Whimsical Woodwinds and Boisterous Brass Woodwinds and Brass    

Lesson 22: Trumpet - Concerto for 2 Trumpets in D Major, MWV 6.30

by Johann Melchior Molter

Performer: European Archive

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Recite the composer and composition names.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the instrument or topic category.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

This lesson continues the study of the trumpet, a brass instrument. The musical composition for this lesson, 'Concerto for 2 Trumpets in D Major, MWV 6.30,' by Johann Melchior Molter, features two trumpets. The painting included in the lesson, 'The Last Judgment (portion),' by Michelangelo, depicts a scene from the Bible in which a group of angels blow trumpets or hold out books.

Vocabulary

Concerto: A musical composition for a solo instrument or instruments accompanied by an orchestra, especially one conceived on a relatively large scale.
Major (of a key): Based on a major scale, tending to produce a bright or joyful effect.

Category

1. Music lessons over the next two years group musical instruments into five major categories: strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.
2. Brass instruments include trumpets, trombones, horns, tubas, and didgeridoos.
3. Brass instruments are often made of brass, a metal alloy of copper and zinc. Study the components of brass.

4. Brass instruments produce sound through the vibration of air within tubes. See the tubes of a brass instrument called a French horn.

5. Musicians change the sounds made by brass instruments by moving valves or slides to change the length of the tubes in which the air vibrates. See the valves of a brass instrument called a French horn.

6. Brass musicians also alter the sound by changing how hard they blow and the tension of their lips.
7. See a musician holding the slider of a brass instrument called a trombone. The musician can slide it back and forth to change the sound.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Review the Parts of a Trumpet

Review the parts on the labeled picture of the trumpet.

Activity 2: Review How to Hold and Play a Trumpet

Review the picture of the trumpeter and answer the following questions:

• How does the trumpeter use his right hand?
• How does the trumpeter use his left hand?
• What do the trumpeter's fingers press down?
• How does the trumpeter use his mouth and lips?
• How does the trumpeter change which sounds the trumpet plays?

Activity 3: Quiz Yourself: Identify Trumpet Parts

Quiz yourself, and identify the following parts from memory on the trumpet diagram:

• Mouthpiece
• Bell
• Valves
• Water Key
• Little Finger Hook

Activity 4: Can You Find It?

Study the lesson image, 'The Last Judgment (portion),' by Michelangelo, and find the following:

• Angels Blowing Trumpets
• Puffed Cheeks
• Angel Listening to Trumpet
• Angel Holding Trumpet Over Shoulder
• Two Books
• Clouds

Review

Question 1

What are the five major categories of instruments listed in the lesson?

1 / 5

Answer 1

The five major categories of instruments are strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.

1 / 5

Question 2

Which instrument category does this lesson feature?

2 / 5

Answer 2

This lesson features the brass category.

2 / 5

Question 3

Which instrument does this lesson feature?

3 / 5

Answer 3

This lesson features the trumpet.

3 / 5

Question 4

What are the major parts of the trumpet?

4 / 5

Answer 4

Major parts of the trumpet include the mouthpiece, the valves, the little finger hook, the water key, and the bell.

4 / 5

Question 5

How do musicians create different sounds with trumpets?

5 / 5

Answer 5

Musicians press the trumpet's valves to create different sounds. They also change how hard they blow and the tension of their lips.

5 / 5

❮ ❯

1. What are the five major categories of instruments listed in the lesson? The five major categories of instruments are strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.
2. Which instrument category does this lesson feature? This lesson features the brass category.
3. Which instrument does this lesson feature? This lesson features the trumpet.
4. What are the major parts of the trumpet? Major parts of the trumpet include the mouthpiece, the valves, the little finger hook, the water key, and the bell.
5. How do musicians create different sounds with trumpets? Musicians press the trumpet's valves to create different sounds. They also change how hard they blow and the tension of their lips.

References

'Brass instrument.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Trumpet.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.