Bloomin Untidy Musician

Just tried that 20min Cat Anderson note and it is a bloody excellent exercise! I circular breathed it 3min blocks. It is certainly possible to do this with a bit of hard practice. Incredibly, i never realised how much a gap i have between my teeth. As soon as i moved my jaw up a little bit my central pitch was higher. I think my jaw was set on a low note position. It certainly gives the embouchure much more support. I thought my embouchure was OK, but clearly not.
Thanks for all the useful advice on this thread.

gdong

the 20G is hard, but I have seen it help with my air flow and relaxation. I'm into long G's and low F#'s right now, they really help me, but not for 20 minutes. The method itself is all about isometric strength building. If you are rock solid in your mouthpiece position and don't move at all between registers ever, then this mothod is worth a shot, it will really build strength, but you need the flexibility to use that strength. If you are still unstable in the mouthpiece position, get stable or you will just be frustrated with any high-note system.

Cat was sort of a natural high-note player and I feel that his method reflects what he did to improve and maintain his facility, not as a method to high notes. As for recommendations, i would find a method by someone who went through embouchure troubles/accidents and came out on top. They would know really how the mechanics work from the ground up. Someone like bobby shew or ken larson comes to mind there.

I would recommend Jim Thomsons buzzing basics for as long as you feel you need it (4 years for me!). It will build strength and flexability, then take it to the upper register with stamp and caruso.

Good Luck!

Graham

Well, now that I'm finally on holidays from Uni, (and the dreaded Technical Assessment is outta the way), I have the time to do the Cat Anderson exercises!

I just finished playing the first two pages, which was interesting. Watched a couple of episodes of Family Guy while doing the long tones, the 20 minute G and C were ok, and the 20 minute "E-G, E-G, A-B, B-C" part was a bit of a struggle but I can definitely feel that this is a workout for the ol' chops.

The second page was pretty good, very much akin to Clark exercises, and I focussed on playing them in the most relaxed manner possible. I felt it loosened me up a little bit after the long tones.

If anyone can shed some light on anything I should be aware of while going through these exercises, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Edwin Warren

[quote=Joe N.;302462]I found it when looking at a trumpet page online. Has anyone tried it? We all know that Cat Anderson could play triple A's and B's, but is his method worth playing through. For those who aren't familiar, each lesson (each one is played for 2-5 days) starts out with a ppp middle staff g long tone for 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes of rest and then goes on to a middle c for 20 minutes, only with a crescendo. After this there are some range exercises on each page.[/quote

Freddy Guzman, a great Mexican player, warmed up playing long notes for 20 minutes using circular breathing. Edwin Warren

Edwin Warren

Freddy Guzman, a great Mexican trumpet player '50's - '60's warmed up w/ long notes (+15 minutes) using circular breathing. Ed Warren