1 Minute Trumpet Player’s Survey
The Shadow
What is your biggest challenge with playing the trumpet? Endurance? Flexibility? Range? Tone?
We would love your feedback!
Please comment below.
Sincerely,
Keith
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68 Responses to “1 Minute Trumpet Player’s Survey”
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Endurance and range
I’m a 75 year old trpt player that is still playing gigs in 5 bands and an orchestra. My endurance and range is beginning to suffer. I have taken 2 lessons from Jim Manley who I believe took some lessons from you. He said you were a great trpt player and teacher. He has helped me in some respects, but I still don’t have the chops I would like to have. I can read, adlib, etc, but I get too tired to play my ideas. I work too hard at playing. I know that if I could [-lay easier I could concentrate more on what I am playing. I would like to buy your book, but I have tried so many things that don’t seem to help, I think it would just be another book and money wasted. I am a retired band director and I have been teaching since 1958. I never could reach the real high notes so I have not been able to help my young students.
I struggle with flexibility.
Hello, Keith. I’m a “returning” trumpeter: in the 70′s I played extensively through the world with a good range and a good endurance too. Now, after a long five years stop, I cannot be able to replay my capacities. Now I’m 52 and I don’t know if I’ll be able to return in my playing shape. Have you some suggest for me? I’ll be very grateful! Thank you so much and forgive my poor English.
Mauro 58 (Roma – Italy)
I’m in the process of a complete embouchure rebuild. My primary challenges are range and “form”. Breaking the old habits and developing the new. Endurance will come. Tone is no problem. Long tones, long tones, long tones, long tones……Cat Anderson lives….
Tone – for sure!
My biggest challenge / problem with playing the trumpet is range. I can play 2nd trumpet gigs with a good tone, but 1st trumpet parts I can only keep up for about 20 minutes. So actually it is a combination of range and endurance.
Hi Keith, being a freelance trumpet player with a regular job for making the money to live, the biggest challenge is getting enough time on the horn. I’ve found that my form is directly linked to the daily amount of playing. I had a period being unemployed, letting me go up to around 2-3hours lip time over a period of a couple of months. My form exploded, being able to do fantastic things. I’ve had great success seeing Jon Lewis and Gary Grant for a lesson. Jon taught me Stamp, being able to play centered solved the problem of a stiff center and really improved my sound. Flexibility and endurance (classical playing) has been my challenges. Gary gave me the Theicke book that he himself uses every day. It works wonders, especially in training tongue strength by exploiting large intervals played legato. Another discovery is the PETE. It really adds to the chop strength helping with limited practise time.
best regards,
Rune
Its not like these are all separate issues, they are all one and I have troubles with it
Yo Keith!
Hard to say what´s going on exactly with my chops. It´s probably a combination. But like you have stressed out before, it´s probably tension in the lips.
I feel when I start going in to the 2nd octave (from 3d space C) my lips get into a more fixed, maybe pinched set and I can really feel I am working against myself. Even though, I have a great sound and can play really load. But my endurance fades out after a while and the ability to play soft and beutiful in the upper register goes right out the window.
One weird thing with all this tension is that fouth space E is always low and I have to push it up to play it in tune. But then when I change a half step up to F, that F is always to sharp. Both of the notes have never felt to me like they are right in the middle and I know exactly how to play them.
Oh I can go on forever…..
hehehe
Thanx for everything dude, all the effort you put down in your website and helping people out!! Even though you are on the other side of the earth it feels like you are close for all the questions I have about trumpet!
Best regards from Sweden!
Thomas
My challenge: Range and endurance
My biggest challenge is range. It’s creeping upward, but still unreliable above high C. I’ve read lots of books, tried different approaches, but seem somehow locked at high C. And I’ve even been able to stop my mind from thinking “Gee, that’s a high note” which then adds more mental garbage to the attempt. It’s a physical thing that I hope I can find some sort of breakthrough soon.
Thank you for asking.
My biggest challenge is keeping endurance being able to do what I want to do when I want to do it.
Second is stage fright when I am at a big gig will I have enough endurance to play the songs I know I can do in anyother gig.
