Trumpet Practice Plan

Where to Find the Sheet Music

This page gives specific books and publishers for the pieces in the practice plan so you know which version to look for. Always get B♭ trumpet parts unless you play a different key. Many titles are available from Hal Leonard, Sheet Music Plus, JW Pepper, Amazon, or your local music store.


Piece or book (from phase files) Where to find it in this doc
Ode to Joy, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Long Long Ago, Beautiful Dreamer, Greensleeves, Aura Lee, Theme from Brahms, method-book tunes Method books (Phase 1)
First Book of Trumpet Solos, bridge pieces from a book Phase 1 — First piece and bridge pieces
Vega, Lyra, Arcturus (Phase 2A) Phase 2 — Trumpet Stars Set 1
Mira, Centaurus, Rigel (Phase 2B, 2D) Phase 2 — Trumpet Stars Set 2
Trumpeter’s Lullaby (Phase 2C) Phase 2 — Trumpeter’s Lullaby
Petite Pièce Concertante, Romance, Maid of the Mist, Phase 3 solos Phase 3 — Lyrical and technical solos
Second Book of Trumpet Solos, Concert and Contest Collection Phase 3 — Collections
Il Triello (Phase 4) Phase 4 — Il Triello

Method books (Phase 1 — simple tunes and bridges)

These books contain simple melodies like “Ode to Joy,” “Long Long Ago,” “Beautiful Dreamer,” “Greensleeves,” and other common tunes. Page and piece order vary by edition; use the table of contents to find the piece you need.

Book Publisher What you get Where to buy
Standard of Excellence, Book 1 (and Book 2) Kjos (Neil A. Kjos Music) Concert pieces and solos in progressive order; many simple tunes (Ode to Joy–type) and slightly harder pieces. Kjos, Sheet Music Plus, JW Pepper, music stores
Essential Elements for Band, Book 1 (and Book 2) Hal Leonard Similar progression; simple tunes and concert pieces for trumpet. Hal Leonard, Sheet Music Plus, JW Pepper, music stores

Note: “Ode to Joy,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” “Long Long Ago,” “Beautiful Dreamer,” “Greensleeves,” “Aura Lee,” and “Theme from Brahms” (or similar) often appear in one or both of these method books. If a piece isn’t in your book, search the piece name + “trumpet Bb” on Sheet Music Plus or Musicnotes for a single-sheet or digital copy.


Phase 1 — First piece and bridge pieces

First Book of Trumpet Solos

Item Publisher Contents Where to buy
First Book of Trumpet Solos (trumpet + piano) Faber Music Edited by John Wallace & John Miller. Pieces in order of difficulty from first lessons up to about grade 4. Good for Piece 1 and bridge pieces (e.g. Lullaby, then next pieces in the book). Faber, Sheet Music Plus, Amazon. ISBN: 9780571508464

Use the next piece in the book after the one you chose for Piece 1 as your bridge; the book is designed to progress in small steps.


Phase 2 — Vandercook solos (Vega, Lyra, Mira, etc.)

Trumpet Stars (Vandercook) — Rubank / Hal Leonard

All are B♭ trumpet with piano. Available as book/CD packs.

Book Publisher Pieces in this book Where to buy
Trumpet Stars, Set 1 Rubank (Hal Leonard) Lyra, Vega, Cygnus, Antares, Altair, Arcturus Hal Leonard (search “Trumpet Stars Set 1”), Sheet Music Plus, JW Pepper
Trumpet Stars, Set 2 Rubank (Hal Leonard) Spica, Centaurus, Orion, Sirius, Mira, Rigel Same as above; search “Trumpet Stars Set 2”

Phase 2 — Trumpeter’s Lullaby

Item Publisher / source Format Where to buy
A Trumpeter’s Lullaby (Leroy Anderson) Alfred (print); Hal Leonard / Musicnotes / Sheet Music Plus (digital) Trumpet + piano. Various editions (solo part + piano). Print: Alfred (search “Trumpeter’s Lullaby”). Digital: Sheet Music Plus, Musicnotes — search “Trumpeter’s Lullaby trumpet.”

Official composer info: leroyanderson.com.


Phase 3 — Lyrical and technical solos

Single pieces

Piece Publisher / source Where to buy
Petite Pièce Concertante (Guillaume Balay) Hal Leonard (Southern Music) or Alfred; also on Musicnotes / Sheet Music Plus as digital Search “Petite Piece Concertante trumpet” at Hal Leonard, Sheet Music Plus, or Alfred.
Romance (e.g. Ostransky), Andante et Allegretto (Balay) Various (Hal Leonard, Rubank, Sheet Music Plus) Search “[piece name] trumpet” at Sheet Music Plus or JW Pepper.
Maid of the Mist (Herbert L. Clarke) In many contest collections and Rubank collections Concert and Contest Collection (below) or search “Maid of the Mist trumpet.”

Collections useful for Phase 3

Book Publisher What you get Where to buy
Second Book of Trumpet Solos (trumpet + piano) Faber Music (John Wallace / John Miller) Intermediate solos (roughly grades 5–7). Good for Piece 3 and alternatives. Faber, Sheet Music Plus. ISBN: 9780571508570
Concert and Contest Collection for B♭ Cornet or Trumpet Rubank / Hal Leonard Many standard contest solos (e.g. Balay, Clarke, lyrical solos) with online audio. Piano accompaniment often sold separately. Hal Leonard (search “Concert and Contest Collection trumpet”), Sheet Music Plus, JW Pepper

Phase 4 — Il Triello

Item Publisher Format Where to buy
Il Triello (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) — trumpet solo with band or piano Molenaar Edition (arr. Johan de Meij) Trumpet solo + concert band or piano reduction. Search “Il Triello trumpet Johan de Meij” or “Il Triello Molenaar trumpet.” Available from Stretta Music, Molenaar, and other band music retailers.

Other arrangements of Il Triello (different publishers) exist; the Johan de Meij arrangement for trumpet and band is the one commonly used for solo/band performance.


Quick reference by phase

Phase Main sources
Phase 1 Standard of Excellence or Essential Elements (Kjos / Hal Leonard); First Book of Trumpet Solos (Faber).
Phase 2 Trumpet Stars Set 1 & Set 2 (Rubank/Hal Leonard) for Vega, Lyra, Mira, Rigel, etc.; Alfred or Sheet Music Plus/Musicnotes for Trumpeter’s Lullaby.
Phase 3 Hal Leonard, Alfred, or Sheet Music Plus for Balay, Clarke, Romance; Second Book of Trumpet Solos (Faber); Concert and Contest Collection (Rubank/Hal Leonard).
Phase 4 Molenaar (Johan de Meij arr.) for Il Triello; Stretta Music or other band retailers.

If a piece isn’t in the book you have: Search “[piece name] trumpet Bb” or “[piece name] trumpet sheet music” on Sheet Music Plus, Musicnotes, or JW Pepper to find a correct B♭ trumpet edition. Prefer editions that say “B♭ trumpet” or “trumpet in B♭” so the part matches your instrument.