Spooky Scary Skeletons - Trumpet Version

We had before some horror/Halloween themed tutorials, but today we have a proper Halloween song; "Spooky Scary Skeletons".
"Spooky, Scary Skeletons" is a Halloween song by American musician Andrew Gold, first released on his 1996 album Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music.

You may download the music sheet as PDF, or in MuseScore format, so you can edit, transpose, transcribe and customize it to your own needs.

Click the image to download the format you want:

 

Here's the backing track. You can use it to practice, to play it on a concert or to make a YouTube video with you playing the trumpet.

Mihai Sorohan · Spooky Scary Skeletons - Backing Track

Disclaimer: All materials are properties of their owners, and are used here for informative and educational purposes. I don't accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liability, injury or upset caused to or suffered by you as a result of misusing this material. 

 

Cheers and happy learning, 

Mihai

Habanera (from opera "Carmen") - medium level

Habanera is the popular name for "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" ("Love is a rebellious bird"), an aria from Georges Bizet's opera Carmen. 

The score of the aria was adapted from the habanera "El Arreglito ou la Promesse de mariage", by the Spanish musician Sebastián Iradier, first published in 1863, which Bizet thought to be a folk song.

This version is transposed a whole tone down, to fit better the register of my trumpet pupils.

You may download the music sheet as PDF, or in MuseScore format, so you can edit, transpose, transcribe and customize it to your own needs.

Click the image to download the format you want:

   

Here's the backing track. You can use it to practice, to play it on a concert or to make a YouTube video with you playing the trumpet.

Mihai Sorohan · Habanera - Trumpet Version - Backing Track

Disclaimer: All materials are properties of their owners, and are used here for informative and educational purposes. I don't accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liability, injury or upset caused to or suffered by you as a result of misusing this material. 

Cheers and happy learning, 

Mihai

Crazy Frog (Axel F theme) - medium

For some reason, this old tune is popular with my pupils, so I decided to make a trumpet version of it.

Most of them know it as "Crazy Frog", but as an older generation, I know the original from 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop, starring Eddie Murphy. The title comes from the main character's name in the film, Axel Foley (played by Eddie Murphy). It is composed in the key of F minor. This version is transposed to C minor, to fit the ambitus of my pupils.

You may download the music sheet as PDF, or in MuseScore format, so you can edit, transpose, transcribe and customize it to your own needs.

Click the image to download the format you want:

   

Here's the backing track. You can use it to practice, to play it on a concert or to make a YouTube video with you playing the trumpet.

Mihai Sorohan · Crazy Frog Trumpet - Backing Track

Disclaimer: All materials are properties of their owners, and are used here for informative and educational purposes. I don't accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liability, injury or upset caused to or suffered by you as a result of misusing this material. 

Cheers and happy learning, 

Mihai

Diminished Scale Aerobics

Here are some exercises based on the diminished scale, which could be practiced like Arban, Clarke, Quinque...etc.

A lot of classical trained musicians develop playing reflexes based on the "classical" scales  (major and minor), which prevents them from improvising in true jazz style. A good idea would be to develop reflexes on all scales, and by practicing them on a daily basis you would also get more familiar with the sound.

If you don't know what diminished scale is, the diminished scale is a symmetric scale formed by the sequence: Tone - Semitone - Tone - Semitone - Tone - Semitone - Tone. In classical theory (in contrast to jazz theory), this symmetrical scale is commonly called the octatonic scale or Rimsky-Korsakov mode.

You may download the music sheet as PDF, or in MuseScore format, so you can edit, transpose, transcribe and customize it to your own needs.

Click the image to download the format you want:

 

Disclaimer: All materials are properties of their owners, and are used here for informative and educational purposes. I don't accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liability, injury or upset caused to or suffered by you as a result of misusing this material. 

Cheers and happy learning, 

Mihai

Coffin Dance - medium

The famous "Coffin Dance" meme has now a trumpet version.
This one is NOT in the original tonality, I had to transpose it to make it fit the medium level pupils. If the high notes are too difficult, you can play them one octave lower.
There are no articulation or slur notated in the sheet, feel free to add them (or ask your teacher to do so) to fit you and your own style.

You may download the music sheet as PDF, or in MuseScore format, so you can edit, transpose, transcribe and customize it to your own needs.

Click the image to download the format you want:

Here's the backing track. You can use it to practice, to play it on a concert or to make a YouTube video with you playing the trumpet.

Mihai Sorohan · Coffin Dance - Trumpet Version - Backing Track

Disclaimer: All materials are properties of their owners, and are used here for informative and educational purposes. I don't accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liability, injury or upset caused to or suffered by you as a result of misusing this material. 

Cheers and happy learning, 

Mihai

Super Mario Bros. Overworld Theme - Medium Level Trumpet Duo

The Super Mario Bros. theme, composed for the game by Nintendo sound designer Koji Kondo, officially known as the "Ground Theme" or "Overworld Theme", now transposed and arranged for trumpet, medium level.

Super Mario Bros - Overworld – Koji Kondo by Mihai Sorohan

You may download the music sheet as PDF, or in MuseScore format, so you can edit, transpose, transcribe and customize it to your own needs.

Click the image to download the format you want:

 

Disclaimer: All materials are properties of their owners, and are used here for informative and educational purposes. I don't accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liability, injury or upset caused to or suffered by you as a result of misusing this material. 

Cheers and happy learning, 

Mihai

Maxwell the Cat medium-easy

 Trying to motivate the young ones (mostly my kid who likes the "Maxwell the Cat" internet meme), I made this transcription, and a video to pair with it 😄

You may download the music sheet as PDF, or in MuseScore format, so you can edit, transpose, transcribe and customize it to your own needs.

Click the image to download the format you want:

 

Here's the backing track. You can use it to practice, to play it on a concert or to make a YouTube video with you playing the trumpet.

Mihai Sorohan · Maxwell The Cat - Backing Track

Disclaimer: All materials are properties of their owners, and are used here for informative and educational purposes. I don't accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liability, injury or upset caused to or suffered by you as a result of misusing this material. 

Cheers and happy learning, 

Mihai

Emil Bizga solo on Giant Steps transcription

 Giant Steps; "the most feared song in jazz"(sic) as Vox declared, notoriously difficult, as played by the Romanian trumpet player Emil Bizga on one of his recordings with Marius Preda on cimbalom.

Emil Bizga is one of the best Romanian jazz trumpeters, if not the best. More about him later on. I will invite him for an interview on my YouTube channel. For now here's a transcription of his solo.

As it goes pretty fast, and it's difficult maybe to play along with the recording, even if you adjust the playback speed, here's a PDF for B♭ instruments (trumpet, clarinet, tenor sax...etc).

Click the image to download:

Disclaimer: All materials are properties of their owners, and are used here for informative and educational purposes. I don't accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liability, injury or upset caused to or suffered by you as a result of misusing this material. 

Cheers and happy learning, 

Mihai

Jazz Articulation or Jazz Phrasing

Some people were telling me about classical articulation and jazz articulation, and that left me a bit... confused. 

Is it such a thing like "classical articulation" which is exclusively classical? 🤷

Is it such a thing like "jazz articulation" which is exclusively jazz? 🤷

In this video I explore these ideas and come up with some exercises, hopefully helpful.

Disclaimer: All materials are properties of their owners, and are used here for informative and educational purposes. I don't accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, liability, injury or upset caused to or suffered by you as a result of misusing this material. 

Cheers and happy learning, 

Mihai