rapiscrap10g10

Hello everyone, I've just run into another obstacle in my trumpet playing. When i start to play an etude or any kind of playing, my neck becomes all tense and my diaphragm clenches to push out air. I can complete a phrase without two breaths. I'm starting to loose my range too! Hitting a G above scale is becoming very hard. I have braces....if that matters (I'm using BraceGuard)

Anyone have any suggestions?

I've got jazz auditions in a month, and the audition comes out in a few days, and as a player already in the top band in the school, i'm expected to produce... So, I'm looking to not experiment and start with right practice techniques so i can ace this audition.

Thanks for any help guys.

rowuk

If you search on relaxed breathing, you will find everything necessary that we can tell you. If you think you have "run" into another obstacle - you probably haven't. They were probably there before and you are discovering the problem after solving other ones. The fact that you identify 2 problems that are actually only one (neck and diaphragm "tension" are signs of bad breathing habits) shows a great need for outside help!

The only "correct" way to get back on track quickly is with a good teacher. There really is no substitute and the probability of you solving this alone in a couple of weeks is not realistic. Sometimes a couple of good lessons can catapult a player forward. With only a month to go, you shouldn't "experiment" too much!

Liad Bar-EL

"Brass Playing is no Harder Than Deep Breathing" by Claude Gordon

Get it.
Read it.
Do it.....with some expert help.

trpt2345

A week ago I was talking to Steve Burns about trumpet students, and we quickly agreed that the main, number one problem that most youngsters have is a lack of air. A big, relaxed breath that is released into the horn will cure just about any problem. But so many students feel that somehow the mouth creates the sound or that a great muscular effort is necessary, or that one only needs to fill up the very top of one's lungs, and this holds them back. He (Steve) mentioned a study he'd seen where someone measured the amount of air used by professional versus student players, and the pros used up to 14 times the amount of air students did.

Michael McLaughlin