(Part 2) Best books about musical brass instruments according to redditors

First, while it's good that you have ambitions of practicing three hours a day, that's a bit much for a young cat like you. The unfortunate truth is, that due to the physical demands of the instrument, brass players just mature in their playing later. When you're a pro, then maybe consider practicing that long. (There's a joke there, I know) So baby steps, brother. Only practice in 45 minutes sessions, that's what Bud does Consider practicing 20-30 minutes, and taking a 10 minute break? I got through ALL of House of Cards in my practice breaks this summer, and practiced two hours a day, at least.

I like your long tones; those help with tone quality and consistency. Keep it up! Sight-reading is also a skill we need to keep sharp. If you don't use it, you loose it. Read anything and everything.

I would practice multiple tonguing every day, until it's good and warmed up. Stick that in the practice routine daily.

Scales- All your major scales up and down, all your minor scales up and down. Clarke's technical exercises help with this, and help mix it up. Check out that book, and start working on those? Nos. 2 through 5?... Anyway, they're all good. There's also good resources in Arban's.

The last couple things I would add each day are lip slurs, focusing on good tone and minimal jaw movement,

mouthpiece buzzing, to focus your ear. This can be anything. Sirens, pop songs, literally anything with pitch to get your ear going, and your lips ready.

And most importantly, breathing. I always START with good breathing, gently stretching my lungs, getting used to the air it takes to play brass. We are just movers of air, after all. Look up Brian Frederiksen's book Song and Wind First of all, Arnold Jacobs was a beast tuba player and amazing all around musician, but I use a couple breathing exercises that Frederikson (studied with Jacobs) says that Jacobs taught.

So for an example, my normal practice session looks like this per day:

Breathing exercises.
Mouthpiece buzzing.
Long tones- (With a metronome and tuner, here on out)
Lip Slurs
Single tonguing, Multiple tonguing, double, triple, just "Tu"s and just "Ku"s
Scales, Major and Minor, Two octaves.

For my warm-up session, I don't set any time limit that i HAVE to work on something; I just work on it until it feels good. Breathing, slurs, tonguing, etc. Don't belabor a point just because you said you would do 5 minutes of triple tonguing, for instance.
Then I rest. This takes 30-40 minutes, and I rest for at least 15.

The rest of the day, I work on repertoire. So, solos, orchestral excerpts, etudes, ensemble repertoire, jazz standards/improv. I will work on one for at least 20-30 minutes and shed it, and then take a break. Then I move on. You can't conquer Rome in a day, and your brain SOLIDLY works on small things the best, rather than canvassing the whole piece. You need to rest your mind as well. Good practicing is tough work. Always work smarter, not harder.

It took me a LONG TIME to get a good routine down, and mine works even through the summer. You have a lot of ambition and discipline if this is your practice routine, and that's great! Keep it up, and this consistency will give you great gains. Some bastard somewhere said, "in the war between water and rock, water always wins. Not with strength, but with persistence."

Keep up the work, man! The trumpet is a TOUGH instrument.

If you have questions, or want to cuss me out for saying something you disagree with, message me. I'll be happy to field both. Best of luck!


Edit: Formatting, remembered some stuff

Practice time to go with all of the accessorizing.

EDIT: To be a tad less glib... Arban is good to have, though not really the be-all-end-all people make it out to be. It's a book that you need guidance to work out of and doesn't provide any of its own. You can also find a better dedicated book for almost every topic in Arban. I'd beware of people parroting Arban. While it's a great book, I don't think most people actually think about it. They've just heard the term "trumpet bible" so much that they feel like it's the ultimate book for all things. Many of them might not realize (especially if they don't teach themselves) that the reason it was useful to them was because a teacher told them how to use it. If you don't have someone to walk you through, the Prescott Technique System is a fantastic way to work on it. The more modern version is Eric Bolvin's Arban Manual, though I like the former better than the latter, but that may be personal bias. Thing is, I think the PTS is out of print. I keep meaning to find my copy (it's literally a pamphlet) and scan it since I suggest it every time this comes up and it's basically impossible to find.

