🎯 12-Week Intermediate Trumpet Curriculum

Practice Time: 60–90 minutes per day, 5–6 days per week.

Week 1: Foundation Reloaded – Warm-Ups & Tone Control

Focus: Reinforce breath support, tone production, and muscle memory.
Goals: Establish consistency in tone and setup.

Daily Work:
• 📘 The Ultimate Warm-Up Book – First 3 pages daily (Tone Builders + Lip Slurs)
• 🟦 Stamp: Warm-Ups Plus Studies – Basic Warm-Up + Octave Expansions
• 🟦 Schlossberg: Daily Drills – #6, #9, #17 (Slurs, Octaves, Tongue Slur Combos)
• 🎯 Buzz mouthpiece 3 minutes with long tones (concert F – Bb range)


Week 2: Scale Mastery & Dexterity Boost

Focus: Key signatures, finger independence, clean transitions
Goals: Master major and minor scales (up to 3 sharps/flats)

Daily Work:
• 📘 The Ultimate Technical Studies Book – Scale-Based Patterns, Pages 5–7
• 🟦 Pares: Scales – Major + Harmonic Minor exercises
• 🟦 Rubank Intermediate Method – Technical Etudes, p. 18–23
• 🎯 Play scales tongued up, slurred down—two octaves when possible


Week 3: Clean Articulation & Double Tonguing

Focus: Precise tonguing, speed, clarity, rhythmic control
Goals: Develop clean single/double tonguing at MM = 100+

Daily Work:
• 📘 The Ultimate Warm-Up Book – Articulation Grid, Pages 6–7
• 🟦 Arban Method – Articulation Studies 27–34
• 🟦 Clarke: Technical Studies – Study I + II (Slur/Tongue Contrast)
• 🎯 Alternate “tah-tah” and “tuh-ku” patterns with metronome


Week 4: Flexibility Focus – Slurs, Lip Strength, Range

Focus: Smooth intervals, embouchure power, airflow
Goals: Slur across registers without tension

Daily Work:
• 📘 The Ultimate Warm-Up Book – Lip Slur Series (Pages 10–13)
• 🟦 Colin: Advanced Lip Flexibilities – Set A & B
• 🟦 Hovaldt: Lip Flexibility – Exercises 3–7
• 🎯 Top of each session: Slur low G to high C (10x, rest between sets)


Week 5: Transposition & Key Awareness

Focus: Transposing melodies + etudes into C, F, Eb
Goals: Improve mental flexibility, ear training, and reading

Daily Work:
• 🟦 Broiles: Have Trumpet… Will Transpose – Lessons 1–5
• 🟦 Bordogni/Porret: 24 Vocalises – Transpose Vocalise #1 and #2
• 🟦 Chavanne: Characteristic Studies – #1 in F and C
• 🎯 Improvise a melody in two keys daily after warm-up


Week 6: Etude Expressiveness – Tone Meets Technique

Focus: Phrasing, style, line, and flow
Goals: Play with intentional dynamics and musical breath

Daily Work:
• 🟦 Hering: 32 Etudes – #2 and #4
• 🟦 Laurent: Etudes Pratiques Vol. 1 – #1–3
• 🟦 Gallay: 22 Exercises – #5 and #8
• 🎯 End session with 1 recorded etude, evaluate phrasing


Week 7: Advanced Technical Control

Focus: Speed, clarity, clean fingers, breathing coordination
Goals: Improve speed without sacrificing tone

Daily Work:
• 📘 The Ultimate Technical Studies Book – Chromatic and Dexterity Routines (Pages 12–17)
• 🟦 Goldman: Practical Studies Vol. 2 – #10–15
• 🟦 Zauder: Embouchure Studies – Set A
• 🎯 Breath Gym: Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale slow – 3 sets


Week 8: Etude Artistry & Advanced Style

Focus: Contrast, rhythmic complexity, phrasing with intent
Goals: Interpret and perform diverse styles confidently

Daily Work:
• 🟦 Brandt: 34 Studies – #9 and #10
• 🟦 Maniscalco: Sonorità e Tecnica Vol. 1 – Etude 3 and 4
• 🟦 Bousquet: 36 Celebrated Studies – #6 and #7
• 🎯 Journal your daily musical decisions (accents, breaths, tone choices)


Week 9: Orchestral Awareness & Concert Preparation

Focus: Orchestral excerpt execution + endurance
Goals: Blend sound, match articulation, understand context

