dbacon

Here's an exercise to get you using your air. Play a first space, treble clef, F on your horn and memorize the pitch. Now remove the tuning slide from your trumpet. Take a full, relaxed breath, as if you are yawning, then play the horn. Buzz the pitch F on the leadpipe. Think of blowing warm, moist, relaxed air through the horn (as if you are trying to fog up a mirror). Listen to the buzz and strive for a reedy, buzzy, kazoo-like sound. When you get a loud kazoo sound on the pipe, you can check how relaxed your air is by taking the mouthpiece out of the pipe and playing just the mouthpiece. Do not buzz the mouthpiece. Only blow in a relaxed manner and listen to the air whistling through it. Add the leadpipe and all of a sudden you'll get the pitch F buzzing on the pipe. For some, the pipe may buzz an E or an Eb, so if the F sounds flat, that's ok.

I've used this leadpipe exercise on many beginning students and have found that once they discover how to buzz the leadpipe they are capable of producing a full resonant tone.

Mark Minasian

bugler16

I use this technique first thing every day. I and all of the other players at my school use the Adam method. Our prof who has been there 2 years now has us do this first thing everyday and at the beginning of each practice session. Wow is all I can say since I started doing this and the rest of the Adam routine. The entire studio has improved by leaps and bounds. For those of you wondering I attend Morehead State University in Morehead KY. The trumpet prof is Gregory H. Wing. He studied under MR. Adam at Indiana for his Masters. He then went on to play with everyone under the sun. He has played lead with Buddy Rich, freelance in Vegas for years, and to many other people to name. I won't say that the entire Adam routine is right for everyone because it's not but the, as we call it "blowing of the pipe" is an excellent exercise. The first pitch is concert Eb or somewhere close then the partials from there up are Concert F, C, F,Bb. these partials should lock in and if you can blow a double C on just the leadpipe it should be easy on the horn right. I dunno I still can't hit that one.

dbacon

You are very lucky to study with Greg Wing. A fine player and exceptional teacher!

The leadpipe blow helps activate the breath as well as relax it, then transfer that feeling to playing flat out on every pitch.

With the long tones/chromatics from the Adam routine following that start you have the chance to program correctness into your playing!

Schlossberg, Arban, Clarke, Charlier.....

Solid Gold!!

Become a musician, not just a trumpet player!!

Horn of Praise

Personally, I do better on days when I "play the leadpipe" first. It seems to "set up" the embouchure properly.

All I can say is...it works. And when it comes to the horn, I am into anything (almost) that works.

Be well.

dbacon

Mr. Ghitalla said he'd rap sodder around his nose if it sounded better!!

After someone came in with weight around his mouthpiece....

No, it did not sound better.....