You are not signed in.  Sign In  Search: Go About Rob Birdwell Musical Blog of Rob Birdwell Photo Galleries Copyright and Legal Privacy Feedback / Support Contact Subscribe to our Mailing List Portrait (2007) Highway Robbery Two Voices CD Releases Real Trumpet (Volume 1) Licks on Demand (Audio Loops) Virtual Trumpet Software All Products Music Contracting Services Licks On Demand (Audio Loops) Personal Song Service Personal Jingle Service Send A Musical Message RSS Feeds and Web Services Oliver! Anything Goes Callisto 5 Magdalena The Wizard of Oz Fiddler on the Roof Ragtime Media Lounge XTET The Blowholes Bird From Mars Composer Tools Corvallis Art Beat Community Theatre Real Trumpet Virtual Trumpet Licks On Demand (Audio Loops) Great Trumpet Players History of the Trumpet Trumpet Fingering Chart BirdwellMusic.com RSS Feed Musical Blog of Rob Birdwell News Gigs and Events Calendar Photo Galleries Message Board Discussion Forums Musical Blog of Rob Birdwell RSS Subscription Feeds Subscribe to our Mailing List Site Map Home Products Services Music Trumpet Content Members Search

Virtual Trumpet Lite version 3.0

The free Virtual Trumpet Lite (Java Applet) has been retired.  Please visit the Virtual Trumpet (for Windows) page for download and product information.

Help Index   Fingering Chart   Launch New Instance...   Revision History

Virtual Trumpet Lite - Help Index

System Requirements

How To Play Virtual Trumpet Lite

Harmony, Mute, and Groove Styles

Keyboard Keys To Use

Playing and Loading Licks

The Dream For Virtual Trumpet

Back To Virtual Trumpet Lite 

System Requirements

Virtual Trumpet Lite requires that your browser be Java Enabled and capable of running an Applet.  You will need Sun's Java Runtime Environment 1.4 to run this applet. You will automatically be prompted to install it if it's not detected on your system.  In order to hear the audio, you'll need a sound card.  To trigger the valves and shift range positions, you'll need a keyboard with both NUMBER PAD keys, and regular NUMBER keys.  You can delete your browser's cache/temporary files to clear any Virtual Trumpet Lite resources. 

Back To Help Index  Back To Virtual Trumpet Lite

How To Play Virtual Trumpet Lite?

When the Virtual Trumpet Lite applet is completely loaded, you should see a display of the current "position" (a Virtual Trumpet concept), which displays two notes and represents the range or series of notes you can play in that particular "position."  Also displayed is a third note, which represents the current note being played or "blown."  You should also see a graphical representation of the "Virtual Trumpet."  You can click the trumpet to hear the first note, a middle C (concert Bb).  If the "valves" aren't working or the notes aren't being displayed, click the where the trumpet image should be and the interface will repaint (currently a minor bug).  This will reset the applet focus, and you should be able to resume your "valving" and blowing!  Experiment and see what you can do with it!  There are lots of possibilities! 

Harmony, Mute, and Groove Styles

Harmony

Select from the Harmony list to harmonize with the audio being played.  For example, if you select "Major Third" from the list, all notes you play will be harmonized with an additional note, a Major third above the note being played.  Harmonies include single note harmonies (like the "8va" harmony) to full chordal harmonies (like the "Maj 7 (#11)" harmony).

Mute

Select from the Mute list to change mutes from "Open" to "Harmon" mute.  By default, Virtual Trumpet Lite starts up with all audio preloaded, and is ready to play in "Open" mode (sans corde as they say).  Selecting "Harmon" from the list will play using the "Harmon" mute audio.

Groove Styles

Select a Groove Style from the list if you want to try jamming with a "Groove."  After you select a Groove Style from the list, a smaller window will popup and the "Groove" will start to play.  The Groove will typically be a short MIDI or audio file, played in a continuous loop.  You can play the Virtual Trumpet Lite once the Groove starts to play.  Note:  you may need to adjust your MIDI output settings to match the audio output.  To stop the Groove from playing, simply close the "Groove Player" window.  Selecting "None" from the "Groove Styles" list will also stop the Groove from playing.  More "Grooves" will be added in the future, and your requests are welcome.  Hint:  when playing with a groove, keep it simple.  If you want to play something fancy, you can always trigger a Lick! 

