Want More Effortless Playing?

Great technique gives you the freedom to make any music you can imagine. When your instrument becomes an effortless extension of your imagination, the gap between your musical ideas and your ability to express them disappears. Strong mechanics are the foundation of this freedom, empowering you to play with confidence and creativity.

How do we develop great technique? It starts with understanding and practicing the fundamental mechanics of brass playing. Unfortunately, most beginning method books don't adequately address these basics, and rarely provide enough exercises to help students master how brass instruments actually work. Without this clear foundation, students—whether beginners, comeback players, or even more advanced musicians—often find themselves stuck and frustrated.

Get the Staircase and Elevator Studies

These Staircase and Elevator Studies emerged from my desire to help brass players develop strong fundamental habits that can make playing feel more natural and effortless. They provide a clear path forward for anyone looking to build their technique from the ground up. I organized these studies around two powerful teaching metaphors (staircases and elevators) with the hope of making the mechanics of brass playing more concrete and intuitive. When it comes to sound production and moving around the instrument, there are really only two ways that brass players can change notes: 1) Using different valve combinations (or slide positions) which is a bit like walking up or down a staircase. 2) Shifting up or down the harmonic series, which is a bit like leaping from floor to floor while riding a swift moving elevator.

Designed as a supplement to your regular practice routine, this concise collection offers 16 simple studies along with suggested practice guidelines to help you get the most out of the exercises.

I sincerely hope they help you develop a stronger understanding of how your instrument works and give you the tools to express yourself more freely. 

Happy Practicing!

Paul

Get the Staircase and Elevator Studies

About the Author

Trumpeter Paul Murphy has worked frequently as a musician and educator at The Juilliard School, Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, and on Broadway. He has performed with the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Knights, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, and is a co-founder and former Artistic Director for the chamber music collective Decoda—the only independent ensemble to be recognized as an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall. Passionate about drawing others deeply into the art of music, he served for over a decade on the teaching artist faculty of the New York Philharmonic, and was recognized as one of the inaugural recipients of the Yale Distinguished Teaching Artist Award. He teaches in the summers at the Kinhaven Music School in Vermont.