Cherry Blossom Sunrise Trumpet Quartet

Description

Cherry Blossom Sunrise Trumpet Quartet

By Eddie Lewis

Cherry Blossom Sunrise Trumpet Quartet did not start off as a cultural journey to Japan. Instead, it began as a simple sound concept. This is a concept I have used in other compositions before, compositions that did not end up sounding as “Asian” as Cherry Blossom Sunrise.

While I was working on it, there was a constant tug in the Eastern direction. Instead of fighting it, I went with it. I do not claim to have any authentic authority as to what Japanese music sounds like. I have performed a small hand full of Japanese works for trumpet, but I don’t have enough experience to compose this music from a position of authority or authenticity.

Instead, I wrote these “sounds” from the personal adventures of my own imagination. And I hope you accept it as such.

There was only one small cautioning voice in my mind as I moved in this direction. People today can become very upset over “cultural appropriation”. However, in my opinion, ALL of us are the end result of thousands of years of intermingled “cultural appropriation”. Without “cultural appropriation”, there would be no jazz. Most of the best music ever written would not exist. Most of what we value in our modern lives would not have ever been created.

There is a wonderful video of Yo-Yo Ma speaking about this in a very common sensical, metaphorical way. Here’s the link to that video where he talks about “The Edge Effect”:

https://www.youtube.com/live/TWsdrjUhol4?si=3nk9SrQ-3PZ0i6hA

Trumpet Player Skill Level

The most obvious aspect of the Trumpet Player Skill Level is that the highest note G above the staff. Cherry Blossom Sunrise Trumpet Quartet follows this convention.

Cherry Blossom Sunrise does have sixteenth notes but the technical demands of the piece are not as great as they might first appear. The entire piece is restricted to notes in the C pentatonic scale and that simplifies a lot of the fingerings.

Practice Suggestions

Here are a few recommendations for working on Cherry Blossom Sunrise Trumpet Quartet.

• Practice the C pentatonic scale before you practice this piece.
• Learn to tune fourths and seconds.
• Practice the technical passages slowly.
• Pay attention to dynamics.

Cherry Blossom Sunrise Trumpet Quartet Play-Along

There is a free trumpet play-along video for this Cherry Blossom Sunrise Trumpet Quartet. We publish these free play-along videos for educational purposes, but they also offer a wonderful opportunity for prospective buyers to take the piece for a “test drive”.

Click the following button to go to that video:

Cherry Blossom Sunrise Play-Along

If you are interested in more of these play-along videos, then the best way to access them is on our other website, EddieLewis.com.

Cherry Blossom Sunrise Trumpet Quartet Score Video

Alternatively, we also have a score video for Cherry Blossom Sunrise that you can access by clicking HERE. The score allows you to see and hear the duet before you purchase it.

You can use the score video as a substitute for the play-along video. You can even use it to play the second part. But that’s not what it’s for. It’s meant to give you an opportunity to look and hear the piece.

Cherry Blossom Sunrise Trumpet Quartet Performance Video

Below is a performance video of Cherry Blossom Sunrise Trumpet Quartet. The purpose of the performance video is so that you can see that the parts are genuinely playable. In our modern times, it is too easy to write music on computers without ever knowing if the music works. We make these live performance videos to demonstrate that the duets are indeed accessible.