Most people have thought about learning how to play a musical instrument at one time or another in their lives. In general, that’s because people enjoy listening to music, and the desire to be able to play tunes yourself is common and natural. Music can also help you to meet people, explore new things and release artistic energy and emotion.
The choice then becomes focused on which instrument to play. If you’ve decided that you’d like to start playing a musical instrument, you’ll have a number of options choose from.
One of the most popular instruments is the trumpet, and it’s popular for good reason as you’ll see below. This article focuses on the top reasons that you should choose the trumpet as your instrument of choice.
Top 10 Reasons To Start Playing the Trumpet Now!
The following is a list of the top 10 reasons to start playing the trumpet now or to continue practicing if you’ve already begun!
1. You’ll have the melody.
The trumpet is a rather loud instrument compared to some of the other options, like clarinet or flute. For this reason, many people steer clear of the trumpet, but when you think about it, its loudness doesn’t have to be a drawback.
That’s because the trumpeters are often the lead players. In general, the brass section of any musical group will carry the melody and be on display.
When playing in a group such as a jazz band, an ensemble or an orchestra, much of the time, the trumpet section will have the melody. This showcases you as a player and helps you to be noticed more. In fact, the trumpet section is often the easiest section to see from the audience as well.
2. You’ll improve your breath and strengthen your core muscles.
Courtesy of Nic Redhead
Playing any wind instrument requires advanced breathing skills. It’s important to be able to inhale and exhale correctly so that you can play all of your notes and the musical phrases on the page with the greatest ability.
This means that you need to hone your breathing skills and develop them. In doing so, you’ll naturally improve your lung capacity and strengthen your core muscles, and this can be wonderful for your health overall.
Unlike some other instruments like the piano and the drums that don’t require the use of your breath or mouth, playing the trumpet is almost like doing a soft form of exercise. Most players stand when they practice and play in performances, which can make it an active activity as well as a cerebral one.
3. It’s not too expensive to purchase.
Musical instruments come in all shapes and sizes, and as a result, there is a broad spectrum of prices that you can pay for instruments. In general, larger instruments tend to be more expensive even for beginner models.
For example, if you’d like to purchase an upright bass, you need to be ready to pay several thousand dollars, and they only get more expensive as you go up in quality. Unlike the bass, a harp or a piano, a standard trumpet may only run you a couple of hundred dollars.
Naturally, as you advance in your playing skills and become better at the trumpet, you can purchase a more expensive model that will provide you with a better quality sound. But overall, the trumpet is not an expensive instrument, and it’s a great choice for those who don’t want to spend a lot of money at the outset of their musical endeavors.
4. The trumpet is extremely portable.
Just as the trumpet is not too expensive to purchase, it’s also nice because it’s so portable. An upright bass or a harp will be extremely difficult to take with you if you travel or move around a lot.
Players of these instruments often need to have a designated place to practice where they can leave their instrument, or they need to put a lot of effort and money into transporting their instrument. If they do decide to carry their large instruments, the experience certainly isn’t pleasant. It can almost break your back to lug a harp around
On the other hand, a trumpet player can simply put their instrument into a compact carrying case and go wherever they need to. It’s a simple and portable instrument that is great for those on the move.
5. You can play an array of different styles.
There are a number of instruments that allow you to play in an array of different styles. For example, you can play jazz or classical music with the piano. Trombones are often featured in various types of bands and ensembles, and many other instruments can be used in different stylistic ways. This is the nature of music in general.
But the trumpet is especially unique in that it is particularly featured in a variety of styles of music. In fact, there are some forms of music that simply don’t sound right if they don’t include at least one trumpet part. If you choose to play the trumpet as your primary instrument, you’ll have the opportunity to play orchestral music, jazz, chamber music, rock, Latin and even pep band music.
