Teaching  >  Trumpet Lessons
David Summer - Experienced Teacher
Trumpet Lessons, Beginning Intermediate & Advanced
David Summer, Trumpet David Summer has over 30 years of professional experience as a trumpet teacher, giving trumpet lessons to students from beginner trumpeters to professional brass players. He also performs professionally as a trumpet player and has played in many different types of ensembles, including big bands, jazz ensembles, function bands, brass ensembles and chamber groups.
David holds a degree in Music Education, and has been a trumpet instructor in private and public schools as well as in a variety of other settings. He is certified as a music teacher by the Department of Education in the state of Massachusetts.
All trumpet students studying with David, children and adults, are offered a comprehensive curriculum that combines the study of classical, jazz and pop music and is tailored to each individual student's interests and abilities. The trumpet is rich with repertoire that includes music from the baroque and classical periods to pop and modern jazz. David helps his students explore and interpret these pieces as they learn to play the trumpet.
David incorporates music fundamentals such as sight reading, scales, practicing techniques and performance skills, into all of his teaching. He also includes elementary and advanced music theory studies in his trumpet lessons to help each student feel more comfortable and confident when playing the trumpet in any musical environment.
Efficient breathing, breath control and diaphragm support are essential ingredients to playing the trumpet successfully. A properly formed, strong embouchure is essential to achieving a good trumpet tone and is also important in other aspects of trumpet playing including endurance, range and flexibility. David helps beginning and intermediate trumpet students understand these fundamentals and then coaches all of his students, children and adults, as they develop their ability to integrate these fundamentals into their trumpet playing.
Each student is different in their physical ability, their playing goals and the time they can allot to practice an instrument. David helps his trumpet students create a custom practice routine to make the best use of each student's available practice time. Students are able to maintain and improve their trumpet playing according to their own schedule.
David has taught many trumpet players the fundamentals of jazz improvisation. He uses play along materials as part of his jazz trumpet instruction to make improvising on the trumpet fun and introduces jazz trumpet students to standards from the jazz performance repertoire, especially selections from the American Popular Songbook. David also incorporates ear training in his jazz improvisation curriculum so trumpet students learn how to hear chord changes and recognize musical patterns.
Duet playing, classical and/or jazz according to student interest, is an important part of the trumpet curriculum as well. David plays trumpet duets with his students in their lessons to help with music reading and to improve the student’s ability to play along with other instrumentalists. (Plus they're fun!)
David has advised professional musicians on the business aspects of being a musician and has helped adult "comeback" brass players revitalize their interest in the trumpet. He has helped many adult beginners discover the joy of playing the trumpet as well.
Advanced trumpet students will appreciate David’s ability to teach advanced techniques such as transposition skills. Being able to transpose is an essential aspect of trumpet performance at the advancing and professional levels. Other advanced trumpet topics can include double tonguing (think the William Tell Overture aka The Lone Ranger), mouthpiece and instrument selection and range development. Performance skills are another important part of the curriculum for an advancing trumpet student. David has helped advancing brass students, children and adults, find performance opportunities according to their interest.
As an experienced trumpet teacher, David takes pride in his patience and his ability to encourage, motivate and inspire his trumpet students. He believes the best trumpet teachers take the time to play along with their students. David enjoys playing the trumpet with his students, beginners, intermediate and advanced students alike, and teaching trumpet lessons through patient explanation and by example.
Most of all David makes learning to play the trumpet fun.
All trumpet lessons are private lessons and are tailored to each individual student's interests and ability. Lessons may be scheduled on a regular weekly basis or "one at a time" lessons are available. These one at a time lessons are especially good for students who live further away from David's teaching studio or are unable to commit to regularly scheduled weekly music lessons.
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All trumpet lessons are given in a music studio located in David's home in Groton MA, 01450. This location is conveniently located for students looking for trumpet lessons in Acton MA, Littleton MA, Westford MA and Concord MA. David's teaching studio is also easily accessible to students in Massachusetts from, in or near Acton MA 01718 01719 01720, Ashby MA 01431, Ayer MA 01432 01434, Bedford MA 01730 01731, Billerica MA 01821 01822 01862, Bolton MA 01740, Boxborough MA 01719, Carlisle MA 01741, Chelmsford MA 01824, Clinton MA 01510, Concord MA 01742, Devens MA 01432 01434, Dracut MA 01826, Dunstable MA 01827, Fitchburg MA 01420, Groton MA 01450 01471 01470, Harvard MA 01451, Hudson MA 01749, Lancaster MA 01523, Leominster MA 01453, Lincoln MA 01773, Littleton MA 01460, Lowell MA 01850 01851 01852 01853 01854, Lunenburg MA 01462, Maynard MA 01754, Pepperell MA 01463, Shirley MA 01464, Sterling MA 01564, Stow MA 01775, Sudbury MA 01776, Tewksbury MA 01876, Townsend MA 01469 01474, Tyngsboro MA 01879, Westford MA 01886 and surrounding towns, as well as towns local to southern New Hampshire, including Brookline NH 03033, Greenville NH 03048, Hollis NH 03049, Hudson NH 03051, Mason NH 03048, and Nashua NH 03060 03061 03062 03063 03064. Also in central Massachusetts, the Worcester MA area, Boston MA area, MetroWest area and nearby towns.
