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rowuk · 01-23-2008, 09:56 AM

Bending up and down is a function of the control you have over your chops to overcome the slotting of the trumpet.

You have a couple of mechanisms to let the pitch sag: tongue position in the mouth, less breath support (not good) and relaxing your face muscles. To get the pitch to go up, all you have is the ability to increase tension and that requires MUCH more control. Technically each trumpet slot is symmetrical and tones could be bent equally up and down. The higher note has less slot resistance though (see below) and therefore our embouchure takes the easy way out!

Slurring is another story all together. A horn the length of a trumpet amplifies most starting at lower frequencies. That means the trumpet is trying to take ever more control the lower that you play with the biggest "fight" with the pedal tones. The higher that we play, the closer the pitch is, but also the closer the resistance (slot) of the neighboring notes are too. That makes FAST slurring and lip trills possible.
Big intervals= big change in slot resistance
small intervals= little change in resistance
The better a horn slots, the harder it is to bend notes.

01-23-2008, 09:56 AM	#5 (permalink)
rowuk Moderator Fortissimo User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 4,367	Re: Bending a note Bending up and down is a function of the control you have over your chops to overcome the slotting of the trumpet. You have a couple of mechanisms to let the pitch sag: tongue position in the mouth, less breath support (not good) and relaxing your face muscles. To get the pitch to go up, all you have is the ability to increase tension and that requires MUCH more control. Technically each trumpet slot is symmetrical and tones could be bent equally up and down. The higher note has less slot resistance though (see below) and therefore our embouchure takes the easy way out! Slurring is another story all together. A horn the length of a trumpet amplifies most starting at lower frequencies. That means the trumpet is trying to take ever more control the lower that you play with the biggest "fight" with the pedal tones. The higher that we play, the closer the pitch is, but also the closer the resistance (slot) of the neighboring notes are too. That makes FAST slurring and lip trills possible. Big intervals= big change in slot resistance small intervals= little change in resistance The better a horn slots, the harder it is to bend notes. __________________ Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.