I have now been learning some fun Disney tunes on my trumpet and I’m sure all my neighbours love me.

The first song I’ve been learning is Beauty and the Beast because yes it is a classic, but also because it’s range is below the staff A and the one octave higher C than middle C. This is a range I have always felt most comfortable in as anyone who has played a trumpet knows the pains of high notes…especially when you haven’t played any in years. This piece starts off in the key of B flat and then switches halfway to be F sharp. My challenges when first playing this piece was getting to the low notes after playing for example a G because G to low A is all about embrasure, and I am still struggling there. But once I am all warmed up it gets much easier and the piece is even more enjoyable to play.

I’m sure you know the song but for reference it is all 4 eighth notes followed by either a half or a full note. So stylistically easy but for me I’ve been trying to develop decent tongueing to really differentiate the notes. The song is meant to be played lyrically but I feel thee notes aren’t meant to slide into each other.

For practicing my breath support I’ve been playing A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes from Cinderella it is a slower song and the notes range from holding from a regular quarter note to a held 7 beats long. It is a fairly easy tune but my lungs need a  lot of support in re-learning the trumpet so I make sure to play this a few times every time I play the trumpet. Also the benefit to playing tunes such as this is helping my overall tone, last week I was shakey and the notes were shakey, but practicing and practicing is improving my tone and the depth of the sound.