Trumpet Practice Plan Skeleton

Preparatory Exercise – i.e. mouthpiece buzzing, leadpipe buzzing, flapping the lips to promote bloodflow, etc. 1-3 minutes

Airflow/Long Tone Exercise – Focus on consistency and purity of tone, connecting the notes, hitting the center of the pitch right away. Use a tuner. Examples: Cichowicz airflow studies, standard long tones, Schlossberg #6, Arban initial exercises, Vizzuti long tone exercises 2-15 minutes
Technical Studies/Scales – Focus on moving the fingers with the tongue and airstream. Keep the notes “floating on” or “riding” the airstream – evenness, clarity. Examples: Clarke Technical Studies, Vizzuti Technical Studies, Scales and Scale Patterns, numerous throughout Arban’s. 3-10 minutes
Lip Slurs – Focus on “snapping” to the center of each pitch. You should almost hear a click when going to a new note. Clean, smooth. Practice various registers (low, middle, high, connecting them), speeds, and dynamics. Make sure to practice them soft as well as loud. Examples: Schlossberg, Bai Lin, Colin Flexibilities, Flexus, Arban’s section on slurs, etc. 2-15 minutes
Repertoire Pe– Material for ensembles, auditions, or general progression. Songs, etudes, excerpts, etc. Examples: Infinite variety and will depend heavily on the student’s level. 5-?? Minutes
Sight Reading – Put on a metronome, find something you haven’t read before and GO! 2-10 minutes