Technical Studies Revisited

This method is "dedicated to brave trumpet players”. So begins this enlightened collection of exercises by Pierre Thibaud (1929 - 2004) and Gilles Defin. They have taken the Technical Studies of Herbert L. Clarke, a staple of the trumpet/cornet pedagogic tradition for one hundred years, and transformed them into the most challenging set of extensions yet conceived.


In 710 pages, the Clarke material is subjected to various treatments including octave displacements and expression in all of the modes: Major, Minor (Harmonic, Melodic), Whole Tone, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Locrian, Augmented, Aeolian, Lydian b7, Blues Scale. The player who works through this collection becomes markedly more literate and more highly skilled.


Pierre Thibaud was a giant among the trumpet teachers of the 20th Century. His students are preeminent players in orchestras and soloists around the world. His sense of musical adventure and creative spurs to advancement have benefitted us all.


Gilles Defin, a student of Thibaud’s, was instrumental in making sure that these extensions included aspects of technical exploration of specific interest to jazz players and the whole project is enormously enhanced by his contribution.


It is only with the advent of the iPad, that this comprehensive and voluminous collection can finally be brought to the contemporary trumpet player in a convenient and affordable form at less than the cost of a private lesson.