Hi Keith,
I have a day job doing web applications programming. I just joined a newly formed jazz sextet. I only play the cornet maybe 15-20 minutes every other day or three so my biggest challenge is endurance when I have a gig and need to play for two to four hours. Although with the sextet there are so many players doing solos that I get plenty of rest. I bought the P.E.T.E. It seems like it would be helpful to build embouchure muscles, but don’t use it much.
Here’s a link to photos and rehearsal recordings of the jazz sextet I played with from 2001-2005.
http://www.savageheart.com/Cadence/CadenceJazzSextet.html
David Savage
Vienna, VA
–
http://www.savageheart.com
http://www.cafepress.com/davidsavage
http://www.ilike.com/artist/David+Savage
http://www.myspace.com/davidsavagemusic
My two biggest problems (can’t do only one) are tone and endurance, in that order, I expect.
My biggest challenge is to achieve a consistent range from G above high C and up. I rarely play in that range but it is a challenge.
endurance and range are my biggest problems
My biggest problem is making my practices more efficient, focusing on the the right things every day to maximize my practice time.
Of course, I am always worried about range and endurance.
HI Keith…Tone has never been my problem..I was tutored by a guy when I was a kid who could play over a dance band with no mic…Thats was my goal and achieved…but because of it my aperture was always large with a High C range…as I grew up,joined other groups it was more important I was able to play up and use about double G..my tone suffers a bit but I can play there…I have never had a usable note above….too squeekey…so thats where I am stuck at…..Endurance is not an issue..I play 7 hour gigs fairly regularley ..I have also noticed that my lip feels stiff and does not vibrate as easily as it used to …sometimes takes an hour of playing before it relaxes…its odd?????
and thanks again for your tips and genuine interest in other players who have not made it as far as you.
Steve
My real problem affects all you have listed. It is the fact that I have been a mouthpiece junkie for many years, moving from size 620 to 670. I am attempting to stay in the range of 650 and stay there long enough to correct some of my problems.
Endurance is my main challenge. At 70 years old and being away from the trumpet for 42 years, trumpet playing in general is a challenge. (but I love the instrument).
While playing scales for about 10 to 12 minutes the notes come out choked or don’t come out. I reviewed your book ” Secrets of efficient trumpet playing”. I think you solved my problem. Lip pressure and keeping them together. This just happened yesterday(8/3/10). Too much lip pressure was causing lip fatigue resulting in low endurance. I hope this lesson gets me to another level in trumpet playing. Thanks in advance Keith.
Regards, Mike Spirito.
Consistency in all those areas-Motivation is my biggest problem
Range and endurance. Of course with time, patience and hard work it is improving.
The biggest problems with my trumpet playing are:
1.) I’m almost 46 – so the whole endurance, air speed, face muscle issue — somedays (after the regular job) are harder than others — the body doesn’t always cooperate, to stand up and play is draining — so I sit down.
2.) the mental aspect – 20 months after quitting for 7 years, I am at a level (DHC +) with a little consistency (that’s 3/4 + of an octave higher/ better than ever. However – I want more, faster (I see that playing level not lasting forever) —- so disciplining myself for heavy day /light day workout is a battle. I always want to pop out a DHC — everyday — just to reassure myself that it is still there – or take “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and play a line in all 3 octaves.
3.) being patient with myself — getting started somedays is the biggest issue — the first 10 minutes of warmup — the sound just isn’t there — so being patient, and taking time to warm up, to relax, and to enjoy the whole concept of playing
Wow — didn’t I just say that 80% of my problem with the trumpet is MENTAL??? — endurance, range, tone — it just takes time and practice, and it does come along —–
thanks,KEN
My challenge has always been the upper register, I know that endurance comes from practice and I don’t get as much of that as I need to. I play in a band at church and many times there are notes above high C that I just don’t have the oomph to hit.
As with many of your readers, #1-range and #2-endurance are my biggest challeges.
Hey Keith!
