paultandberg

I have noticed that my ten-year-old beginning trumpet playing kid is holding the horn at a slight angle to the left when he plays. He is still blowing great, as near as I can tell, compared to his peers (and compared to his thirteen-year old sister who is now in high school band, though I do not ever bring this up within ten miles of their ears).

By a left tilt, I mean that if his face and lips are a line, the trumpet is not held perpendicular to this line, it veers off slightly to the left. Instead of two 90 degree angles at the juncture of lip and horn, the angles are 93* and 87*, or something like that. Additionally, the mouthpiece seems to be placed just slightly off center on his lips as well.

(To get this out of the way), at this point, there is no qualified trumpet teacher I can call on for help. His school band teacher is swamped, ready to retire, not concerned, and not a brass person. I am trying to line up a qualified instructor for some summer lessons in a city 50 miles away, but that is not now. It is hard for some to understand, as we are now a largely urban nation, but rural areas are different than urban areas. They have their plusses and minuses. Finding good trumpet teachers is one of the minuses.)

So, I am seeking your advice.

-Do I ignore Gus’ horn positioning, or do I try get him to center the horn and keep it perpendicular to his face?

-On the one hand, he is playing well and enjoying it. I know that there is more than one way to skin a cat, or play a trumpet, and no doubt many great players learn by doing what works however it works.
(Elizabeth Cotton held her guitar upside down, and by doing so has helped turn the guitar world upside right).
By this approach, I leave the kid alone and let his lips and his horn work out their own deal.

-On another hand, I gently intercede and try restore symmetry and squareness, without turning my kid off the horn, in order to keep a bad habit from getting ingrained.

-On yet another hand, maybe it is very common for players and horns to find their own position, positions that are often not geometrically symmetrical to the head but are just right for the individual embouchure.

If this helps, I have made some gentle attempts to square the horn by drawing Gus’ attention to it, having him play in front of a mirror, and squaring the horn off so he can feel square. And he has been resistant to the changes I have suggested. He likes to hold the horn the way he holds it, not the way I think it should be. He does have a good point.

Pending good reason to think other, I will go with what Gus thinks is best and just let it drop as long as he sounds good and keeps improving.

And I will do my best to find a good teacher this summer. And hope the one I find is a good one.

Paul