Fluffy615

Tony,
I run into a problem with pitch in the upper register. I'm often flat. Do you know why this sort of thing happens, and what can I do to fix it. I'm finally starting to get my chops back into shape and I don't need any more obstacles. Thanks.
Bob

kadleck

Bob -

Wow - there can be a million reasons for that. My first guess would be that maybe you are not supporting properly. Or are you possibly over blowing?

Is it certain notes, or is it flat across the board?

I do have this same problem when I'm coming back from a lay off or vacation. Then a few days later when my chops are strong, it goes away. I also (unfortunately) play with my tuning slide fairly far out, so when I'm not in the best shape upper register flatness is really pronounced.

Try to give us more info if possible.

Thanks -
Tony

Vulgano Brother

Fluffy,
Is it flat to your ear, or flat to the tuner?

Fluffy615

It's usually flat accross the board to the ear and the tuner. I do think it happens more when I'm tired though. My slide is usually out a bit as well Tony. I have a feeling that it's more embouchure than air. I do play pretty full out. Maybe I'm overblowing because I'm always thinking more air, more air.

trumpetdoc

You might consider your equipment set-up as well. Too little resistance makes the upper register flat and too much makes it sharp. A large backbore makes the upper register flatter and a tight one makes it sharper. Your set-up may need to be better balanced. When we are strong we can muscle any set-up but as we tire, the set-up has a greater impact.

Fluffy615

"Doc",
I play a Laskey 65* mouthpiece, and a Bach 43 ML. I did switch to a GR 65.6M for awhile, I went back to the Laskey because I feel like there's more life to my sound on it. And there's a little more room in it. I think the problem was there on GR as well, but maybe to a smaller degree.
Thanks everyone for the help, by the way. I know how everyone hates to hear someone complain about their upper register! But this is a great place to vent, and there are some great brains to pick!
Bob

rowuk

Forget the equipment set-up considerations! You have a Bach 43ML with a Laskey mouthpiece, they are both reputable. Bore and resistance only affect intonation on substandard or badly pimped out equipment.
Being flat in the upper register is VERY common and 99% of the time based on inadequate breathing habits or bad body use. It is convenient to blame this on hardware, bore or whatever. Not accepting the truth just means you waste time!
The best thing that you could do would be to get a couple of lessons from someone VERY, VERY good. They can spot the good and bad without any of our speculation (and test your horn mouthpiece at the same time!). It could be a turning point in your life!

trumpetnick

I have found that it may be usefull to post the Ed Carrol's answer to a question of mine regarding similar issues.

Tony,

I hope that you don't mind me posting Ed's comments on your forum.

WildCat

This is interesting, actually. I like Scott Laskey's mouthpieces myself, and played them for a period a while back. I ran into the problem of being flat up high on a rock gig, where the horn section was made up of me and two trombones. About half way through the set, they both started creeping sharp. Normally I'd try to follow them so the section doesn't sound horribly out-of-tune with itself, but I was finding myself unable to do that this time. Not only couldn't I willingly pull the note above the pitch, but I was actually going flat. The simple solution was to push my tuning slide in a little bit, and compensate in the middle/lower register, which didn't prove much of a problem.

How's everything else in relation to where you're expecting the note to sit (like in the non-high register)? Are you coming down to the pitch, or going up to them?