B15M

Well the original poster doesn't have the problem that you described but my teacher (principal trumpet with a major symphony) makes me tank up every time.
Good air, stale air, air filled with pipe smoke, it doesn't matter. A lot of air.

The original problem was:
Big breath in at first and then waiting too long or not being able to get enough air when I do breath.

W Scott

I thought that's what I said---although rephrased somewhat. I'm surpirsed that your teacher doesn't have you working on Clarks Technical Studies. Approached correctly, Clarks would go a long way to correcting your problem. You have to train yourself to ration out your air supply and get a feel for when to tank up again, along with learning how to do it quickly.

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Gabriel is NOT a woodwind player!

rowuk

If you really want to have fun with the Clarke etudes, get an old cornet(at least 40 years old - before the brass world went crazy on bore size) and have a go at it. You should be able to play 30 to 50% longer before you need a breath. I have a 1911 Holton Clarke model long cornet, and it is a gas to play that stuff. Sound cool, works very well! It also lets you use your air MUCH differently.

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

rowuk

Hi,
here are some more thoughts. If we look at what happens when we take a deep breath: the VOLUME of air behind the lips increases, the PRESSURE of this air goes up. For people that have designed horn speakers, this represents a factor to match what happens behind the generator (speaker or lips) to the impedance/reactance of the horn itself.
In our case, if we had more much pressure from support than resistance in the horn/mouthpiece, our lips would be "blown" into the mouthpiece cup or the face muscles would at least have to do all the work until they failed (it's happened to me before....). If we increase the impedance of the horn (resistance/impedance) the lips are supported from the front more and the muscles don't have to work as hard. I believe this is what happens on well designed mouthpieces. Endurance goes up because the resistance(impedance actually) in front of the generator better matches our support. This also partially explains why shallower or smaller throated mouthpieces make it easier to play high longer.
The stronger a player is, the more they can get away with. For part-time players like myself, it is a reminder that the balance is critical. Too much resistance will make it impossible to use up the air in a reasonable time, this messes up our breathing cycles. Too little resistance means that we have trouble keeping enough air for the phrase AND our face muscles have to do more work to keep the lips out of the mouthpiece. Add now the requirements for good sound, and we have enough stuff for a new post - for engineers and acousticians.
Robin

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

Siegtrmpt

When I'm having one of those off days with trumpet it always seems to come down to breathing in too fast and slightly out of rhythm. Spending a little more time on the intake seems to make playing more relaxed and clears up some of the tension that is the root cause of the trouble.

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Bill S.- NY Bach 6, 38 Mt. Vernon 43 Bach "C" cornet, NY Bach trombone 6vii Monette mouthpieces

trumpetnick

Manny,

Probably my post will go a bit out of the main question, but how do you deal with breathing when playing lots of upbeats? I remember there was a whole page of those in the 1st trumpet part of Troubadour. There is another example: bach's tocata and fuga ind minor (I think I've played some 10 brass arrangment)

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Spada Bach B flat 72, leadpipe 2L/DWMM1.5C
Spada Bach C 256, leadpipe 2LQ/DWMM1.5C
1956 Olds Ambassador Cornet
Spada Custom Piccolo

If you don't know where you are going, you 'll end up someplace else