Group 1

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Description

Let’s dig into finger dexterity! Using Herbert Clarke and going well beyond, tonebase trumpet lead Ethan Chilton explores how to build control and speed with our fingers. While air, tongue, and embouchure are important, the fingers are often not given the attention they deserve in our practice. In this course, Ethan explains why it’s so important to practice away from the trumpet, how to build speed quickly back on the trumpet, and shares a variety of advanced exercises for the aspiring virtuoso!

What to Expect:

• 🔗 Guided Exercises: Each week, enjoy a new video where Ethan outlines a structured theory of practice, and demonstrates simple, concrete exercises designed to amplify a specific skillset.
• 🎶 Expert Guidance: Led by Ethan Chilton, professional LA-based trumpeter who built the tonebase trumpet library, these sessions offer a unique insight into the tools and concepts that working trumpeters rely on to develop and refine their finger dexterity.
• 🤝 Community Interaction: Share your experiences, receive feedback from peers, and engage in a supportive community of fellow music enthusiasts and aspiring performers.

Who Should Attend:

🎺 This course is tailored for a trumpeter at any level looking for some structure toward their pursuit of improving or refining their finger dexterity. No pre-requisite knowledge is required, though basic proficiency with the trumpet is highly recommended.

What is Covered:

📚 Participants will explore proper form and position of the fingers, how to begin learning fingerings from scratch, what Finger Practice is and how to build skills away from the trumpet, what the concept of Medium Fast Slow refers to, and guided demonstrations of Clarke and beyond. At the end, you’ll be asked to submit one short video assignment for direct feedback from Ethan.

No special equipment is needed to get started; just bring your enthusiasm, a working trumpet, some curiosity, and whatever recording tools you have—your journey to faster fingers begins here!

Timeline

• Sign-Up : Monday, September 16th
• Course Period: Monday, September 23rd - Friday, October 4th
• Zoom Check-in (Optional): Monday, September 30th at 1 PM

Topic: Build Your Finger Dexterity - tonebase Check-In
Time: Sep 30, 2024 01:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/93264531257?pwd=Q6Xe9MP8bQbEJbodRInFKFGrzbMJXe.1

Meeting ID: 932 6453 1257
Passcode: 725156

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ad3LLFNVhv

 

Click here for ALL the scores Ethan uses in this course:

finger_dexterity_2wi_scores

 

Lessons

Lesson 1: Practice Methods and Clarke

Week 1: September 23rd - 29th

https://youtu.be/7cf3c84ntq8

In this lesson, we’ll focus on building finger dexterity by reviewing the basics of good form, exploring more unusual practice strategies, and tackling Clarke 2 and 5. We’ll explore how practicing fingerings away from the horn throughout the day can make them automatic, and how slow-motion video can help us analyze our finger timing. We'll also tackle a few variations of Clarke, including alternate tonalities and metronome games. 

Lesson 2: Chromatics and Beyond

Week 2: September 30th - October 6th

https://youtu.be/mBMv6fbkn-U

We're now ready to add variety to our practice by exploring chromatics. Particularly in the low register, chromatic scales are the most treacherous challenge to our finger technique. Once he covers basic chromatic scale variants, Ethan demonstrates some staggered intervalic exercises, Vizzutti finger flexibilities, and a few principles for implementing finger work into your daily routine. 

 

Extra Resources:

Here are a few additional books and resources for building finger dexterity (hint: you can work on your fingers with pretty much anything!)

Arban Chord and Arpeggio Studies + Characteristic Studies

• The more patterns and shapes you play, the more you recognize patterns, and the more you think in UNITS not NOTES and dexterity improves

Charlie Parker Bb Omnibook - play jazz heads!

Ultra Fingering Studies for the Advanced Trumpet Player by Bill Knevitt

The Boom Method: Universal Fundamentals for Trumpet by Dan Rosenboom

The Allen Vizzutti Trumpet Method: Books 1-3

Put dimes on your right-hand fingernails and don’t let them fall as you practice for a full day

Replace all Es and As for a day with 3rd valve - will surely force you to think!

Weird: play trumpet upside-down and use fingernails for the upstroke

 

Click here for ALL the scores Ethan uses in this course:

finger_dexterity_2wi_scores

Final Assignment:

Record a performance of Clarke 2 in two keys of your choice, with a metronome playing at 60 beats per minute, taking the repeats. Big breath, and bang those valves down hard! 

For tips on how to record yourself with a smartphone, check out Ethan's recent live stream on the topic.

Ethan will be responding personally to every video that’s posted and offering detailed feedback. 

 

How to Submit A Video Assignment

Upload your finished video you youtube.com as Unlisted.

Then, copy the link and paste it into a comment below, with a brief description of what you played and what improved while going through this course! 

Please reach out to Ethan via e-mail if you have any further questions! 

 

Watch Dominic, head of tonebase Piano, demonstrate the process of uploading a video assignment on both a mobile device and a computer: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G1rURBIr14&feature=youtu.be