Mitchell on Trumpet * Book 1 * Now with QR Code & DVD Paperback – June 30, 2012

This is a systematic guide with exercises that creates a great foundation. The book and DVD starts with teaching the basics about the trumpet, music and playing your first notes. (The intro video is awkward with the host reading from an off camera script, after that it gets better.) The student can play along with lessons 1 - 4. After those, you only have the book to guide you through lesson 25. The lessons progress with a good pace; so that the student is not overwhelmed with text and too much musical notation. After you consistently play the lesson well, you are ready to move on. A lesson should take about 20 to 30 minutes. If you follow the suggestion "rest as much as you play", then you will double that time. This book's exercises starts off beginner and ends with mid intermediate. The book's range does not go above an A above the staff (A3). It stays with single tonguing.The book develops the embouchure as well as technical study in a balanced way. You eventually play through every key with scales and interval studies. Lips slurs are a part of every lesson. Most lessons end with a short melody.The only difficulty is that there are no examples audio or video when you get to some of the more difficult rhythms, such as syncopation. The later studies could benefit with audio examples. I also recommend that the student play a few long tones before the later lessons. The lessons do not have much of a warm up and I suggest in few notes in lower part of the staff, like G or F. Take a full breath and play the note for as long as you can. Just as you begin to run out of air, play a little louder until you run out of air. Do not blast.I also recommend purchasing  All About Trumpet BK/CD  as supplement; and it is a good stand alone guide.

I've just started on this ... Mitchell apparently taught a lot of people including Herb Alpert. This method is fun, lip slurs and stuff right away, so the etudes are a bit more fun and "musical" than the usual stuff you get in a beginner book ... "Hot Cross Buns" ugh. This was out of print for a while and now it's back - until it's out of print again I guess. I got all 4 books but so far have just "done" the beginning of this one. All the books are divided up into lessons, that you can spend a day or three days or a week, whatever, so you can self-study and make progress.

But still very good. I recommend it.

Essential for any trumpet player. Not much in the way of concepts in this book, but each "lesson" is a pretty thorough routine. Add your own warm-up and practice with this and you should do pretty well. I recommend this book for all my beginning and intermediate students!

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Excellent book for everyone - keeps all the fundamentals in one place and progressiveMitchell was an amazing player and teacher

Recommended book by child's trumpet teacher. Excellent book.

The simplicity of the instructions makes it a joy to practice.