Range and endurance are my biggest problems. I also use too much mpc pressure. That is probably the reason for my problems (at least the most of it) I am a comeback player….about 4 years now…maybe not such a comeback player now, but after about 28 years of not playing, and at 53 years of age, it doesn’t come back that easy. I am taking my trumpet playing very seriously now, as I would like to go through for my Royal Conservatory in Trumpet Performance.I am looking for a teacher in the area, but it is very difficult to find a trumpet teacher at all let alone one that is qualified to take me through the conservatory.
I appreciate all your tips, and the fact that you take the time and seem to sincerely care about us guys that have our strugles with various aspects of playing the trumpet!
Thanks Kieth!
Rob
Canada
Tightening up in the higher register causing it to close down…
Nigel
Norwich, England
i have trouble with multiple tounging—mostly up and down scales. are there any tounge flexiblity exercises? some have no trouble with this part of playing and it comes naturaly to them. anybody out there conqured this problem? thanks frank
Sight reading and timming.
My biggest problem is consistency- I practice about an hr. a day, all that my schedule will really allow me- and I play in a couple of different groups (a weekly concert band, and a jazz band that meets every other week). But the range thing seems to come and go.
I’ve noticed that after a hard practice session or concert with either of these groups, it takes several days to recover from a sore, stiff lip. My range peaks at a G above High C on a “good” day, but my usable range only goes to an E. As a comeback player for about 4 years (after not playing 20 yrs.!), I feel like I’ve hit a plateau on the range thing.
For warm-ups, I buzz the first couple of exercises from the James Stamp routine before moving to the horn. I’m currently working out of the Mitchell trumpet method (book 3), and Clarke’s Tech. Studies.
Hello Keith
My challenge as I currently see it.
1. Memorizing all 12 scales – I know practice till the cows come home, I try but I always ask myself, Why does there have to be so many scales??? LOL
2. Range – Playing range A above the staff on a good day, not bad I think since I started my comeback in Sept. 09 which I was lucky to hit the “E”
3. Endurance playing from third space C on up consistantly on a long riff.
Goals for this year ? Command the high “C” and learn the scales , Maj. Min. Blues
HELP !!! PLEASE !!
Hi fellow trumpeters,
Since my concert music rarely goes up to high C range and tone are not that big a problem, but endurance suffers at the end of a 2 hour weekly rehearsal or a 1 hour concert. Right now my biggest challenge is tonguing or just starting a note. In practice,I play something out of Arban’s and record it for feedback. Sometimes it is painful to listen, so I keep trying different tongue positions when starting a note in attempting to eradicate that little scoup in note initiation. I want to be able to start a note cleanly. Right now increasing my initial airspeed is making my attacks a little better. Sounds simple but just try recording yourself and listen carefully.
As a 53 year old comback player with about 20 years in this time around, my feeling is that its most productive to “work” on the range and endurance, and has always been the most difficult area for me to keep up. Developing that extra playing power would help tremendously.
Man, I really appreciate the overwhelming response from everyone!
It looks as though we’re all pretty much on the same page with the “beast” known as the trumpet!
I think the best way to approach range and endurance would be similar to what you would want to do in the gym. Look at it from 2 different angles when you practice. A body builder does not work out the same muscle group every day… so perhaps one day do endurance type drills… I personally like page 14 in the Arban’s with a metronome set at 50 beats per minute. Play as long as you can go without removing the horn… so treat it like one big long shout chorus / melody section that you can’t drop out of.
The next day, do strength training – for us, it would be upper register vs. lifting heavy weights. Be sure to not over blow the upper register and monitor how much you’re using your lips to close down the air. You should be “pushing” the air faster with your abs and not with your aperture. We often times fool ourselves into believing that we’re pushing air when in reality, we’re using our aperture which creates more compression and feels like we’re blowing harder.
More to come!
Keith
Hi Paul,
For endurance, try playing for long periods of time without removing the horn. Arban’s page 14 – 15 is great for this because it’s not high and will help you focus.
For stage fright, try a product called “Calm.” It’s powdered magnesium and is a natural way to help calm nerves and keep you centered. I use it before my big gigs and it does wonders!
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi David,
Man, we could have used you several times… this web thing can be nuts at times.
