Students enrolled in Applied Music Trumpet are expected to strive for the highest standards of excellence.  All students will be expected to improve playing skills and musicality and learn solo and etude repertoire appropriate to their playing level.  Music majors will additionally develop transposition skills and learn to play trumpets pitched in keys other than B-flat.  At the conclusion of the complete course of study students will have a mastery of all basic playing techniques and a fundamental understanding of how to teach students.  They will be qualified to perform in a professional setting or to successfully audition for graduate school.

Instructional Procedures:

Credit Hours:  Non-music majors normally take one credit, music education majors take two credits, and performance majors take three credits.   Four credits are normally not taken due to the heavy work load required.

A student registered for one hour of credit receives a 25-minute lesson weekly; a student registered for two, three, or four hours of credit receives a 50-minute lesson weekly.  Extensive individual practice is required at a rate of one hour per day per credit hour, including weekends and vacation periods.

Minimum Standards will be maintained for each semester of study.  When necessary, because of embouchure problems, etc., lesson content and requirements may be adjusted on an individual basis.  (See Trumpet Handbook or the Henderson Trumpet Page Course of Study for repertoire guidelines by semester.)

The lesson is not the time to practice! Students will not be allowed to practice during their lessons! In the event the teacher feels the student has not prepared adequately, the student may be excused for the remainder of the lesson.

Attendance:  The student should warm up prior to each lesson and be on time.  The instructor will wait for the student five minutes after the assigned lesson time.  The student is expected to wait for the instructor ten minutes after the assigned lesson time.

Whenever possible, the student is expected to give 24-hour notice when it is necessary to miss a lesson.  Without prior notice (in-person, telephone, or e-mail:  Dr. Buckner, Mr. Laubach), missed lessons will be made up only at the instructor's discretion.  (Exceptions will be made for serious illness or a death in the family.) Lessons falling on University holidays or missed due to University ensemble tours will not be made up.  Lessons missed due to the instructor's absence will be rescheduled in advance whenever possible, unless the absence is University-related; these lessons are not made up.

Students should be aware that it is rarely possible during the Fall Semester to reschedule missed lessons.  Therefore, students must make every effort to be at each lesson.  (It is often possible to trade times with someone else – IF you plan ahead!)

A student will be dropped for excessive absences (three total in a semester).  An excused absence is any absence due to illness (doctor's or nurse's note required), death in the immediate family, or University-associated field trip.  Please check with the instructor in advance to be certain the absence will be excused.

Studio Class/Master Class/Recital Attendance:  Participation in studio classes may be required as well as attendance at concerts and master classes that have special relevance to this course.

All students are required to attend all trumpet recitals, and music majors are expected to attend all brass recitals.  Plan ahead – there are NO excuses for missing these recitals.  (This is only common sense; your trumpet playing is based on what you have heard and will not be better than that.  Knowledge of trumpet and brass repertoire is a prerequisite to good playing and teaching.  It will also help you choose repertoire for your own recitals.)

Appropriate reading materials and research may be assigned as well.

Solo Performance:  Music majors are generally required to perform once per semester in recital or in Performance Laboratory.  First-semester students may be excused from this requirement.  Non-majors may perform on Performance Laboratory with the instructor's permission.  It is necessary to pay your accompanist.

Recitals:  Junior recitals for performance majors are normally presented during the second semester of 356x.  Senior recitals for all music majors are normally presented during the final semester in residence.  Recitals need to be scheduled as early in the semester as possible to ensure a good audience.

Non-degree junior recitals are usually presented during the sixth or seventh semester of applied study and require the instructor's approval as well the availability of the Recital Hall and a qualified accompanist.

All trumpet recitals in the Fall Semester must be scheduled prior to the Thanksgiving break.  Non-degree recitals in the Spring Semester should be scheduled prior to Spring Break.  See the Henderson Music Department Student Handbook for additional guidelines.

Brass Ensemble:  Participation in Brass Ensemble each semester is strongly encouraged.  This provides tremendous learning and performance opportunities and responsibilities.

Grading Procedures:

Grading sheets are based on two-credit lessons for music education majors.  These requirements will be adjusted as follows:

        Non-music majors taking one-credit lessons have ¼ of these requirements.

        Non-music majors taking two-credit lessons have ½ of these requirements.

        Music majors taking one-credit lessons have ½ of these requirements.

        Performance majors will be expected to meet the music education major requirements plus extensive work with orchestral excerpts.

Each musical example must be played well in order to have it crossed off on the Check Sheet.  Preparation prior to the lesson is essential.

Music majors:  the final lesson grade will be based on the Studio Final Grade (90%) and the jury grade (10%).

Non-music majors:  the final lesson grade will be the Studio Final Grade.

Studio Final Grades will be determined by the Total Completed Work:
        A:  completion of all required work for the semester
        B:  completion of 90% of required work for the semester
        C:  completion of 80% of required work for the semester
        D:  completion of 70% of required work for the semester
              (D's do not count toward completion of music major degree requirements)
        F:  less than 70% of required work for the semester

Regardless of the grade, at the conclusion of each semester, two-credit music education and three-or four-credit performance majors will advance to the next level.  (Exception:  music majors who receive a D will repeat that semester’s material).  Non-music majors taking two-credit lessons and music majors taking one-credit lessons will have two semesters to complete each level.  Non-music majors taking one-credit lessons will have four semesters to complete each level.

Failure to complete all of the material for a given semester will make the following semester’s material harder to play.  The wise student will use Christmas or summer breaks to catch up on any material not completed during the semester.

Juries:  Music majors are required to play a ten-minute jury each semester.  (The Sophomore Review jury, usually played at the end of the fourth semester of applied study, is fifteen minutes in length.) Students need to complete a repertoire and sheets prior to their jury.  A jury sign-up sheet will be posted near the end of each semester.  (Students performing full or half recitals may be excused from juries at the instructor's discretion.)

Failure to perform at a jury will result in a grade of "F" from the jury unless the student is seriously ill or there is a death in the immediate family.  In these situations the student will receive an incomplete.  The student is expected to contact the instructor as soon as possible to arrange the incomplete.  Incompletes must be removed during the first four weeks of the following semester.

Equipment:

Requirements:  Students must provide their own equipment:

     Instrument and Mouthpiece                   Mutes --metal straight mutes only
     Oil and Grease                                       Metronome
     Music                                                     Music Dictionary

Deadline:  Students will be allowed two weeks to purchase assigned music.  After that time the student will receive an "F" for each weekly lesson until the music is purchased.  Most etude books are available in the Reddie Bookstore.