Last year was a very special year for me because I got to join the Band and start playing my favorite instrument, the trumpet. At sign- up night I was nervous because lots of my friends wanted to play the trumpet, so I got there early to make sure that I was one of the kids picked to play it. Before we even went to sign-up night, though, I had already started practicing at home playing notes and even some songs.

Mackenzie Sheehan is beginning her second year playing the trumpet and also plays soccer. Mackenzie plays a Yamaha Q Class Trumpet and a Yamaha 11B4 Mouthpiece.

When I first started playing I thought the trumpet was hard to hold up because it hurt my shoulders. You also have to have really good posture when you play and sometimes doing that was hard. It got easier as I practiced more - my dad said that the more I held the trumpet the easier it would get. He also said that if I practiced a little everyday I would build strong muscles in my face and body, muscles I will need to be a good trumpet player.

Every week at school we have full band class on Thursdays for thirty minutes. My favorite part about band class is when everyone plays together. It really makes a great sound and the coolest beat! On Fridays, I also have group trumpet lessons for thirty minutes. The other trumpet players in my Friday class are my good friends, Chelsea and Kaitlyn, and Matthew. The best thing about the lessons is when we get to play by ourselves.

At home I practice almost everyday, for about twenty minutes each day. I have a chart on the back of the door of our playroom that I fill in to keep track of how much I practice. When I practice I work on band songs, scales, and a couple of my favorite songs I know by heart. I am even starting to work on playing jazz and improvising! My dad helps me practice and he talks to me a lot about what is a good trumpet sound and how to get one.

Last week my dad took me to a jazz concert and we saw a professional trumpet player. His name was John Allmark and I thought he was amazing! He could play really high Cs and he also went about two minutes without taking a breath. It was so cool! We listen to a lot of jazz music at home. I really like to listen to trumpet players who can play the really high notes like Maynard Ferguson, Wayne Bergeron, and Bobby Shew.

My band teacher at school is Ms. Swardlick. She is very nice and helps everyone learn to play their instruments. Our first concert is next week and everyone is really excited because we've been working hard all year long and finally all our work will pay off when we have a great concert. I am really looking forward to being in Advanced Band next year. Ms. Swardlick said that if I keep practicing I could be in 5th Grade Honor Band. That would be great because we get to travel with the Band to a competition and maybe earn a gold medal. I'm definitely going to practice a lot this summer!

Reprinted with permission by the International Trumpet Guild Journal,
For more information about the International Trumpet Guild visit their web site