How to Play the Trumpet - Fingering Chart & Flashcards
Download the StepWise Trumpet Fingering Chart
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Most trumpet fingering charts do not organize the notes into the overtone series or show the vertical valve combinations, making them less effective at helping students make sense of the notes and fingering on the trumpet. This free chart shows beginning musicians how the notes on the trumpet are organized by fingering and partial, making it much easier to memorize them all!
In these StepWise charts every note fits onto one page, allowing band students to keep the chart on their music stand as a quick reference. Each year as school is beginning I make a few dozen copies of these stepwise fingering charts on cardstock and pass them out to everyone. When used in conjunction with with the fingering flashcards my students make quick note-reading progress, and nobody gets left behind! Download now by right-clicking one of these links. The Essential Range Chart goes up to the 5th partial and high G, and the Extended Range Chart goes up to a high C. | ||
Trumpet Flashcards for Notes and Fingerings
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Trumpet students often learn the fingerings of their Concert B-Flat scale very well, but struggle with playing the correct partial and with the notes in the upper and lower ranges of the instrument. Young trumpeters are famous for playing a B-flat when it should be a B-natural, or an F-natural when it should be an F-sharp!
Whatever knowledge, skills, or concepts your trumpet players may be lacking, these flashcards will dramatically help them. Explanations of the StepWise trumpet fingering chart are provided in the video and the description below. |
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Explanation of the Trumpet Flashcard Fingering Chart
Valves & Fingerings
The Trumpet valves are shown across the bottom of this chart. The valve combinations are organized from shortest (open) to longest (1-2-3), similar to trombone positions. This helps trumpet players memorize the fingerings for chromatic motion.
You may notice that the distance between each valve combination is slightly greater than the one before it. This helps explain why the 3rd valve slide must be used to play the 1-3 and 1-2-3 combinations in tune. |
Partials, Harmonics, or Overtones
Once a trumpet player is pressing the correct valve(s) for a note, the second step is to find the correct Partial (or harmonic, or overtone).
Most fingering charts do not show which partial each note is played on, and this results in many wrong notes for beginning trumpet players. StepWise Fingerings show how high (or how low) the lips must be buzzed to produce the correct pitch. Click on the following link for an excellent article on getting beginning brass players off to a great start:
https://banddirector.com/brass/low-brass-class-teaching-guide/ 
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