Unfortunately for endurance, you do have to have face time. The P.E.T.E. is a good idea, but it won’t take the place of actual playing. What I’d suggest is perhaps while driving to work / home try lip buzzing and mouthpiece buzzing. This will at least help keep the muscles in shape… atrophy sets in within 24 – 48 hours of non-use and creates a vicious circle.
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi Stephen,
Keep in mind that endurance training, range training, tongue training, etc. should all be approached as separate issues. Practice musicality and fundamentals daily, and take the extreme physical workouts and do them 3 or 4 times per week. This gives the muscles time to recover. Also – EAT protein! Muscles need food to build on… facial muscles are no different!
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi Jim,
Ya – the mouthpiece game is a killer. I’d suggest staying on the smaller side and working to focus your aperture by playing softly. This takes time and patience, but the more control you can gain with the aperture, the better you’ll do with range, endurance, tone quality, flexibility, etc. There is a delicate balance between the air and the lips that we have to learn.
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi Mike,
Sounds like you’re on the right path. Keep focussing on the aperture and getting that balance and you’ll have far greater range and endurance than what you can imagine.
No one is immune from fatigue and bad days – just keep working and you’ll get it. Maynard told me once “Never kick yourself so hard that you break your leg – BUT – Never pat yourself on the back so hard that you break your arm!”
I still live by that today!
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi Ken –
You’re exactly right… we can really get screwed up before we even touch the horn. Achieving a DHC is a great thing, but you’re exactly right – it doesn’t stop there. Next is DH_… fill in the blanks.
Some days you’ve just gotta let the chops breathe and rest.
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi Kevin,
Try more free lip buzzing on the days that you feel you’re not going to be able to get to the horn. Sometimes just keeping it out of the case and on a trumpet stand makes all the difference.
For upper register practice… try to play the notes softly so that you can focus and relax. Power comes with time and control.
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi Rob,
Take one day at a time, and set practice goals not time goals or limits. You’ll find that by playing slowly and softly many problems will clear up faster than if we go with what we feel we should be doing (higher, louder, faster). Our subconcious mind has to have time to memorize the proper techniques… pressure is a byproduct of trying too hard and using the mouthpiece to achieve a smaller aperture vs. setting the lips in a smaller setting to begin with.
Play softly – especially in the upper register… power develops with time.
Sincerely,
Keith
David,
Try practicing off the horn by singing the timing and rhythm to a metronome set at a slow tempo… I.E. 1E&A 2E-A 3… this helps you to internalize the timing and start to “feel” the subdivision. Next, try clapping 1/4 notes with a metronome and sing the melody. Once you can do this off the horn, playing the rhythms becomes much easier.
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi Mark,
Try this… pick a note that seems to give you trouble when starting it with your tongue. Have yourself set up and before you release to play the note, feel the note on the chops, get the air set, keep the tongue relaxed, and then play… reset – repeat. Do this multiple times.
Many times it’s not an issue of ability, it’s an issue of not memorizing the right movements to make certain things happen consistently.
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi Ron –
I love Jim Manley to death, and he actually gave me the lesson. We still keep in contact to this day…
I’d suggest perhaps playing softer and more focussed… this alone is going to demand more from your aperture and supporting embouchure. It will be tiring at first, but will build strength and stamina much faster.
All too often as trumpet players, we don’t approach playing from a physical standpoint… yet it’s one of the most physically demanding instruments.
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi Frank,
Try this… I like to break multiple tonguing up into 2 parts – ala Alan Vizzutti. I personally play Arban’s page 155 ALL single tongue (the whole page). Rest, then go back and play it all “K” tongue. Rest – then go back and play it all triple tongue. In this process, you are isolating both parts of the tonguing technique. Most problems with multiple tonguing stems from not enough focus on the syllable that we don’t use often enough (K).
It takes time, but you’ll see your speed and accuracy build in much faster. Then, you can flip over to page 168 in the Arban’s or try Clarke Technical studies #1 and do the same as above… only this way it’s on changing note patterns vs. same note patterns.
Keep us posted on the progress!
