Category: Christmas

Silent Night Trumpet Duet wants to be slow and not too loud. Having said that, there are some high notes where the Melody player might need more air to get them to sound good, so the B Part player will have to play strongly as well. Watch those pesky low D’s – get that slide…

Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly: This Trumpet Duet is mostly written like a Mariachi Trumpet section might play it – Trumpets playing in 3rds. You don’t have to slur where it’s marked, do whatever you like with it!

This Angels We Have Heard on High Trumpet Duet has a great middle section – no hiding on the B Part! If it’s too hard to scan from one line to the next, use a highlighter for the part you’re playing. Paper is cheap!

Joy to the World! Trumpet Duet has some tricky articulations marked in. Try to observe them and decide if you like them. If not, get out your pencil and change them. This might be the most obvious example of why we have to learn scales. I chose this key because it can be tricky to…

We Wish You a Merry Christmas Trumpet Duet has a bit of a road map. You play through it then jump back to the beginning of Bar 1 where that fancy symbol is and play to the word “Fine” which is Italian for “Finish Here!” You could repeat the entire thing if you like but…

What Child is This Trumpet Duet should be slow enough that you can’t decide if it’s in 2 or in 6. Iike it in 6, There’s a bunch of low D’s that need correcting and some D#’s that generally don’t, so that 3rd valve slide had better be a smooth as silk. If yours isn’t…

a.k.a. Wassail, Wassail; a.k.a. The Wassail Song This “Low” Gloucestershire Wassail Trumpet Duet is fairly low in the range, suited best to players who aren’t yet comfortable at the top of the staff. If you are, then scroll down to the other one. It’s higher, sounds a bit brighter and might challenge you more. The…

Away in a Manger Trumpet Duet: This is the melody that I grew up with. There are at least 2 others. It’s in the key of F for us. Watch out for the low D’s – they need to be lowered. I like this tune not too fast and not very loud – like a…

This Jingle Bells Trumpet Duet looks simple enough. There is a tricky rhythm at the end of bar 9. If the 16th notes get in the way of playing it quickly (and that’s what works best) you could just leave them out and let the B Part player have a moment in the sun.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas is so short that you should plan on repeating it at least once. It’s low enough that a lot of beginners can play it. The key signature tells you that the F’s are sharp – that’s gonna be 2nd Valve! (Thanks @EbTrumpet guy.)