TrumpetMaster - View Single Post

eisprl · 08-03-2005, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MahlerBrass

Well I am by no means a high note expert, but I'd like to think I can hold my own with my trumpet, and before my recent oral surgery, I had pretty good range with ease. I do play with firm corners and a very soft center of the lips, and my endurance has never really been an issue for me. I've been taught to anchor on the bottom lip, and play with a decent tone and ease in range and flexibility. I don't believe that you should have to change your embouchure for the higher notes though, I'm a strong believer that the emboucure should move as little as possible when playing. I know some really great players that look exactly the same playing a low C as a playing high C, that's what I try to go for, hope this helps!

I agree! I didn't know I was playing with two different embouchures until I had a lesson with a great Lead player, Rick Ragno from Ottawa. He presented me with the Bill Adams technique. Part of this technique is to pick a middle ground (say second line 'G') keeping this embouchure, play a descending arpeggio to the low 'G' without taking your lips off the mp or re-setting AT ALL!!! when you reach the low g. don't stop, continue the g major scale (or minor I guess) upwards as high as you can. We did a scale up to the high D above the staff. I can now play my middle note arpeggio down to low g and scale up two octaves without re-setting or taking my mouth off the mp. It may be hard to do by yourself because you may not realize you are doing it. Have a teacher (or someone you trust knows what the are talking about) observe this and tell you everytime they see a change in embouchure. Stop and try again. It worked really quickly for me.

my range has never been better! I can easily play a scale now without any stops in the sound or changes in my embouchure.

Good luck
Eric Sproul