Sincerely,
Keith
I am a 66 year old beginner,so i have a problem with everything. However, endurance and range are the biggest problems. I don’t want to be a screamer but I would like to have two or three more notes, “c” above the staff is my limit. I have to work too hard for the notes above the staff thus my endurance is weakened. I get a fat lip feeling after trying to play high and then lower notes are not clear.
larry
Hi Nava,
To memorize scales you have several different methods. Start with your majors as they will be the key to learning your minors and other modes.
Play them daily, and try to add 1 or 2 every few days. Play them SLOWLY and let your ear be your guide. Most likely you “know” what a major scale sounds like. You can also memorize them by “saying” them aloud with the appropriate sharps / flats – I.E. E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E, etc. This will help you internalize them.
Range – play softly… don’t force notes out. By playing softly, you’ll relax both physically and mentally. REST!
Endurance – Practice playing LONG etudes that require you to play in the middle to upper part of the horn. Arban’s has some great Characteristic studies in the back of the book… set a metronome at 50BPM and don’t take the horn off your face until you have no sound coming out. REST!
Minor Scales – ALL minor scales have a relative major. The 6th note of every major scale is the first note of the minor scale in the same key. C major scale (no sharps / flats). The 6th note of this scale is A. A scale with no sharps or flats is your A minor scale… make sense?
Sincerely,
Keith
Hi Bob,
It does – sadly, for most trumpet players, range seems to be a big hold back or stumbling block for self confidence, etc.
Try practicing softly and slowly… the softer you play, the more focus you develop from your aperture. High notes are fast air through a small hole that is NOT pinched. Playing louder and louder causes tension (both mental and physical). By practicing this way, you’ll develop more control. Power comes from controlling the balance between the air speed and the aperture.
Sincerely,
Keith
Range & sight reading. My range has improved back to my old level after working with you but I’m still not able to get much out past a double high C and not too many of those in a row.
Sight reading is always a challenge but playing in a sight reading band and working on etudes and unfamiliar pieces is sharpening my skill set.
Hi Keith,
I have good tone but lack range and endurance but thanks to your help, my range and endurance have improved nicely. Your focus on the physical aspects of aperture and embouchure training has really helped. This is necessary to improve your over-all trumpet playing. Your motivational philosophies have been very inspiring. I also think that total body fitness is necessary to be your best at playing.
Taken from Keith’s advice, I would like to urge every one to experiment with a smaller mouthpiece. I went from a Curry 50M to a Curry 20M with a much easier higher register. However the 20M caused me to lose some flexibility, (probably due to my age and insufficient practice) so I moved up to a 30M. My range with the 30M is not as high as with the 20M, but is much better than with the 50M.
No telling what my range would be if I could play with a Keith .600.
Mark
More fundamental. Finding time to practice.
Endurance is my biggest problem.
My biggest handicap is range. Other problems may arise but consistent practice usually takes care of them. I have tried many methods and routines but have not had the “aha” moment yet. I hope Kieth’s approach will provide that for me.
As a 70year old trumpet player, only performing once a week in a big band, I’ve improved my sound and endurance by a hint from Joey Pero, PEDAL TONES ! They really ralax your lip and give your sound and range a big boost.
Thanks Keith for the weekly tips , I look forward to them.
hi keith. my biggest challenge is endurance and range. I will like to get your chops rehab book. my problem is i am in mexico
Endurance and Range. It seems hard to tell if they go hand in hand or endurance limits range. I seem to have no problem warming up and doing gliss’ to high G. The problem is – I can’t seem to play anything above a high C during a performance. I don’t think it is nerves or stage tightness. It just isn’t there during a tune. Does that mean that my flexibility suffers as well? Oh well, there you have it.
didn’t see this until yesterday,
the biggest problems i have are always range and committment to put the time in, there linked together. after reading about the greats its so obvious that these people have put time in that i just don’t have. that statement is telling for sure, the greats always find a way to practice, i just don’t anymore. granted i’m no great pro, but just a local bar band player who enjoys it. but it has bcome so obvious that i guess i just don’t have the committment i need to really get past the current problems i have playing. there just isn’t a magic bullet for this, The things keith has helped me with have made it easier for me to play for sure, but i still struggle. the expression life gets in the way, probably isn’t in the vocabulary of the really great ones. anyway these are the things that i’ve been struggling with now and it seems forever.
tjg
I believe that the “mental” part is the hardest challenge. It can give you benefit or total damage.
