Arban Method

The Arban's Book (La grande méthode complète de cornet à piston et de saxhorn par Arban), commonly referred to as the "Trumpeter's Bible," is a complete pedagogical method book for students of the trumpet and the cornet. The original edition was published by the author, Jean-Baptiste Arban, in 1864, and it has not been out of print since. The book contains technical exercises, lyrical exercises, duets, and full-length solos, including a famous set of variations on The Carnival of Venice.

Arban did not set out to write what would become the definitive work for trumpet students; rather, he simply wrote down exercises during his years at the Conservatoire de Paris and decided later to compile them. The result was the exhaustive method available today.

Content
The Arban's book contains an all-text introduction explaining some basic concepts of brass playing. After this there are different sections, each with a textual introduction explaining the purpose of the forthcoming exercises. Exercises include scale studies, melodic etudes, characteristic studies, tonguing exercises, cornet solos, interval studies, lip slurs, chord studies, finger exercises, etc.

Editions
There are many editions available of the Arban's book today. In addition to various printings for trumpet, there are also Arban's books for trombone and euphonium.

Companions
A popular companion to the Arban's book is the Prescott book, which simply prescribes an order in which to approach the Arban's book. This is popular as a training course for beginning students.