Glenn’s Trumpet Notes

He had never performed a trumpet solo in front of an audience. He’s 13 and this fall will be an 8th grader at McClure Middle School on Queen Anne in Seattle. Weeks ago, he sorted through several possible songs and then made his choice–“The Wild Blue Yonder,” the official song of U.S. Air Force.

I was very pleased. It not only is a great, patriotic song, but also it presented some technical challenges for him. One is range. In the trumpet key of C (Concert Bb) near the end of the piece, the high Es are in the top of the range where he plays confidently. Then, there is the time signature–6/8, with its many triplets throughout. Next, there are several accidentals (all sharps). Finally, there is rhythm–one couplet. Through isolation and repetition, we worked out all the frustrating kinks, and he mastered them all. Despite the common butterflies all performers experience, he played confidently and expertly with a nice tone. Hooray!

He began lessons with me in March 2020, just as Covid-19 struck the USA and lockdowns forced students out of their school classrooms and online. As of the recital date, all our lessons had been on Zoom.com. I had never met him or his family in person until we introduced ourselves and sat together in the audience at The Royal Room in the Columbia district of south Seattle on 15 May. He made his mother, father, sister, and I proud. It was lovely. Success is sweet.

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