Six Progressive Festival solos for Trumpet presents solos for the 6th to 9th grade trumpeter.

Yesterdays is a very easy beginner level solo that features a beautiful yet simple melody with an accompaniment that reflects upon times gone by.

March of the Chupacabras is an easy level solo that utilizes easy eighth note rhythms and an octave range.  This solo is dedicated to the author's sister who swears she saw the mythical beast in central Virginia.

Western Hills is a medium easy level solo that creates a feeling of being on a trail in the old west.  The first and last sections are played with swung eighth notes.  It should be easy for the first or second year player to feel this style.  The middle section is a rousing theme designed to teach the student to play in cut time.

Full Sail is a medium difficulty level solo that combines easy sixteenth note technique with catchy syncopated rhythms.  This solo is meant to invoke an image of a pirate ship at sea.

Tango is an intermediate level solo that is written in the style of a tango.  Tango is in ABA form, and it features a beautiful, slow middle section.  This work would serve as a great introduction to double tonguing in a solo setting and incorporates some tricky but playable time signature changes. The range just goes up to the G just above the staff, so it is perfect for those who struggle with high notes.

Dog Star is dedicated to John James Haynie, who was my trumpet professor at the University of North Texas.  

The title Dog Star comes from three different sources.  The melody is an inverted imagining of the song “How Much is that Doggy in the Window” with a newly composed B theme. It was also the name of my late brother Jerry Nelson’s company.   Finally it is also a modest shout-out to H.A. VanderCook and his Trumpet Stars solos.

Dog Star is a theme and variations and is a great introduction to this style of solo literature.  The theme in C Major is followed by an eighth note version which features varied articulations, intervals and leading tones.  The second variation is a beautiful legato melody in the relative minor.  Finally, the solo ends in F Major with a spirited variation that is meant to be an approachable introduction to double tonguing performance.  This could be single tongued, but the slower tempo would lessen the energy of the finale a bit.