It’s recommended that musicians serious about improving or maintaining their trumpeting skills practice at least one hour a day. If you want to get better at playing jazz, you need to make jazz music part of your daily practice schedule.
Ask a trumpet instructor to help you with your style on some of your favorite jazz standards. Keep listening to these standards performed by other trumpet players, and try to mimic their style. You can even buy jazz standards you can play along with. [2] X Research source
Start by looking through key and time signatures and making note of where they change. Some players highlight or circle these changes in their music. Next, take a few moments to practice fingering for any runs that may be particularly quick or difficult. Most likely, you’ll want to finger eight and sixteenth notes. Finally, play through the song without stopping, no matter how much you mess up. Try to remember the areas where you struggled, and go back and play these individually. [3] X Research source
Like building other types of vocabulary, sitting down with a jazz dictionary and learning every term may not be effective. Instead, take time to ask an instructor or band mate or consult other resources as you come across words you’re unfamiliar with in your music. You can also use online tools like Columbia University’s Jazz Glossary to find definitions of jazz terms you may see regularly. [4] X Research source
You can find a jazz band to join by asking friends who are musicians, looking online for local groups, or you can form your own jazz band with a group of friends. If you’re having trouble finding a band to join, consider posting advertisements through online forums or social media for local musicians who would like to start a jazz ensemble.
The best players don’t just hear this breakdown, but can also hear the sixteenth notes between the eighth notes, and learn to play these skillfully. Triplets are commonly played in jazz music, and when performed properly give the trumpet line a waltz feel to it that can add texture to the music. Rather than splitting a quarter note in half as an eight note, triplets dissect the quarter notes into threes. [5] X Research source
In a non-jazz song you’re familiar with, swing all the eighth notes. You’ll elongate the note on the up beats (the “one/two/three” etc. of the count), and shorten the notes on the down beats (the dividing “and” note of the count). [6] X Research source
Adding extra air support to the syncopated note is the most common way to make it just slightly more intense than the un-syncopated up beat note. You can also use plungers and mutes to create the syncopated sound. By inserting the mute or closing the plunger over your bell on the un-syncopated note and opening up the bell on the syncopated note, you’ll create emphasis. [7] X Research source
An easy starting point for jazz improvisation is to play the same note within the key of the solo. Rather than changing notes, change the rhythm. Determine the number of measures you’ll need to play, and count the measures so you’ll know when the solo has ended. Be flexible. Even if you write out the notes of your solo before hand, allow yourself to make changes where necessary. [8] X Research source
The sound that differentiates jazz from other types of music is the swing rhythm that creates the characteristic “do-wah” sound of jazz. Swing also calls for the syncopation of eighth notes with an emphasis on the down beats. Latin or Afro-Cuban jazz is another common style. Latin jazz was developed in the 1950s, and is a culmination of various cultural sounds. Usually much faster than traditional jazz, Latin jazz is characterized by bright tones, and un-syncopated eighth notes. Other common forms of jazz include funk and rock. There are also many derivatives of these styles, such as swung rock or funky Latin. [10] X Research source
Louis Armstrong offers examples of traditional jazz trumpet playing. Dizzy Gillespie is an icon of Latin and more progressive jazz. Wynton Marsalis offers a range of performance styles, and is a master of improvisation and high note range. [11] X Research source
This is not something even the best trumpet instructor can teach you. You just have to invest the time to practice and find the right sound. Don’t hesitate to mimic the jazz trumpeters you enjoy listening to, but don’t shy away from taking their sound somewhere new and different. [12] X Research source