Back To Help Index  Back To Virtual Trumpet Lite

Keyboard Keys To Use

The following table lists the keyboard keys you can use to play Virtual Trumpet Lite:

Keyboard Keys	What They Do
NUM PAD keys 1, 2, and 3	These keys work the valves of the Virtual Trumpet.  NUM PAD key 1 corresponds to a real trumpet's "first valve", etc.  You can press multiple keys simultaneously, e.g., 1 and 2, 2 and 3, etc.  You don't need to have your NUM LOCK key on - Virtual Trumpet Lite will handle either case, on or off.
NUMBER KEYS 1 through 8	These keys, typically located above the letter keys, allow you to shift range positions (a Virtual Trumpet concept).  For example, Position 2, the default position, corresponds to the "2" key on your computer keyboard.  In this position you can play the notes C, C#, D, D#, E, F and F# (using the NUM PAD keys).  To shift positions, you only need to press the number key down (either 1 through 8) - you can lift your finger off the key to prepare another shift.
ESCAPE or DELETE	Stops the current note and Lick (and any harmony notes, if any) from playing.
SPACE or ENTER	Repeats current note.  Clicking the Trumpet image will do the same thing.
NUM PAD key 4	Raises current note by a half step.
NUM PAD key 5	Lowers current note by a half step.
NUM PAD key 6	Raises current note by one octave, if within range.
Q, R, or U	Pressing either of these keys will play the currently loaded Lick, if any. The Lick will play based on the current note you are on.  In this way, you can trigger the Lick to play in any key. (See Playing and Loading Licks)

Back To Help Index  Back To Virtual Trumpet Lite

Playing and Loading Licks

Virtual Trumpet Lite can play Licks which can consist of anything from  a series of pre-defined notes, a scale, to an entire song.  Virtual Trumpet Lite will pre-loaded a set of default Licks that you can play once the applet is loaded.  You can also load your own Lick (XML) files.  You need the desktop version of Virtual Trumpet (version 1.0.4 or higher) to create your own Lick files.

If you have your own Lick (XML) file(s), you can load them by clicking the "Load Licks..." button which will launch a dialog box - paste in the XML source code of your lick into the edit box and click the OK button.  NOTE:  due to Applet security, it's not possible for Virtual Trumpet Lite to read files from your hard drive (which is a good thing, right?), therefore, it's necessary, for the time being, to load your "Licks" this way.  It may take a moment for your Lick(s) to load, depending on the file size and the type of connection (cable, modem, etc.) you have.  Once loaded, you can select your newly loaded Lick(s) from the "Licks" combo box. 

There are two ways to play a Lick.  The simplest way to play a Lick (or audition it) is to simply click the "Play Lick..." button.  Whatever Lick is currently selected in the "Licks" list will be played. 

The second way is to play a Lick is via the Q, R, or U hot keys.  These keys are typically close enough to to the NUMBER keys (1 through 8) to make triggering  a Lick easy.  The starting note of the Lick will be based on whatever note/position you are currently on.  This makes it easy to incorporate Licks into your "real time" playing, plus you can play Licks in all keys! 

By default, the "Global Tempo" is set to "None - Use Lick Tempo" - but if you select a tempo from the list, any Lick will play back at the "Global Tempo" setting

Virtual Trumpet 1.0.4 or higher will provides functionality to create/compose and export Licks in XML format.  Note that Virtual Trumpet Lite can't read the ".LIK" format used by the desktop version of Virtual Trumpet - use the XML format from now on since it's better suited for web applets, like Virtual Trumpet Lite!  Open up the Default Licks XML File to see what it looks like.

Back To Help Index  Back To Virtual Trumpet Lite

The Dream For Virtual Trumpet

Okay, so it's hardly the most lofty or grandious of dreams, but a dream nonetheless.  As a trumpet player and programmer, I thought it would be a neat challenge: to write some software that simulated playing trumpet on a computer.  Since I know a bit about trumpet playing, and I try my best at programming, this made perfect sense to me.  Little did I know that in sharing my "Virtual Trumpet" concept with family and friends, and later the early versions of the desktop software, I would have such a great feeling of satisfaction, something I rarely get after programming other software.  Virtual Trumpet is special, to me at least, because it was designed simply to be what it is - a trumpet simulator.  It makes it possible to share - ideas, simple musical concepts - even the joy of playing an instrument. Playing the Virtual Trumpet can be fun and inspirational - I know this because I didn't just write it (and here's that tired old "hair club" punch line):  I play it all the time!  I play it and try to share it with others.  

One of my future goals is to create a Virtual Trumpet suite of products (hopefully just one!) that will play on just about any portable device, on any OS, with any browser! 

Virtual Trumpet Lite is a scaled down (Java) version of the desktop version of Virtual Trumpet (for Windows 9x/2000/ME/XP systems).   

This current release of Virtual Trumpet Lite will run on most popular browsers (Netscape and IE, 4.0 generations or higher) and many popular operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Solaris and possibly even Mac.

  Visit the Virtual Trumpet Home Page for more information about the Desktop edition for Windows 9x/2000/ME/XP systems.

Enjoy! 

Rob Birdwell

Back To Help Index  Back To Virtual Trumpet Lite