Daily Work:
• 🟦 Sachs: Orchestral Studies – Mahler 5 opening, Pictures at an Exhibition
• 🟦 Arban: Theme & Variation Solo – Choose one, begin slow practice
• 🎯 Play full-page excerpts at 80% tempo with drone pitch


Week 10: Endurance & High Register Control

Focus: Sustained strength and consistency in upper range
Goals: Play high G-A-Bb comfortably without pressure

Daily Work:
• 📘 The Ultimate Warm-Up Book – Upper Register Builders (Pages 14–15)
• 🟦 Glantz: The Complete Harry Glantz – High note exercises
• 🟦 Clarke: Setting Up Drills – Exercises 5–7
• 🎯 Rest equally as much as you play; use timer


Week 11: Wedding Performance Readiness

Focus: Control under pressure, beautiful tone, timing cues
Goals: Prepare and perform 3 full wedding pieces

Daily Work:
• 📘 The Ultimate Wedding Book
• Trumpet Tune – Henry Purcell
• Rondeau (Theme) – Mouret
• Wedding March – Mendelssohn
• 🎯 Perform each piece with click track and breath cues
• 🎯 Practice all dynamic and tempo markings accurately


Week 12: Mock Recital & Integration Week

Focus: Perform full routine + etude + solo
Goals: Apply all techniques in performance setting

Daily Work:
• 📘 Choose one piece from Ultimate Wedding Book for recital
• 🟦 Choose one lyrical + one technical etude (Brandt + Bousquet)
• 🟦 Perform Arban Theme & Variation or Maniscalco Etude
• 🎯 Record full recital and self-review with rubric


✅ Final Practice Call to Action:

Ready to dominate the horn? This isn’t just a curriculum—it’s a full-spectrum training plan built by real players, for real players.
Use The Ultimate Warm-Up Book to center your sound.
Dive deep into precision with The Ultimate Technical Studies Book.
And when it’s time to perform, The Ultimate Wedding Book makes your playing shine with elegance and control.

Every note you play, every breath you take—it’s one more step toward brass mastery.

My Three Books:
Droste: The Ultimate Warm Up For Trumpet (Windy Town)
Droste: The Ultimate Wedding Book For Trumpet (Windy Town)
Droste: The Ultimate Technical Study Trumpet (Windy Town)


MEDIUM TO MEDIUM-DIFFICULT METHOD BOOKS

Arban: Complete Conservatory Method, ed. Goldman and Smith (C. Fischer)

Bordogni: 24 Vocalises, trans. Porret (transposition) (A. Leduc)

Bousquet: 36 Celebrated Studies, ed. Goldman (C. Fischer)

Brandt: 34 Studies and 24 Last Studies, ed. Vacchiano (Belwin-Mills)

Broiles: Have Trumpet . . . Will Transpose (transposition) (C. Colin)

Chavanne: 25 Characteristic Studies, ed. Voisin (International)

Cichowicz: Flow Studies

Clarke: Technical Studies (C. Fischer)

Clarke: Setting Up Drills (C. Fischer)

Clodomir: Methode complete, ed. Job (A. Leduc)

Colin: Advanced Lip Flexibilities (C. Colin)

Endresen: Supplementary Studies (Rubank)

Gallay: 22 Exercises, ed. Maire (A. Leduc)

Glantz: The Complete Harry Glantz (C. Colin)

Goldman: Practical Studies (C. Fischer)

Gower and Voxman (ed.): Rubank Advanced Method (Rubank)

Hering: 32 Etudes (C. Fischer)

Hovaldt: Lip Flexibility (R. King)

Kopprasch: 60 Studies, ed. Gumbert and Herbst, 2 vols. (C. Fischer)

Laurent: Etudes pratiques, 3 vols. (A. Leduc)

Maniscalco: Leonardo Maniscalco, trumpet player with the Rome Opera House orchestra, has published two books of trumpet etudes. La sonorità e la tecnica, vols 1 and 2. I really like these!!!

Pares: Scales (Rubank)

Rubank: Trumpet Method, Book 2

Sachs: Orchestral Studies - Orchestral Excerpts for Trumpet

Saint-Jacome: Grand Method (C. Fischer)

Salvation Army: 101 Technical Exercises (Salvation Army)

Schlossberg: Daily Drills and Technical Studies (M. Baron)

Skornicka: Rubank Intermediate Method (Rubank)

Smith: Lip Flexibility (C. Fischer)

Staigers: Flexibility Studies, 2 vols. (C. Fischer)

Stamp: Warm-ups plus Studies (Editions Bim)

Vacchiano: Trumpet Routines (C. Colin)

Zauder: Embouchure & Technique Studies (C. Colin)