How to Use a Third Valve Slide on Trumpet

Learning to properly use your trumpet third valve slide will require the use of your fingers on your left hand and great attention to trumpet intonation. The majority of trumpet pitches fingered with any combination involving the third valve are going to be sharp. The extension of the third valve slide will flatten the pitch to achieve greater intonation. The longer you extend the slide the flatter the pitch will go. You can minimize the amount of slide extension by first making sure your regular tuning slide is in a position to achieve maximum intonation accuracy.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Play a D4 and sustain the pitch for at least ten seconds. Do not move your third valve slide while playing this pitch. Now play a D5 and observe the difference between this note and the one an octave lower. You should be able to hear, no matter where your regular tuning slide is positioned, that the higher octave is more in tune and the lower octave is a bit sharp.

2. Play the lower D4 pitch again. This time extend your third valve slide out about one-quarter inch. You should notice a slight drop in pitch intonation. Some trumpets will drop more than others as it depends on the metallurgical make up of the horn. If you don't hear much of a pitch change then extend the slide until you do. Hold this newly tuned pitch for five to six seconds. Return the third valve slide to its closed position and play D4 again. Alternate playing the pitch with the tuning slide in and out four times, each time listening closely to the pitch difference. While this note's fingering involves the use of the third valve, it is the most naturally sharp note of any on the horn that require some combination of the third valve.

3. Play an Ab4. This note is fingered second and third valve. While this pitch will most often be sharp with the third valve slide in its closed position, it should not be nearly as sharp as a closed position D4. Sustain Ab4 for ten seconds or more without your slide extended. Repeat this pitch with the third valve slide extended no more than one-quarter inch. You should not have to extend the slide as much as the previous note. Play this pitch several times so that you know where the optimal third valve slide position is.

4. Repeat this same process for pitches Ab3, Eb4 and Ab4. If you play passages with the use of optional third valve fingerings you will need to check those notes as well.

Tips & Warnings

• The trumpet third valve slide should be used only when you are depressing a valve combination that includes the third valve otherwise you risk flattening your overall intonation.