Seven Tips For A Kickass Trumpet Comeback (2025 Trumpet Year-in-Review)

(You can nail your comeback—-even with a baby)

It’s the time of year again folks—-time to dig back through last year’s practice journals and share the best of what I’ve learned playing this beast of an instrument.

This year, you’ll find something special: the simple concepts that have helped me get back on track after a few years’ hiatus—-while also rekindling my love for the horn and maintaining a daily practice.

Let’s go →

What Was I Coming Back From?

This past year was a big one for me as a trumpet player. It marked a successful return to playing after suffering debilitating nerve damage and, subsequently, three years off the horn.

I won’t get into the details here, but back around 2019/2020, I was playing a lot. I was also misinterpreting the signals my body was giving me and burnt my chops out, waking up one stressful morning more or less unable to play. 

After a few years trying to rehabilitate my embouchure, I decided playing wasn’t a positive part of my life anymore. I hung it up for three years and only this past April felt ready to bust it out of the case and give it another go.

Playing After A Three-Year Break Was… Interesting

Before playing my first note, I had a few expectations. For one, I thought I’d be rested—-that my embouchure would feel healthy and relaxed again after getting all screwed up. Second, I figured I’d be able to play a decent G in the staff with a good tone.

I was wrong.

The mouthpiece felt completely foreign on my face. For weeks, I was unable to hold a steady low C. Worse, playing hurt. I had a shooting pain in my upper lip—-just how it was when I quit—-something I found discouraging, to say the least.

However, I stuck it out, and after three or four months of daily, easy playing, the pain issue resolved. Nine months later, my chops are coming along pretty good, though my range and endurance is still limited.

However, I’m starting to believe that if I keep it up, I can play better than ever before. And I believe you can too… So long as we both accept the following fundamental truth of trumpet playing and embrace it as a welcome partner.

Inconsistency is the Name of the Trumpet Game

You cannot make your chops work. There is no exercise, routine, or warmup that will do the trick. To make the sounds you like, your body has to figure out what to do on its own. And sometimes, well, you’re going to have shitty days. 

With my own comeback, I started having decent playing days after a few months. Days when my partner would say things like, “Hey, that actually sounded sort of good!” I was even beginning to think I stood a chance at being able to play this thing again. But wouldn’t you know it, right there at my highest highs, I’d get shot down again.

The good days would be followed by many more of being barely able to play a note. Sometimes, it’d take a week before the chops responded well again. And when they did, if I pushed it just a little too hard, just a touch, just a smidge, I’d pay for it in spades.

Through this process, though, I did begin to recognize one thing that encouraged me to keep going.

The Bad Days Were Getting Better

Over the weeks and months, my bad days were improving.

At the start, a rough couple days meant not being able to produce a clear low C. Then, another month or two or three later, the low C was always there; it was the G in the staff that sucked. A few months after that, it was the C above, and then the E, and so on.

This is normal and to be expected. It can also be discouraging, so the key—-if there were such a thing—-is staying positive, focused, and learning how to remain productive on the good days and the bad.

The following seven tips will help you do just that. If they don’t work miracles for you, give me a call or text at 979.373.8495. I’ll give you your money back and help you smelt your trumpet to make something more useful out of it.

Tip #1: Pick a Daily

Those of you familiar with the Ultimate Comeback Kit know I’m a proponent of something called a Daily.

The Daily is picking something, anything, and doing it every day. The Daily is powerful stuff. It gets you in the habit of practicing, keeps you moving forward, and works better than anything I know for making real progress.

When I started playing again, my Daily was to “connect with the sound” each day. To me, that meant playing one note—-typically a low C—-was a win. It didn’t matter how it sounded or how it felt. I just did it.

After that one note, I put an X on the calendar and wiped my hands clean. Some days, that one note was all I played. Others, I enjoyed practicing for an hour or two.

The important thing is that it kept me going when I didn’t believe in myself or my chops. Nine months later, I’m finding the musical time just about every day, and (mostly) loving every second of it.

Tip #2: Use a Timer

Practice everything—-everything–—with a timer. Set it for 10 minutes max. During those 10 minutes, focus on one small part of a song you’d love to play. Give it your best effort, and when the timer rings, stop. Set your horn down. Take a break, or play something else. 

At first, it may not feel like you’re getting much done. That’s fine. Learning to practice more effectively cures that (Tip #3). It can also be frustrating—-both having to stop before you’ve “got it” and on the days when things are feeling great. That’s good too. It teaches you patience.

A key ingredient to learning to play the music you love.

Tip #3: Practice Small

Running full songs over and over thinking you’ll somehow magically improve is not the way to make a great trumpet comeback.

You have to concentrate. Find the sticking point—-the few notes you’re screwing up—-and play them slowly. Listen to your sound. Set your horn down and relax your shoulders. Rest your chops more than you play during practice sessions. Sing a lot. Practice the fingerings left-handed, holding the horn upside down. Use a metronome. Record yourself and listen back. Mostly play slow, but sometimes play it way too fast and screw up on purpose and smile about it and say that was some of your best trumpet playing yet.

