Silent Night Medley Trumpet Duet

Description

Silent Night Medley Trumpet Duet

Josef Mohr, Franz X. Gruber, Arr. Eddie Lewis

Silent Night Medley is a trumpet duet arrangement of Silent Night and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. The Silent Night portion of the arrangement has subtle bluesy undertones.

The God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen section is not bluesy. This section has the second part doing a rhythmic accompaniment figure and then breaking into an almost baroque sounding counterpoint.

The two halves of the arrangement don’t necessarily fit with each other, which is part of its charm. At the time, it was my only Christmas duet and I didn’t know I would ever be writing another one.

Background

Long before I began the Trumpet Christmas Duets series, I wrote this simple trumpet duet arrangement of Silent Night and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. I wrote this duet in 2013 as a way to musically celebrate Christmas! The Celebrations duet book was already successful, and I wanted to add a Christmas piece to my ever-growing list of trumpet duets.

I made a recording and shared it on my blog, then it was forgotten for almost ten years.

This Silent Night Medley trumpet duet will not be officially part of the Trumpet Christmas Duets series, for two reasons. First is because we already have a very nice trumpet duet arrangement of Silent Night. Second is because it doesn’t follow the format I’ve been using for those duets. I am happy to publish it, but it doesn’t fit with the others.

Repeats for Gigs

It should be obvious, but the repeats are optional. I think when I wrote this, I was imagining it being used on the many “trumpet duet Christmas gigs” I’ve played throughout the years. Having the option to repeat a section as the people take extra time to get out of their limos is a nice feature on those kinds of gigs.

Skill Level

In our skill level system, Silent Night Medley trumpet duet is at the Trumpet Player skill level. This is the third skill level in our system, the first of two intermediate skill levels. Most high school trumpet players should be good enough to play this arrangement.

There is one exception to this skill level assignment. There are a number of As above the staff on the second page. As a general rule, I do not make exception for range. Looking at the part, I don’t think this part is challenging enough to lower it just for a few As.

Practice Recommendations

Silent Night is a wonderful way to practice the art of phrasing. In the case of this specific duet, the piece will be a difficult sell if it isn’t performed with a sense of mature phrasing. Don’t just play notes. Learn the lyrics and attempt to express those lyrics in your performance.

In the second half of the arrangement, it is not all about style. In the recording I played the eighth-notes legato on the first half and staccato on the second. It does not need to be performed that way, but there should be some clarity as to which way you are doing it. If you play sans style, then it won’t sound as good as it should.

Silent Night Medley Trumpet Duet Play-Along

We have a free trumpet play-along video in our You Play First Chair video series for Silent Night Medley trumpet duet. These trumpet play-along videos are educational tools meant to help trumpet students practice their sight reading and ensemble playing. But they also work very well for letting prospective customers take the piece for a proverbial test drive. Click on the following button to access the trumpet play along video for Silent Night Medley:

Silent Night Medley Trumpet Duet Score Video

The following is a score video for Silent Night Medley. We offer these score videos so you have an opportunity to see and hear the piece before you buy it.