Reddit mentions of The Jazz Method for Trumpet (Tutor Book & Cd)

Thank you for all the advice!

I started in elementary school band, where I picked up a bunch of crappy playing habits, and stopped playing when the music teacher left for a better salary elsewhere. It's been some years and jazz has rekindled my interest in playing. (Especially Lee Morgan, Clifford Brown and Dizzy!)

Anyway, I'm about two months into playing, and I've taken great care to avoid bad habits: posture, breathing, mouthpiece pressure, et. al.

I'm using a couple of method books right now: The Jazz Method For Trumpet, Mitchell on Trumpet, and the Rubank Elementary Method. I use the Mitchell book to build technique, supplemented with some exercises from the Rubank book. I'm using the Jazz Method to incorporate musicality into my practice. I've been putting off buying Arban's and Clarke's since I'm still a beginner, but I guess you just took care of that for me. (ha!)

My only issue right now is practicing intonation and ear training in general. I do long tones with a tuner, but I have heard mixed opinions on practicing musical passages with one. Certain situations may require playing with just intonation, such as with other wind instruments or fretless stringed instruments, but playing along with a piano will require equal temperament. How do I practice either of these?

My routine is about 45-60 minutes long. I do long tones, lip slurs, some tonguing exercises, and then I try to squeeze in some actual music, all with a metronome. I'll try out your suggested breathing exercises and look into keeping a practice log.

Thanks for your thoughtful reply!

• Rent a trumpet from a nearby music store (I see you live in Sweden, do they offer instrument rental programs there?): cheap, and you can ensure it works (instead of buying a possible dud from ebay). Most shops will ask for a minimum of 3 months- this will give you some time to figure out if this is something you'd like to continue with.
  
  
• The trumpet is a very physical instrument and it's easy to develop lasting bad habits that will really hurt you down the road. Try to take at least 1 lesson with a teacher so you can get the ball rolling. If that's REALLY not possible (a 30min lesson is $20-45 usually so it's not much!) search for Charlie Porter on Youtube and check out his vids.
  
  
• You will improve fastest if you can play everyday: even if it's only 5 min. Rest often! The goal is to reinforce good habits.
  
  
• Get a method book that will inspire you to continue playing. If you have not played an instrument before, I wouldn't recommend Clarke/Arban like another poster suggested- those are extremely technical and Arban is frankly probably out of your range right now. Try The Jazz Method for Trumpet. It has a playalong CD and tunes that are much closer to the type of music you like (rock) than most other method books. Other good beginner books: Embouchure Builder, or Getchell (might be a little out of your range for the 1st few weeks).
  
  
• Lastly, please do not get discouraged! Most people sounded awful when they first started out- that will probably include you. Don't judge yourself too hard- just be patient and practice consistently and I promise you that the improvement will come.