Trumpet Player Fully Diminished Arpeggios

Fully Diminished Arpeggios

Trumpet Player Level

Aside from the chromatic scale, fully diminished etudes are typically a trumpeters first opportunity to explore symmetric sounds.

What does the word “symmetric” mean in music?

Most scales and arpeggios are built using different sized intervals. For example, a major arpeggio is built by using a major third on the bottom and a minor third on the top. A minor arpeggio uses a minor third on the bottom and major third on the top.

In the context of music, the word “symmetric” is used to describe scales and arpeggios that use the same interval (or pattern of intervals) throughout.

In this case, the fully diminished arpeggios are built using only minor thirds throughout.

A Touch of Symmetric Flavor

In most traditional music, the diminished chords (arpeggios) are used sparingly. They do not occur in every piece of music. When they do occur as a full arpeggio, it is typically only a few times per song.

That presents a problem for us as trumpet players. By the time we are presented with a piece of music that requires this as a skill, it is already too late to learn it. For that reason, fully diminished arpeggios should be practiced as soon as possible. Do not wait until you need it for a song or trumpet solo.

Prerequisites

Before you practice these arpeggio exercises, you should have already graduated from the Trumpet Tyro level. These exercises are for students with a reliable range up to G above the staff.

You should also have already practiced the Trumpet Player Major Arpeggios, Trumpet Player Minor Arpeggios, and Trumpet Player Diminished Arpeggios.

Instructions

• The best results come from practicing these exercises slowly and deliberately.
• Practice only one arpeggio per day.
• At first, only practice the new arpeggio that is assigned to you for that week. Later, after you've learned all of them, begin cycling through all of the arpeggios, doing one per day.
• Be sure to slur all of the notes in these exercises.

Afterwards

You should practice these arpeggios daily until you graduate from the Trumpet Player level to the Trumpet Apprentice level. When you get to the Trumpet Apprentice level, you will learn new arpeggios to add to your collection. Learning new arpeggios should be a life long pursuit.