long tones if you focus on the quality of sound.
* Execution: Keep the air constant and flowing. Listen for a sound that is full, rich, and warm.
* Routine: Play through mid-range to low notes, ensuring steady pitch and volume.

Trumpet Warm Up Exercises Part 5: Tonguing
Target Tempo: 80 bpm
Effective tonguing relies on an uninterrupted airstream.
* The Analogy: Think of the "kitchen faucet" again. Imagine flicking a butter knife quickly through the stream of water. The water (air) continues to flow constantly, while the knife (tongue) lightly separates it.
* Syllables: Vary your articulation using syllables like da, dee, do and ta, tee, to.

Trumpet Warm Up Exercises Part 6: Flexibility (Lip Slurs)
Target Tempo: 60–80 bpm
Flexibility is the ability to move between notes smoothly without using valves (e.g., C to G to C).
* Mastery: You must master movement between valve combinations (Open, 2nd, 1, 1-2, etc.).
* Air Speed Adjustment: As you slur downward, visualize saying "ah" (volume of air). As you slur upward, visualize saying "e" (speed of air)

Trumpet Warm Up Exercises Part 7: Scales
Target Tempo: 60–80 bpm
This chapter ensures fluidity across the horn. You should practice Major, Minor, Harmonic Minor, and Melodic Minor scales in all keys.
* Technique: Keep the air flowing constantly as you cross between octaves.
* Variation: Practice these both slurred and tongued to improve versatility.

Trumpet Warm Up Exercises Part 8: Range Study
Building high range requires a systematic approach focusing on air speed rather than physical force. Droste outlines four critical steps for high notes:
* High Pressure Air Tank: Take a full breath and pressurize the air (think of a compressed air tank).
* Tongue Position: Say "ee." This arches the tongue, creating a smaller oral cavity that forces the air to move faster.
* Lip Position: Squeeze your lips together as if holding a tennis ball with your fingertips. Use a "Superchop" pivot where the bottom lip curls slightly in.
* Super Fast Air Stream: Release the air with incredible velocity—like a Mach 4 fighter jet. Do not puff your cheeks.
Note: High notes require fast air, not necessarily a huge quantity of air.

Trumpet Warm Up Exercises Part 9: Flow Studies
Target Tempo: 60–80 bpm
The final technical step is about musicality.
* Visualization: Sing the phrase in your mind with the most beautiful voice imaginable, then reproduce that exact sound on the trumpet
* Phrasing: Think across the bar line. Treat each line as a complete musical idea rather than individual notes.

* Practice Log: Track the time spent on each section (Air, Buzzing, Long Tones, etc.).
* Reflection: End every session by noting "Three Things I Learned Today" to keep your practice focused and intentional.

Part 9 and 10 is in the Full 100 page book on the Store