screamingmorris

Teachers who don't know about embouchure types are the teachers who tell all students to play with the same embouchure and thus screw up the poor students who were born with a different embouchure type.
Good teachers know that different players are born with different embouchure types and thus will not try to get everyone to conform to one type; they will inform each student of the student's embouchure type and will instruct the student to avoid copying the habits of other students who were born with different embouchures.

Professional trumpet players who have never had embouchure problems sometimes do not know their embouchure type because they have never had need to examine their own embouchures (Maynard Ferguson was such a player).
But professional trumpet players who *have* had embouchure problems at some point in their lives *do* know their embouchure types because they needed to examine their embouchures very carefully and make adjustments to fix those embouchure problems (Bill Chase was such a player).

That is why I was a lousy player for the first 5 years of playing trumpet as a teenager, because I was ignorantly trying to copy the other students who were born with a different embouchure type.
Then when I learned my actual embouchure type and started to play accordingly I developed the ability to blast powerful High F's and High G's and even baby squeal a Double C on rare occasions (in spite of the fact that I am physically handicapped at the age of 52).
I can even play a gentle High G with a Bach 7 (no letter) mouthpiece on a .485 bore Conn 5A cornet, which is no small feat.

I told the poster that if he didn't know what type embouchure he has then he should experiment with mouthpiece placement and with trumpet tilt to find what is most natural for him.
That is *not* bad advice for anyone.

Saying that you disagree with me is acceptable posting behavior.
But "Please don't listen to Morris" is insulting.

- Morris

Seckse

After reading your post I have come to discover I do actually have a type 3 embouchure. Sorry for the confusion.

I do have a trumpet teacher but i've never really confronted him about my embouchure problems. I guess i'll bring it up on saturday when I goto lessons. I practice about 2 hours a day with slight improvement but my tone still sounds the same.

I will be going to the store and picking up some jazz and trumpet CD's

Thank you guys for the advice.

Seckse

Also, I was wondering if you guys had any good warmups before you play.

Preferably, something to help with range and lip-comfrotability. But, Anything will really do.

rowuk

If the 2 hours of practice a day is not BS, then you should be knocking walls down. Something sounds wrong here....................

I have 2 young ladies 9 and 10 that have been taking lessons with me for 15 months. We played Buglers Holiday last month (transposed down to Eb). I played third. They are seriously practicing 20 - 30 minutes per day with one or 2 days off during the week (their decision not my recommendation). If they were practicing 2 hours a day, we could have played it in the original key of Bb!

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

Seckse

Eh. I should reword that. I dont practice everyday like I should *feels shunned*
But when I do I practice a good 1-2 hours.
I also have to juggle trumpet, bassoon and flute practice, too.

Now that summer has ended all I have to practice for trumpet is my marching band music. With the occasional finding music online and playing it, which I don't do as much.

Smirnus

Is trumpet your first instrument? Clarinet was mine through I played brass much longer. My Chop problem was related to playing trumpet with a clarinet embouchure, I could get a sound in the middle register, fuzzy low and bright/sharp high. I clammed lots of notes and had very little confidence.

I went through many teachers but the best advice I got was from a fr. horn orchestra director, to blow straight ahead so my air was focus straight through the mouthpiece, into the leadpipe, not up or down.

I decided not to mess with my lips anymore, just to blow straight ahead (w/o mp) then gradually focus my lips to support the air and eventually get a buzz. If I focused the air up or down I started over. When I got the buzz down, I added the mp. If I could buzz mothpiece, remove it and air still went straight ahead, I added horn. After I got the habit set, attacks were consistent, moving between notes no longer scary. Hope this helps.

MJ

And you wonder why your tone needs improvement?

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tedh1951

I like the flute and bassoon too - I just struggle to keep the 3C in the end of the flute.

Oh, s o r r y - it was meant to be a joke.

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Ted

DarkKnight88

What kind of exercises/material do you study with your trumpet instructor? Does he/she place a strong emphasis on the foundations of producing good tone?

And to answer a previous post about warm up exercises. Pedal tones, mp buzzing, long tones, and lip slurs work very well.

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Music...The sound of the soul.

Seckse

We just go through kiddy stuff and run through marching band music.
Im more advanced that the stuff he gives me but it throws random sharps and flats in as a challenge.




and I know it's hard to juggle all three instruments, but if I wanna be a music major I really wanna know how to play multiple instruments..

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Without music, life would Bb.