How to Finger the F Scale on a Trumpet

Three valves control the note produced by the trumpet.

Mastering the F major scale on the trumpet will give you valuable new options for creating memorable lead runs and licks. The trumpet is a brass instrument with three valves on top that can be pressed in different combinations to produce different notes. Learning the fingering for a particular scale is required for you to be able to play it, and you must commit the fingerings to memory if you are going to produce a solo from it. The more scales you know on your trumpet, the more keys and variety of sounds you can produce.

Instructions

1. Press down the closest valve to you using your index finger. Blow through the mouthpiece to produce the note. This is an F, the first degree of the F major scale. Remove your finger from the valve and blow through the trumpet with nothing pressed down. This is a G note, the second degree in the F major scale. The only flat in the F major scale is B flat.

2. Press the closest and the middle valves down using your index finger and your middle finger. Blow through the mouthpiece to produce an A note. A is the third degree of the F major scale. Remove your middle finger from the middle valve and blow through the trumpet again. The note you just produced is B flat, which is the fourth degree of the scale.

3. Pull your index finger off the closest valve to you. Blow through the trumpet with no valves pressed down to produce a C note. This is the fifth degree of the F major scale. Press your index finger back down on the first valve and blow through the instrument again to play a D note. The D note is the sixth degree of the scale.

4. Take your index finger off the valve again. Blow through the trumpet “open” to produce an E note. This is the seventh degree of the scale. Put your index finger back in place and blow again. This is an F note, and an octave higher than your starting note. Play the scale in reverse to ensure you remember the order backwards and forwards.

5. Play the scale through but from D to D to play the related minor to F major. The related minor is D minor, which contains all of the notes of the F major scale but produces a sad sound. Practice playing in F major and its related minor.

Tips & Warnings

• The fingerings are only part of playing the scale. You must tighten your lips and control the air flow to make higher notes, and loosen your lips while you blow to produce lower notes.

References

• Trumpet Studio: Trumpet Fingering Chart
• YouTube: Trumpet Scales: F Major, Its Modes, Relative Minor, Pentatonics and Associated Blues Scale