As a trumpet teacher, I strive to help my students love being musicians. Every student is unique and has something special to bring to the music world, no matter their age. I currently teach private lessons and group lessons to college students, students in high school, middle school, and elementary school, ranging from complete beginners to advanced students.

 

For a student’s success, it is important to me that they are curious about music and open to new ideas. I encourage my students to explore recordings of their favorite trumpet players, and also to listen to different instrumentalists and vocalists. It is also important that the student has a growth mindset and is ready to learn. Honesty and vulnerability during lessons is essential to growth, and will be met with support instead of judgment. Teachers can be known for being highly critical of their students’ work, but I think helpful critique can be received by the student when they are given the space to be fully themselves and fully respected. Most importantly, I help trumpet players learn that it is good to have fun with music, and when you play music you love, you will want to practice more instead of forcing it. Some challenges of the teaching-learning process include students with low self-confidence, students who may not want to practice, and also myself not knowing what the student may be going through in their personal life. Therefore, I prepare my students to appreciate their gift of music-making and to grow within it because music can bring light and joy to any situation.

 

In private lessons, a big focus of mine relies in the question, "how easy can this feel?" The act of playing the trumpet can and should feel "easy" (disclaimer: except for playing into the stratosphere!) Let's start with the relaxed and open breath with no tension. As you play, rely on your continuous air flow moving in the forward direction, with a resonant sound in the center of every pitch. When thinking of the physicality and artistry of playing trumpet, my main goals are to help students find the easy, relaxed feeling that is possible and is a daily discovery,  for them to be able to teach themselves when they're practicing on their own, and to make their own unique musical decisions. With these goals in mind, and the other ideas previously mentioned, I encourage my students to keep track of a practice journal and write down what they practice, their thoughts around it, and their goals for the future. This journal could also include names of other musicians they admire and the songs they are listening to at the moment. The goal is for the student to continuously discover their personal relationship with playing trumpet, as this will ebb and flow throughout their lives, just as they change as human beings.

 

As an educator, I create a safe space for students to grow because it allows them to engage in a vulnerable space to learn the trumpet. I encourage my students to learn the music that they enjoy listening to, and I show them recordings of diverse trumpet players throughout the world to help them learn about different trumpet sounds and career options in music. In these efforts, my students want to practice more when they like the music they are making, and their curiosity launches their lifelong journey in music.

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Alongside learning music that the student enjoys listening to, I aim to promote diversity within the repertoire that we choose to learn by incorporating music by composers of different races, genders, and ethnicities. I believe it is important for young students to value music written by underrepresented groups because music embraces all. As musicians, the moment that we step on stage, we are representing humanity, and humanity includes everyone.

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– Abby Temple