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Home::Music
Building Range for the Beginning Trumpet Player
Author : Don Stinson
Building Range for the Beginning Trumpet Player
I teach many students each week, and all of them are interested
in one thing: playing high notes on the trumpet. I'm not sure
where this fascination that higher is better came from (well, I
guess we could Maynard Ferguson for this), but it is typically
the area that most students, old and young, want to improve on.
Unfortunately, students are often pressured to play high. A
first part trumpet player in high school is expected to play up
to an above the staff C; sometimes, up to D. Because the student
does not want to disappoint the director or look foolish in
front of the rest of the band (the trumpet is a very loud
instrument, and mistakes are projected just as much as correct
notes), he or she will do anything to create these high notes.
Often, an incorrect method is used. Most common is using too
much pressure. Some pressure is required to play the trumpet.
However, too much pressure can create problems, such as loose
teeth and fatigue. As a victim of too much pressure, I know
firsthand the dangers that can occur. After 15 years of playing
with a large amount of pressure, my two front teeth came loose
with a cracking sound one day as I was playing. Five trips to
the dentist and $5,000.00 later, I began researching methods on
playing with less pressure. Many factors must be accounted for
before attempting a range building exercise. An often
over-looked factor is how the student holds the trumpet. The
student should be aware that the trumpet should be gently
supported by the left hand; the right hand is only used to press
the valves. The student should avoid putting a "death grip" on
the trumpet with the left hand, and should avoid using the pinky
ring on the right hand. After this has been established, a
correct embouchure should then be formed. Much controversy has
always been present on the perfect embouchure. However, one that
usually works well is a smile-pucker combination. The student is
asked to smile, and then slowly pucker the lips while still
smiling. The result is an embouchure with firm corners and a
center that is loose enough to vibrate (after all, to play a
trumpet one must vibrate the lips). Finally, I will reveal the
secret to correctly developing range in students: AIR. This
often used, generic solution actually does work. It's common for
many teachers, when all else fails, to blame the problem on air
support. In this case, it is air, but it is also a combination
of other techniques. To begin, the student must become used to
taking a deep breath. To observe what the student thinks a deep
breath is, ask him or her to take one. More than likely, he or
she would breathe in loud and fast, and his or her chest would
visibly swell up. THIS IS INCORRECT! The student is only using
half of his or her lung capacity. I like to use the analogy of
breathing like a baby. Whenever you watch a baby breath
(especially when sleeping) his or her stomach rises up and down.
By observing this, we can come to the conclusion that we should
breathe all the way down into our stomach (or you can think of
dropping the diaphragm). Try this: have the student breathe down
to their stomach; tell them to breathe in and aim for their
toes. They probably will still take in a loud, fast breath, but
it will be deeper. In order to improve on this, we must help
the student take a more open breath. My favorite tool to use for
this is an empty toilet paper tube. Try this: take the empty
toilet paper tube, and put it inside of your mouth (about 1 inch
of the tube will actually be in your mouth). Seal your lips
around it, and breathe in. You will notice first off how much
air you are taking in, and secondly, you may notice that the
back of your throat feels cold. THIS IS HOW ALL BREATHING SHOULD
BE DONE! Have your students try this. They may find it funny or
goofy, but it will help. As for breathing without the toilet
paper tube, tell the student to imagine that they have a
baseball in their mouth. This will ultimately lead to more open
breathing as well. Now that breathing has been covered, range
can be focused on. The best range building exercise I have used
is one that I obtained from the Bill Adam routine. This exercise
involves starting on a second line G, and playing it as a long
tone, and then expanding out both ways on long tones. For
example, I would start on G, and then play F#, then G#/Ab, then
F, then A, and so on. Go as high as you safely can, and as low
as you can go (pedal tones work great for range exercises). Be
sure to also play each note as a long tone. You can either
assign a specific number of counts (such as playing each note
for 8 counts) or just play them until you run out of air. By
expanding out, you are not only building range, but also getting
your lips used to the different partials and developing your ear
by playing large intervals. It should also be noted that low
notes are just as, if not more, important than high notes. A
good, three dimensional sound should always be attained. The
most important part of this exercise is to not play higher than
is comfortable for you or the student, as injury could occur. To
prevent this, tell the student that the embouchure (lip
position) should never change; only the amount of air. As the
range expands upwards, the air should be pushed from the
diaphragm (stomach) muscles. I have used this method on
beginners, and now all of those students have as comfortable
range of at least a 14th after 2 months of weekly lessons (the
average range for beginners is an interval of a 7th after one
year). With this method, the student will be on his or her way
to playing solid in all ranges.
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