Weekly Trumpet Tips 9/5/10
The Shadow
Welcome to Weekly Trumpet Tips!
Please always feel free to respond / comment on any of the tips listed in these weekly posts. Your input may help clarify details for someone else! If you haven’t submitted a name for the new book, we’re still accepting ideas!
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Here are your weekly Tips!
How Do I Increase My Range?
After doing a poll, posting YouTube videos, and asking fellow trumpet players (you), the single number one question that is most commonly asked is “How do I increase my range?” While there is no single one great answer like a magic bullet that will solve all of our problems, there are things that we need to be aware of. As written last week, over blowing in the upper register is one big problem! Closing the aperture to increase range is another. The list of common problems isn’t long, but it is difficult to over come if you don’t pay close attention to details… pay close attention to your tone / sound! More times than not, when things start going haywire, we can detect it in our sound. Arturo Sandoval credits his concern for his sound as being what really helped over all. While he wouldn’t necessarily discuss range, it was abundantly clear that his open, round, consistent sound was his personal guide.
Enjoy What You Do!
All too often, we as trumpet players get absolutely wrapped up in our battle for control over our instrument. More times than not, our trumpet feels like an adversary vs. our tool that is in our control.
Practicing tends to turn more into an addiction than a pleasurable musical experience. Allow yourself several times in a week to enjoy what you do and what you play. Don’t strive to play better than anyone other than your former self. Make music – not noise! And most importantly, have fun!
“Every achiever that I have ever met says, ‘My life turned around when I began to believe in me.’”
Dr. Robert H. Schuller
Minister and Author
Have a GREAT week!
Sincerely,
Keith
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Comments
5 Responses to “Weekly Trumpet Tips 9/5/10”
Got something to say?
Keith;
I just started getting your daily, and now weekly trumpet tips and really enjoy them, want to thank you very much.
Paul Von Adam
(trumpet/soloist Andy Williams Show Branson, MO. also formerly Stan Kenton Orch. and Alumni Band)
Learn to play as low as you can. ie; pedal tones. not loud, but at P or PP level. don’t over blow let the sound work out from the air streem with your lips . Just relax and let your lips do their thing and don’t force the air. It takes time. This has help me with my upper regester. Its not about how loud you can play. Its about the air stream with the distance between your lips to alow them to buzz.
I watched some guys at the DCA Finls this weekend. They were playing double C’s and G’s. But, they only played short segments of each song being played. With lots of rest time between each song in a 15 min field show.
So, this tells me that they don’t have the chops to play a full 1, or 2 hour gig. Think about it. Its not how high you can play. Its about how long you can play working using your high range in the right places..
Scott B.
Yes I agree — the sound. I think the number one way my range is increasing is the use of long notes. Playing CDEFG…. starting at high C – — and holding, softly, good sounding notes at those levels. Of course when I first started the notes being held were much lower.
then of course when I get a good CDEFG…. then I try to tongue those.
I think that is what helps me.
¡ TIPS INTERESANTES !
muchas gracias
mb
Yes, the trumpet is definitely an adversary! I am NOT enjoying my practice time right now. If I couldn’t play chromatically to DHC when I am fresh I’d probably just bag the whole thing………………..However, this is where discipline kicks in. If we are disciplined we can accomplish almost anything. If we are not disciplined we can accomplish almost nothing. So I’ll put up with unenjoyable practice sessions, at least for a little while longer.
Any of you guys ever play a scale say from low C to G above High C with a tuner? Most frustrating thing that I do………………………