Resources for Trumpet Players
These are trumpet player resources that David has created for his trumpet students and makes freely available to everyone. These music education resources will be of special interest to brass players, including trumpet, trombone, French horn and tuba players, as well as instrumental teachers, band instructors, music educators and recording engineers who may have the good fortune to be recording brass players.
Trumpet
David's Trumpet Duet Podcast
As a resource for trumpet players and trumpet teachers, David has recorded, and is podcasting, some of the duets from the book Selected Duets for Trumpet. This trumpet duet book is familiar to trumpeters of all ages.
All of these classical trumpet duets are presented in two versions, one with both trumpet parts and one with the trumpet 2 only part to be used as a play along. This is an excellent resource for trumpet students, trumpet teachers and school instrumental directors. Find these play along trumpet duets on David's Trumpet Podcast page.
Recording Brass Instruments
You may also be interested in David's article on Recording Brass Instruments. Published in Electronic Musician Magazine, this article discusses recording the trumpet, trombone, French horn and other brass instruments in a home recording studio.
Also included in this brass instrument recording article are sound clips demonstrating the effect of using different types of microphones, different microphone positions, and doubling parts when recording brass. This is an excellent resource for all brass players as well as for recording engineers and musicians with home recording studios.
Trumpet Mutes
Also see extensive information from David on brass instrument mutes including descriptions of the most common types of brass mutes, how to place mutes inside of brass instruments, sample trumpet mute sound clips and pictures of various types of trumpet mutes.
David's Trumpet Teachers
David Summer has been fortunate to study with some excellent trumpet teachers. Two of his teachers, Jay Rizzetto and Susan Fleet, were on the faculty at The University of Massachusetts at Lowell (UMass Lowell), where David earned his degree in Music Education. David also studied the trumpet with Richard Given and Mike Savits in their home teaching studios.
Richard Given has toured nationally with the Broadway shows Les Miserables, Pirates of Penzance, 42nd Street, and Sweeney Todd, and has played in the Boston productions of Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. He has been principal trumpet of the Boston Classical Orchestra since 1987. Richard is also a founding member of Morgenmusik, a brass collective based in Massachusetts that records and performs brass music with ensembles of various sizes.
David Summer studied trumpet with Richard Given, at his home music teaching studio in Sudbury MA, both before and after David graduated from Lowell University. These lessons concentrated on trumpet fundamentals, including the physical aspects of playing the trumpet as well as classical studies.
Myer (Mike) Savits is Dean Emeritus of Florida National College, retired chairman of music education at Florida International University, and has taught at both Florida Atlantic University and Indian River Community College. Dr. Savits has been featured as a trumpeter on hundreds of recordings in addition to playing at inaugural balls for three US presidents.
When David was a sophomore in high school, he studied jazz trumpet with Mike Savits at his home music teaching studio in Framingham, MA. These lessons concentrated on jazz trumpet studies, including the fundamentals of jazz improvisation, jazz interpretation and learning some of the standard jazz repertoire. Mike Savits was also kind enough to help David obtain one the instruments he still plays today, a beautiful Chicago Benge trumpet.
Jay Rizzetto is currently on the faculty at Mills College in Millis, CA. He has performed with numerous ensembles, including the San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Contemporary Chamber Music Players and The California Brass Quintet. Mr. Rizzetto has also worked with many musical icons including Aaron Copland, Frank Sinatra and Luciano Pavarotti. He is the author of several works for trumpet including Fifteen Contemporary Etudes for Trumpet.
David’s studies with Jay Rizzetto were part of his lessons in applied trumpet at UMass Lowell and concentrated on trumpet fundamentals and classical trumpet playing.
Susan Fleet has played in a wide variety of ensembles from big bands and Broadway musicals to the Ringling Brothers Circus. Ms. Fleet given many classical performances and her CD, Baroque Treasures for Trumpet and Organ has received critical acclaim. Susan Fleet is also a music historian and a novelist. Her website features biographies of women musicians and extensive information on all women bands and orchestras.
David's studies with Susan Fleet were part of his lessons in applied trumpet at UMass Lowell and also concentrated on classical trumpet playing.