The point is to give those few notes your full attention for ten minutes. Then, move on and forget it ever happened. Do this every day and you’ll be astounded at what you’re capable of learning.

So long as you follow Tip #4…

Tip #4: Learn One Song

If you’re not keen on practicing hours and hours a day—-but still want to enjoy steady progress—-this tip’s for you.

Stop bouncing around from one thing to the next. Instead, pick a song and learn it in ten-minute chunks until you can play it in its entirety, from memory, without mistakes. Once you can do that—-and only once you can do that—-pick another song.

Commit to this, and the amount of material you can learn in a few months is staggering. Better yet, you’ll remember it effortlessly… In as little as 10 or 20 or 30 minutes a day. 

(Side note: This isn’t easy. It took me thirty years to finally commit to this. However, since April 2025, I’ve transcribed and memorized 17 improvised solos from the jazz masters in just this manner. It feels cool knowing all that music is a part of me forever.)

Tip #5: Prioritize Music

Fact: Your chops will feel the best—-sound the best and give you the greatest range and endurance and all that—-when you focus on playing musically.

The thing is, it’s easy for trumpet players to get caught up obsessing about their chops, different exercises, method books, disparate suggestions from YouTubers and renegade bloggers (ahem). If that’s you, here’s your homework.

Challenge yourself to learn some new music, by memory, for 2-3 minutes a day. Over time, build up to where you’re spending at least half of your practice time working your musical mind—-playing songs, transcribing recordings, improvising—-whatever floats your boat.

… Even if that means abandoning the safety of your routines for the day.

Tip #6: Flexibility, Every Day

Focusing mainly on music is good. That said, most trumpeters benefit from some kind of embouchure-specific practice each day. But here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be time-consuming or hellaciously boring.

These days, I spend my ten minutes each morning on the goal of improving embouchure flexibility. To me, embouchure flexibility (and strength) just means being able to play loud and soft and across intervals of increasing width with a good tone.

On one day, I practice into the pedal range, striving to connect those notes back up into the staff and beyond. On alternating days, I practice exercises based on the following example. As your chosen exercise becomes comfortable, replace it with something more challenging to keep progressing without adding practice time.

 

Tip #7: Record Yourself

I mentioned this briefly in Tip #3, but this one deserves special attention. 

Hearing yourself back on tape does something to your brain—-it makes you better automatically. You notice the things in your sound that bug you and find yourself moving in a direction you enjoy. The sound gets a little rounder, a little smoother, a little more connected; you start playing with more character.

If you have a cellphone, you have no excuse for not doing this every. single. day.

Bonus Tip: Here’s the MOST IMPORTANT Part of Making an Amazing Trumpet Comeback

I’ll tell you what, if I could get something tattooed to the inside of my skull, it’d be wildly inappropriate. Just kidding, it’d be this bastardized quote I stole from the dregs of the internet.

“Judge each day not by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you sow.”

That. That right there. That’s how to get great trumpet chops—-the kind that grant you a sound you love and all the range and endurance you need to play the music that lights you up.

It just takes practicing the good stuff, a little each day, and waiting. Do that, and it’ll work. It always works. Well… I guess I can’t say it always works for everyone, every time, but I’ve never met a trumpeter it didn’t work for, and I know a lot of trumpet players. 

So trust me, you aren’t special in that way.

Good Luck On Your Kickass Comeback!

If you’re ready to get better and have some fun playing your trumpet, the above tips will take you there. And while reading them here is one thing, seeing them demonstrated by a trumpet-playing friend who cares about your musical success is something entirely different.

That’s why the Online Trumpet Trade School exists: To help you get better at the trumpet, have fun in the practice room, and experience the joy of discovering your musical voice.

Inside the Trade School, you’ll find four self-paced courses for taking even the greenest adult beginner to confidently practicing every day and loving the sounds they make.

To get started, check out the lessons completely risk-free (full course listing here) for two weeks. If you’re loving your progress, stick around for just $49 per month. And if the lessons aren’t your cup of tea, no sweat. Cancel your membership anytime in those first 14 days, and you aren’t charged a dime. 

So there you have it: The 2025 Trumpet Year-in-Review.

Thanks for reading, and until next time…

Happy Trumpeting.

~ James Blackwell

James Blackwell is a GRAMMY Award winning trumpet nerd. He believes playing should be fun, rewarding, and musical—-and is passionate about helping adult trumpet students worldwide.

P.S. Enroll in the Online Trumpet Trade School Today!

C’mon, you know you’re curious. Enroll today and discover all the goodies that await → Enroll Now and Enjoy Your Playing More Today!

P.P.S. Why Do Some Trumpet Players Look So Relaxed When They Play?

Because they practice that way. So if you’ve longed for a beautiful tone and soaring musical range—-that you can play with ease—-Play Higher Notes—-Easily is for you.

(WARNING: By signing up, you’re also subscribed to my mailing list, meaning you’ll receive one email every two weeks with a killer recording for you to listen to—-plus a touch of friendly encouragement for keeping you pumped along your musical journey.)