Contemporary Strategies for Fundamental Development: Utilizing Extended Techniques to Advance Foundational Trumpet Methodology

With virtuosic soloists continuing to push the boundaries of skill in trumpet performance, so too have composers set new bars that redefine the instrument’s previously conceived limitations. In recent years there has been both a significant increase in the number of solo compositions for the trumpet and a rise in the use of the trumpet as a soloist in the orchestra. Contemporary works are being performed, not just by groups dedicated to new music, but also by major orchestras and ensembles who (in additional to traditional repertoire) present these works in the contexts of new commissions and the performance of recent additions to the accepted repertoire. Along with the new demands being made of the trumpet due to changes in its role in the orchestra, there have been a multitude of new techniques discovered and explored in contemporary literature. This dissertation outlines an original method comprised of studies on these new techniques, built on strategies seen in extant technical performance guides, as well as fundamental method books established by renowned trumpet pedagogues throughout history. This method will synthesize standard trumpet fundamental approach with new techniques in order to introduce them into a student’s regular practice. This will allow trumpet pedagogues to incorporate new standards for trumpet technique into their training of future musicians.