camelbrass

Patric,

I've also had to go the route without a teacher for much of my time, basically because living in the Middle East there used to be very few players that I could turn to. That is changing. I was also lucky in that I was a proficient low brass player, who was schooled, well before I picked up a trumpet so I did have some foresight. I also make sure that I spend at least some time during the year with a good teacher to address bad habits and re-focus my routine. It's a longer, more hit and miss process than studying full-time with the guy, as Robin says.

Regardless, you will not get results looking for the revolutionary. Playing brass instruments well is evolutionary, not revolutionary. If your only goal is to reduce mouthpiece pressure you'll sound bad. Sure excess pressure chokes off that sound but pressure, in itself, is not bad at all. It's not really a worthwhile goal....good sound is.

Despite all the really good things on this and other sites some of it is well meant but just not applicable to all of us. Making a great sound is all about balance....each of us has fundamentally the same physical attributes but uses them in different proportions and in different ways to play trumpet and achieve that great sound. The goal is the same. A great teacher can short-cut that process.

Buzzing is a tool used exactly for the reasons VB has described. Some great players believe it's important, some don't. There's no magic beans.

Regards,



Trevor