Clarke Technical is a mainstay. I personally would recommend this book as an alternative or supplement to Clarke. Especially if you want to do jazz, it will provide Clarke like stuff, but will get you off of the page thinking on your own and mastering your technique in every key at a much higher level than Clarke alone.

I'd also suggest picking one or several lip slur books. Collins, Bai Lin, and Irons are the big ones to shop from. They each have a different approach.

Concone Complete Solfeggi is an incredible book, though many people undervalue it or don't know how to use it. It can be fantastic for phrasing, endurance, and transposition.

My personal favorite hidden gem book for multiple tonguing is this one. As a person who has had trouble with multiple tonguing over most of my playing career, this was the book that ultimately solved my biggest problems.

iReal Pro is probably one of the best tools to happen to musicians in recent history. If you want to practice jazz, this is the tool to get almost to the point of being worth getting an iOS/Android device specifically for it.

My go-to metronome is this one (also available on iOS). If you want a physical metronome, the Korg MA-30 is fantastic and extremely durable (mine has had run ins with many walls in my frustrated youth and still works).

I'm sure there's plenty more great resources I'm not thinking of at the moment. There are tons of great etude books out there but I'll let someone else rattle all of those off.

Without question, the best way to learn how to arrange is to put in the work transcribing some of your favorite arrangers and dissecting the way they approach things.

Study the chord progressions they use and analyze their voicing. Break down how they use counterpoint vs. countermelody. Pay attention to how they use every single voice, common articulations, and where in the range do they have each part "live" (1st vs. 2nd vs 3rd).

Write down what you observe about how they do things, try to put it into words. Compare/contrast between arrangers. This will help you better internalize what they are doing and help you to find your own style.

But...

Before doing any of this, however, I suggest to read, read, read. Here are a few books to get your started:

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The Study of Counterpoint - Johann Joseph Fux

https://www.amazon.com/Study-Counterpoint-Johann-Joseph-Parnassum/dp/0393002772/

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Contemporary Counterpoint: Theory & Application - Beth Denisch

https://www.amazon.com/Contemporary-Counterpoint-Theory-Application-Music/dp/0876391838

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Guide to the Practical Study of Harmony - Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky

https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Practical-Study-Harmony-Dover-ebook/dp/B00DGBMH06

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Principles of Orchestration - Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov

https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Orchestration-Dover-Books-Music-ebook/dp/B00DGBMDNM

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Essential Dictionary of Orchestration - Dave Black & Tom Gerou

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Dictionary-Orchestration-Comprehensive-Orchestrators-ebook/dp/B00EUMY7LC

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Treatise on Instrumentation - Hector Berlioz & Richard Strauss

https://www.amazon.com/Treatise-Instrumentation-Dover-Books-Music-ebook/dp/B00DGBMN8C

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Arranging for Horns - Jerry Gates

https://www.amazon.com/Arranging-Horns-Jerry-Gates/dp/0876391455/

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Another excellent resource is Bandestration - https://bandestration.com/

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BONUS:

Another great read that is HIGHLY applicable to writing for marching music is:

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Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics

https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Musical-Acoustics-Second-Revised/dp/048626484X

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If you are interested to explore interplay between wind/percussion arranging and electronics:

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Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer - Andrea Pejrolo

https://www.amazon.com/Acoustic-MIDI-Orchestration-Contemporary-Composer/dp/113880150X/

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Grab a bottle of Al Cass valve oil, a bottle of a bit thicker oil, like Hetman #12 or #13, then some Bach pink tuning slide grease. The Al Cass will be used on the inside of the valves and the Hetman will be used behind the valves and under the valve cap. These three should last you a very long time. I've had my bottle of Al Cass for 3 years now, and my Bach grease for over 5. You'll eventually also want a mouthpiece brush and a lead pipe snake.

