Atlas Volume II · Trumpet

three valves · seven paths · B♭ or C

Press a valve.
Open a world.

Each valve combination unlocks its own harmonic series — the trombone's seven slide positions, reborn under three fingers. This console is live: push the pistons and hear where they land, on a B♭ or a C horn.

your horn
C''

open · partial 4 · sounds B♭' on your B♭ horn

register 4
Explore the full map of valve combinations →
Bell — the flare radiates the vibrating column into the room and shapes the bright trumpet timbre. Leadpipe — the gently tapered entry tube; its taper keeps the harmonics in tune. Tuning slide — pull out or push in to lengthen the whole horn and tune every note at once. Mouthpiece — a cup that couples your buzzing lips to the air column; rim, bowl and throat set tone and resistance. i. Mouthpiece ii. Leadpipe iii. Piston valves & felt iv. Tuning slide v. Valve slides vi. Bell flare

plate i · the B♭/C trumpet — press a valve above

start here · the guided path

Never picked up a trumpet? Start with the buzz.

A step-by-step course: the open bugle series, the three valves, your first fingerings, then a tune. Each lesson teaches one idea, asks you to prove it, then opens the next — progress saved.

Begin the path ▸

▶ Jam: play along to a tune →▶ Prefer to watch first? Beginner video lessons →

The fingering chart of a method.

  1. IThe InstrumentPhysics and mechanics. How a lip buzz becomes a standing wave, and how a valve adds tubing to drop the pitch.
  2. IIThe MapSeven valve combinations × the harmonic series — every note the horn can play, drawn as a grid you can fly through.
  3. IIINotesTreble clef, sequenced by harmonic series. Choose B♭ or C and the mic listens to the sounding pitch.
  4. IVIntervalsSmart fingering. When you change valves, when you don't, and the laziest move between any two notes.
  5. VScalesC major first — the trumpet's open-horn key. Each scale drawn as a path of fingerings.
  6. VIChords & DegreesArpeggios on a monophonic horn. Outline any chord and see each tone's fingering.
  7. VIIHorn HealthValve oil, slide grease, the monthly bath. Keep the pistons fast and silent.
  8. VIIITranspose LabConcert · B♭ · C. Read the same music in any key, and hear it on either horn.
  9. IXRiff VisualizerFeed in a melody. See multiple ways to finger it — efficient, legato, pedagogical.

the method library

Built on the masters.

Woven with the trumpet's foundational literature — the original studies, with the animated valves and the listening ear added.

  • ArbanComplete Conservatory Method
  • ClarkeTechnical Studies
  • SchlossbergDaily Drills
  • CarusoSix Notes
  • ConconeLyrical Studies
  • StampWarm-Ups