skankin'dan

I've posted about problems with my embrochure. I found on the net the problem and a possible solution, here goes:

This is what happened to me ( not me, skankin'dan but someone on the net with the same problem).....my mouthpeice slipped. originally it was in a good position right on the center of the lips....a little to the right. ( everyone is a little different ) but.....after a combination of too much playing...too much pressure among other things it eventually slipped down and i was playing on the "red meat" meaning just a slivver of teh inside of my lip. You cant bget much vibration out of that. so i had to replace my mouthpeice( I didn't i kept the same one). i Tried a bunch of complicated excersises, but after asking some profesors at Capital Univercity, the Eastman school of music, and some local trumpet players, they all said the best thing to do was just to not touch the trumpet for at least 3 weeks, and than start from scratch. i did that, and i`ve never felt better. Not saying this is your problem, but a break off the trumpet for a while and a compleate restart could fix eveything.


So I don't know if i should try this... stop playing for 3 weeks and start over again. With school coming up in 2.5 weeks i may be able to at least stop for 2 weeks and start again... can someone give me advice on what to do?

ejaime23

If you have upcoming auditions I'm not sure if I would do that, maybe one week, however if there are no auditions or important "play-offs" of a sort, I'd take that time off and hit the ground runnin, that's a tough one but there are my $0.02

SilverTrumpets

If there is an upcoming audition, you can practice some fundamentals without playing. Fingering, air stream excercises, etc. can help you keep in the trumpet playing mindset, so you're ready to rip through the music after a couple weeks. Fundamentals are important, so if you don't practice those, now would be a good time to start.

adohanian

I went through something similar, and I had auditions coming up so I tried to play through it, and it definitely made the process longer for me. The reason to take a few weeks off before trying to change is that your lips have a memory of where the mouthpiece goes, and if try to change placement without a break, which is what I did, you will be fighting that memory. The mouthpiece will continue to want to go where it was before, and this will lead to a lot of frustration as well as other bad habits that will have to be corrected later (it's never a good idea to concentrate entirely on your chops, which is what happened to me). By taking a few weeks off, your lips will not have as strong a memory, and you can clear your head, and it will be easier to "start from scratch." Use the time to listen to music, or practice singing to help your ears, and when you come back be patient and follow the advice of professionals, and your progress willl come. In the long run of things, a few weeks is a short amount of time if you get this right, compared to months or even years of fighting bad habits created by rushing things. As for any auditions, you will not have much success if you are fighting the horn physically and yourself mentally, you're better off getting through this now, and really being ready for the next batch. I hope this helps and good luck

adam

skankin'dan

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I won't have any problems with auditions though because last year I was great, I made all auditions and took lead. So if I'm not as strong as I need to be by the time of any auditions I can just explain to him the situation and he'll understand and give me some time if I need it.

Miyot

I had a similar experience in High school. (30 yrs ago.) I had really worked hard for a summer. Building my range, technique, etc. I used a Bach 5C and had a real sound and a little range. Double G. Well any how I got lead in stage band. I achieved my goal and stopped working so hard. You know I knew everything and didn't need to keep working so hard. Pretty soon my range slipped and I tried to compensate with pressure. This worked a little but I was abusing my lip. Now I figured I'll just switch to a smaller mpc. This worked for a while, but something went wrong. My embrochure, or mpc position moved. I tried to fix it. I switched back to the 5C and played hard. It didn't work. I switched back smaller again. I lost it all. I eventually took time off. Went back to the 5C and started over. That worked. Don't abuse your lip. Listen to your body. When fatigued, rest. When it feels right work hard, even push it a little. Take care of your self. Anyhow I am long winded. Take off the time you need. Rebuild slowly. You will get it back quick if you don't over do it. Good luck.

rowuk

Find a baritone horn or tuba/sousaphone and play that for a couple of weeks - you will learn some useful things about breathing and you definitely will NOT be playing on the red! Same fingerings and basic technique! Much better than not doing anything constructive!

skankin'dan

Day 2 w/o trumpet: it's hell i want out... I know I gotta do this to fix my playing but it's like a drug or cigarettes, so hard to quit =/

Anyways, is it a good idea (or at least not a bad one) to switch to a different mouthpeice that could be better and start with that? I'm playing a Yamaha 7c and it's alright. I'm hoping for something with more endurance in the high range. (g3-g4)