In terms of books, it depends on how you learn. If you know nothing about reading music, you can pick up one of the beginning band method books like Essential Elements, but if you are easily bored by simple melodies then this book might not be the one for you. If you are a reader, you may want to consider picking up a horn pedagogy book like Farkas's The Art of Horn Playing, Frøydis Ree Wekre's Thoughts on Playing The Horn Well, or Eli Epstein's Horn Playing From the Inside Out. These books are geared more towards someone who already has some facility on the instrument, but if you lack a teacher, they contain information on things such as embouchure formation, breathing, articulation, dynamics, range, and other things.

The most common etude books are Kopprasch 60 Selected Studies and Maxime Alphonse Deux Cents Etudes Nouvelles, but even at the beginning they are pretty advanced with regard to range and technique. I'd start with Getchell's First Practical Book of Studies for French Horn. There is a second book to this series, but at the end of book one you may want to jump to Miersch's Melodious Studies for French Horn. At the end of that book, you can probably make the jump to Kopprasch.

I'd also grab a scale book like Pares Scales for French Horn, though at the beginning it may exceed your range, so it's fine to wait on this one.

If you have any other questions, let me know!

Edit: as /u/Conn10D said above, I'd highly recommend getting a teacher. Even a month of lessons is enough to nip problems in the bud before they become bad habits that hinder your progress and ultimately take the fun out of it.

Voxman Selected Duets Volume 2 ("advanced" duets) is pretty good for high school and college-level players.

Get these books; I wish I had them when I first started. They work in synergy, developing your tone, range, lip flexibility, and finger speed tremendously.

Systematic Approach to Daily Practice: I call this my "flagship" book because it tells when and how to use the other two books, as well as provide its own tone-and-range-work.

Clarke's Technical Studies: Develops finger speed and endurance.

Walter Smith's Lip Flexibilities: Develops range and lip speed.

And, lastly, a book not normally part of the Systematic Approach,
A Physical Approach to Playing Trumpet: Posture, breathing, hand position, embouchure, etc.

I'm not an expert on trumpet or anything by a longshot, but these books helped me tremendously.

Oh, I almost forgot: Arban's. Basically the Bible of trumpets.

Advanced Modern Rock Improvisation is intense and amazing if you're into taking your rock lead playing to new levels.

Try to get this book if you are going to play lead:

http://www.amazon.com/Take-Lead-Hal-Leonard-Corp/dp/0793551676

Yes, actually. Walter Beeler Method for Cornet/Trumpet, book one is a good book for very little money. Once you get through it, and can confidently play the stuff (at a reasonable level of success, anyway), I'd look into either volume two of the book, or either the first or second volumes of the Getchell etudes books (depending on what you feel comfortable with). One important thing to mention, is that trumpet typically requires a little bit of maintenance practice to keep your face working. When possible, I like to offer this to students in the form of etudes, rather than mundane exercises (unless they really like math or coding).

These are what I use for motivated students. When it comes to the Getchell etudes, as well, I have the competent-enough ones transpose the easier ones into different keys. I may not have a Juilliard studio's worth of kids, but they can typically all do something pretty useful when it comes to playing.

Personally, I like the First Book of Practical Studies for Tuba by Getchell & Hovey. Starts out slow and picks up nicely and definitely throws out mixed meter and complicated rhythms by the end. The second book is great for the same reasons at the next level. The range, key signatures, and etude length are much more accessible than Kopprasch or Bordogni for newbies. Those books can be intimidating to a beginner. Air, then more air.

This book has a lot of fairly easy solos.

Hey, do you have a trombone yet?

Trombone is probably the most straight-forward instrument to learn (except for maybe the voice). My best advice is to practice in front of a mirror. My second best advice is to learn how (and when) to put it down! That might not be so easy if you're coming from a woodwind instrument.

I have some friends who are professional saxophonist/reeds who learned trombone because they also love the instrument. I will be seeing one of them on labour day. I will ask him what he thinks.

This is my favourite book to go back to and practice the basics: http://www.amazon.ca/Studies-Legato-Trombone-Reginald-Fink/dp/0825802458. The preliminary exercises are a great way to benchmark your technique. And the legato studies are a great way to get ready for the Rochut books. You can open the Fink book at any skill level and find something that's worth working on.

