| TAF,
The extreme registers are built upon the success if the middle register. A thick airstream that expands in a natural way is the best overall answer to extend your range in both directions. If you can produce a single, solid sound in the middle register the rest will come. That is dependent on how much you ask the instrument to do. Remember that the trumpet is an amplifier of the mouthpiece. The sound you produce on the mouthpiece is an excellent way of telling you how even your sound is before you play a note on the horn.
If you buzz a melody or a musical, vibrant scale and create even- sounding notes on the mouthpiece the trumpet will amplify those sounds. If the sounds are uneven and the timbre continues to change as you ascend, well, something's not right. If you listen to great playing and have a talent for imitation, your upper register will improve gradually. If you don't have a sense of what to command of your sound, you'll flounder.
You must develop the ability to discriminate between a good sound and a great sound. Your ear will take care of the rest aided by full breaths.
Obviously there are subtleties that come into play and a guy writing to you via the internet can't really do much for you other than plant little ideas and seeds for you to consider and culltivate. Don't look for overnight cures. They don't work except with very advanced players and you're not there yet. I don't practice anythin special to obtain a high register because I've already got it. When I was younger I just listened to great players playing up there and tried to sound like them. Maynard Ferguson, Bill Chase, and Rafael Mendez were the ones I listened to most and I tried to sound like them in the correct contexts.
Developing a good, thick airstream will serve as a supply to a beautiful sound but you need to breathe very full and get rid of the air in a relaxed way. Have a great sound in your head and believe you can imitate it.
Happy pondering,
ML |