On the subject of practice, Keith is right…we are using muscles and if we don’t employ a “use/rest” cycle, the process stalls. Worse yet, if you don’t use them, all the work goes away quickly. Example: I have run almost daily for 30+ years in addition to doing weight work. I recently had a hernia repair and had to take 10 days off. I came back and went right into running my usual 5 mi. Result? An achilles injury that set me back over a month. In addition, in just 10 days, the amount of weight I could lift had gone down by 10% or more. Bottom line? You have got to stay with regular practice or the embouchure (muscles) will suffer quicker than you might imagine. I couln’t believe what happened to my fitness with just 10 days off. I know we can’t all practice every day but we sure as hell can lip buzz in the car to keep the chops right!
I have pretty good range being able to hit the high E. But lately it seems I haven’t been able to play that high. Shoot, I’m even struggling trying to hit the high A, and that is a piece of cake for me. But it just seems I’ve lost my range overnight. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the weight that I gained the last few months or am I really just losing my chops. I wish I had an answer.
Hi Mathew,
If it feels like you’ve hit a brick wall literally over night, it sounds like lip tension to me. The lips just won’t vibrate willingly and it exponentially makes your range drop over night. The other cause is fatigue…
What I would do is start with a good solid (AND SLOW) warm up process utilizing pedal tones. If you have a difficult time with pedal tones, try borrowing a trombone or tuba mouthpiece, or you can just do free lip “horse flaps.” But remember – you’re doing this to try and loosen up the lips… make them feel pliable again… rushing this process will only keep you where you’re at.
Weight gain and loss will not really come into play until you’ve gained or lost at least 10 pounds. Our bodies tend to fluctuate anywhere between 1 to 4 pounds naturally anyway – due to season, being ill, being more sedentary, etc. Chops shouldn’t be affected by that small amount… gaining weight will make things feel a bit more stuffy, so by repositioning the mouthpiece slightly can help…
Sincerely,
Keith
Endurance! and Tone.
I’m a young trumpet player. My name’s Lauren and I’m 11. I’ve been playing 3 years now and im a protetgy. I don’t know if that is how you spell it. The hardest part for me is being sick and everyone expecting me to play as usual. People have to understand, when you’re sick (me especially), you can’t get the same amount of air sometimes. Having asthma on top of it all, makes it complicated for me. I have high hopes of going to Julliard. But as I’ve learned, musicians aren’t a top priority in this economy. I have had so many problems with people expecting more out of me than what I can give. Not having enough air makes me sound choppy. But people still enjoy it. People give me too much credit, for there are more talented players than me. Thanks for your time!
Lauren
Challenges? There are so many, depending on the day!
One day it’s range, the next it might be tone, the next endurance. I’ve never had much for range, “E” above high “C” ever since high school, but never strong or consistantly. I’m now in my early 50′s. It’s been a long frustrating road changing mouthpieces, horns, practicing lip trill excercises, practicing flexibility excercises, etc.. I’m currently playing on the weekends in a pop, R&B, soul type band playing trumpet and trombone (an MF Superbone, actually). I went back to college to see if that would help, I’m still about in the same boat. As you can imagine, my confidence is pretty shot. Hoping you can help.
Thanks,
Lou
What a question . . . what’s the biggest problem, then list the four biggies, endurance, flexibility, range, and tone . . . those are all big problems. I’ve got great tone until I spend too much time in the high range, then my flexibility goes, and I have to say goodbye to endurance! Long tones and lip trills, a lot of that sort of warm-up, does seem to help. That’s what I’m doing now.
Last year I did a gig with a great blues band, but the leader insisted on rehearsing 5 hours on the day of the gig. This, in spite of my warning him about the effects. The second set (of 2) that night there were numerous tunes I could hardly get a note out on.