You probably already know everything else you need to do to get started. Just put the horn on your face and give it a go!

I like to use the Walter Beeler method books for my beginning students. As you progress, the Arbans is a must-have as /u/Frank_The_Cat9 stated in another comment.

The main tip is know your chords and know how to go from one chord to another with guide tones. You could definitely transcribe horn riffs from Stax etc (Chicago, too!) recording, and there's a series from Hal Leonard that has the horn sections already scored. Horn stuff is also good for phrasing, as those guys have to take a breath to keep playing. ;)

Another thing you could do is cop lines from harmony vocals.

That's what I mean. My suggestions are probably within your skills, but you probably don't know how to interpret and adapt a solo to your abilities yet. Not putting you down, but any collegiate level audition piece suggested needs some coaching.

Start with a Rochut exercise for your legato, but I don't know what solo is within your ability.

Perhaps you should look at the Voxman Selected Studies for a start. You might even consider picking up the baritone book for that price, as well. Either way, I truly believe you would benefit greatly by sitting with a local trombone teacher and discussing this between yourselves. Moreso than asking a bunch of strangers that have never heard you, and you don't know our qualifications.

I studied trumpet at North Texas with Keith Johnson. I cannot recommend his book The Art of Trumpet Playing enough. Unfortunately it's "out of print", so head to your local used book store and see if you can snag a copy, because 80 bucks is highway robbery. He is one of the best teachers I have ever had the pleasure of working with, and he made me into the professional I am today. He taught me more things than I will ever be able to write down, but let me try to share some important pointers...

Practice, practice, practice. It's not going to be easy. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Pick up a copy of the Arban's book. Much of it may seem boring, but it's not called the "trumpet bible" by accident.

Your breathing is the most important part of playing the trumpet. Your trumpet is just the equivalent of a guitar amplifier. Your lips are important as they are the "reed" of the instrument, but your breath trumps all. Forever and always. Breathe deeply and freely. (Oh-Ho ... where oh is intake, ho is outward expulsion of air. Don't force the air, simply "sigh through the horn".)

Your hardware doesn't matter nearly as much as some may try to make you believe. When you are inevitably trying to fix a problem, your airflow (typically the lack thereof) is the culprit 7 times out of 10.

Get into the habit of playing every note more musically than you think you can. You want every note to sound better than the previous one. If you play with this attitude, you'll quickly surprise yourself. Even if you're playing boring, sustained notes, there is music to be made. It is your duty to find it using whatever means necessary.

Playing an instrument is an artform. It is your job to force the listener to pay attention to what you are doing. If you aren't convinced what you're playing is important, no one else will care enough to listen... except maybe your parents, but their opinion is always a little biased.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message.

I believe Rachmaninoff's Vocalise stays fairly low, although there's a bit of challenge from the key signature.

This book also has several great mid-level solos in a reasonable range. (Looks like the Amazon link I'm giving you doesn't include the horn part, though, so I'd look for it at a music shop instead.)

These are my favorite books (I own many) and they have taught me the most. The first is by far the easiest. But it really depends on your level of musical ability--can your read music? Play piano?

https://www.amazon.com/Italian-Favorites-Accordion-Helene-Criscio/dp/1585609730/

https://www.amazon.com/Accordion-Varieties-Complete-Helene-Criscio/dp/1585601101/

https://www.amazon.com/International-Accordion-Favorites-Hornpipes-Two-Steps/dp/0786607327/

https://www.amazon.com/100-Irish-Tunes-Piano-Accordion/dp/0786636041/

https://www.amazon.com/French-Music-Accordion-Mel-Presents/dp/0786616393/

Essentially anything out of a Clarke or Kopprasch studies book would be great for a technical etude. I would look in the Pottag horn book for lyrical exercises.

These books are staples in college so it wouldn't hurt to invest early.

Kopprasch

Clarke

Pottag