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How to Play the Blues Scale on a Trumpet

The trumpet is a well-known instrument and a popular choice among students in many school concert bands. The blues scale is an important scale to learn if you want to improvise easily on top of a basic blues riff. Learn the notes in the most basic blues scale for the trumpet, the B-flat blues scale, and set a steady bass for blues soloing and improvising.

Instructions

    • 1

      Play the first note of the scale, Middle C, on the trumpet by holding no valves down and blowing into the mouthpiece.

    • 2

      Play the E-flat on the trumpet by holding the second and third valves of the trumpet down and blowing.

    • 3

      Play the F on the trumpet by holding the first valve on the trumpet down and blowing.

    • 4

      Play the F-sharp by holding the second valve down on the trumpet and blowing.

    • 5

      Play the G note by holding no valves down and blowing. Tighten your lips to ensure that this note is higher in pitch than the first open-valve note you played, Middle C.

    • 6

      Play the B-flat by pressing all three of the valves down and blowing into the mouthpiece.

    • 7

      Play the final note of the blues scale, C, by holding down no valves and blowing into the mouthpiece. This final open-valve note should be higher in pitch than the Middle C and G which you played previously in the scale.

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