6. It’s a fairly simple instrument to master.
Playing the trumpet at a professional level naturally requires a lot of expertise and skill. But for those who are just starting out or those who are at an intermediate level, this is a fairly easy instrument to get the hang of. Most players of the trumpet start when they are in middle school or even elementary school, in fact. But you can start at any time.
Generally speaking, there are three valves on the trumpet that can be pressed down in different combinations to create all of the notes that you’ll need. There is also the open note, which means the note that comes out when you don’t hold any of the valves down.
Unlike the piano, which requires playing tons of different combinations of notes and chords with both of your hands and often requires playing different melodies and lines of music with each hand, the trumpet player plays one note at a time. Much of the skill centers around developing your breathing skills and mastering music theory.
7. You’ll meet people with similar interests.
Yet another benefit of playing the trumpet is actually just a benefit for anyone that knows how to play a musical instrument. The benefit is that playing music with other people can be an extremely rewarding experience. It allows you to meet new people and share a love for art and music.
Naturally, you won’t be able to do this and take part in this shared art form if you don’t know how to play an instrument. But what’s especially great about the trumpet is that it is in such high demand. As stated above, there are a number of styles of music that require trumpet players, so if you know how to play this instrument, you’ll be sure to meet people with similar interests who could use your expertise.
8. Playing the trumpet looks great on a resume or college application.
You shouldn’t take up the trumpet just to benefit a college application or your resume. Naturally, playing the trumpet will take a lot of time and effort, and it will also take money because you do need to purchase your instrument. You don’t want to waste time, money and energy on activity and skill that you don’t truly have a passion for.
With that being said, it is true that this is a great skill to have. And if you’re looking for ways to beef up your skillset and help yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd, knowing how to play an instrument will help. The trumpet will be especially beneficial as well because most people know the trumpet. It’s an overall likable sound, and it’s also a powerful sound. Unlike playing the flute, which produces a rather meek sound, the trumpet is large and in charge. If you want to show potential bosses and prospective colleges and universities that you are a powerful and confident person, the trumpet is the perfect instrument to have at your side.
9. It can help relieve stress and anxiety.
Most people who play the trumpet don’t make their living by playing. Still, hundreds of thousands of people take up playing an instrument each year. Why do they do this?
Knowing how to play music and playing it alone or in groups is can be an extremely cathartic experience. Like any art form, playing music helps you to display your emotions in a unique way.
Many people who play the trumpet say that it helps them with stress and anxiety and can be a welcome distraction from difficult emotions that result from everyday life troubles. Even if you don’t plan on becoming a professional trumpet player, this can be a beneficial skill to learn and an advantageous hobby for your mental and emotional health.
10. Understanding and playing music makes you smarter.
Finally, playing the trumpet is a great way to develop your music theory skills. Musical theory is the science of music. It explains how certain notes come together to produce chords, phrases, songs, and movements. Understanding this and using it to produce music alone or with others can actually help you become smarter overall.
There are numerous studies that have proven that knowing, understanding and playing music on a regular basis makes you more intelligent. Not only does this rest on the fact that music theory is much like a science, and understanding it can be challenging, to say the least, but it also rests on the fact that music engages parts of your brain that are otherwise left dormant.
As with other art forms, when you engage the creative areas of your brain, you stimulate ideas, reasonings and unique thoughts that can help you become smarter in other ways.
Conclusion
Courtesy of James Broad
As you can see, there are a number of advantages to learning to play the trumpet. In general, learning to play any instrument can be a rewarding experience and provide years of enjoyment. But the trumpet especially will give you the biggest benefits overall. When well played, it’s a beautiful sounding instrument with lots of potentials.
Whether you’re just in the beginning stages of learning or have been playing this instrument for a while, make sure that you keep practicing. Music, as with many other skills, takes practice, and there’s no better time to start than now.
Finally, if you’re in the market for a new trumpet, be sure and check out our trumpet reviews guide. There, you’ll find reviews of the absolute best trumpets for beginners, intermediate players, and professionals.
