Trumpets | timcurd-brass

Recommended Trumpets For Beginners

You will need a Bb trumpet or cornet to start trumpet lessons (Prices as per 2024).

The best bargain beginner trumpet is the JP 051 (John Packer) that retails for about £180, For a little more at £250 you could get an Elkhart Series 1 (100) or a Phil Parker Series 1.

In my opinion the best brand new beginner trumpet is the Yamaha 2330. Though these instruments cost about £500 they come with the approval of most trumpet teachers. You could do your grade 8 on one of these but you would probably want to upgrade to a better trumpet at about grade 6 standard to a Yamaha 4335.

Trumpets come in sliver plate or lacquer. Silver plate is more expensive than the lacquer but it can offer more durability and can help to add brightness to the sound.

The best bargains can be found secondhand and you could expect to buy something good for around £100 to £200. They are too many brands to mention but Bach ,Elkhart, Jupiter, Yamaha, and JP (John Packer) tend to fair well. A general rule is that second hand instruments sell for about half their retail value, more if they are in good condition and less if they are in poor condition. You probably want to ask a friend or a trumpet teacher to check it out for you to make sure it is in working condition. I am, however, trained in brass repair and will be able to get most trumpets playing to a good standard for your first trumpet lessons.

Recommended Mouthpieces For Beginners

The mouthpiece makes a big difference to the way a trumpet plays. Most trumpets will come with a generic 7C size wich will mostly be fine for beginners. It is important to keep the mouthpiece clean with a pipe cleaner or mouthpiece brush because any dirt in the bore and throat of the mouthpiece can impare its performance. I would recommend the Bach 7C as my favorite beginner mouthpiece and the Yamaha 11B4 is also good. As a player progresses most trumpeters will want to play on a bigger mouthpiece to help them produce a fuller sound. The Bach 3C and Yamaha 14B4 are very popular choices and will work for most players. I have a draw of about 30 mouthpieces that pupils can try during a trumpet lesson.

What I play

I play a Bach 43LRS for classical and a Yamaha 8445Z Bobby Shew for pops and studio, I also have a 6335 bobby shew Flugelhorn.

I Play GR, Yamaha and Warburton mouthpieces.