trumpetdiva1

According to the ring around my lip right now, it shows that I play off to the left--just like you. I can honestly say that my lip placement never hurt my range. I also have an overbite, which does not seem to impact my range. Range has always come more natural to me than other aspects of my playing and now I am focusing more on all those other aspects and putting off any range building for quite some time. Some of the greatest trumpet players of all time never had your range or maybe a little more than what you do have now. In thinking of the best trumpet players, they think all notes are important, from bottom to top. They have what is called a consistent range and produce a nice sound in all registers.

If you want to work on range, here is what I suggest. Continue to strengthen the notes that you already have in your repertoire. When trying to add any additional notes to your upper range, play it softly at first and then add more volume later. Your lips need to become accustomed to where the note is at.

Caruso did wonders for me, giving me some added range as well as improving other aspects of my playing. I used to play half the Clarke Technical Studies one day and the other half the next day. This book is valuable and added a third to my upper register. Play scales up and back down several octaves. Work on pedal tones. Play simple melodies in the upper register. Work on interval training in the upper register such as fourths, fifths, etc (C-F, C-G) in the upper register. You will need to train your ear to hear these notes.

One of my trumpet teachers told me this story about Bud Herseth. When asked where he had placed his lips on the mouthpiece, he responded with “anywhere it doesn’t hurt.”

Janell

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Janell Carter