soul3n

I was reading online about the different kinds of methods to approach the higher range and I came across the pivot method. I want to know more about this method and how to do it. The person who wrote it said that he used the pivot method and didn't even know it because he had an overbite and was able to do it naturally. I have an overbite too and I'm just curious about the pivot method. Lastly, what are some other ways to approach the higher register?

40cal

I'm no expert, but methodical practice will assist you in attaining a higher upper register.

When I practice charts in the upper register I will play them as softly as possible as well as the dynamics written.

__________________


“If there must be trouble, let it be in my day so that my child may have peace.”

Thomas Paine 1737-1809

“That’s all the bullets we had, or we would have shot him more,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd

rowuk

The pivot method entails "pivoting" the trumpet depending on the octave that you are playing in. The higher that you play, the more you angle the trumpet down. This puts the pressure on the lower lip and frees up the upper lip to vibrate instead of applying more pressure to the upper lip and squeezing the sound off.
Most players do bring the trumpet down somewhat when playing in the upper register. This is done to compensate for the natural tendency of the trumpets partial series to go flat the higher that you play.
There have been a couple of companies that have directly adressed this issue, most notably Schilke and Monette. Playing their respective instruments and mouthpieces can eliminate the need for this intonation correction. This does not relieve the player of keeping the mouthpiece pressure down - especially in the higher octave!

__________________
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

trpt2345

My theory is to try to keep everything the same no matter what register you're playing in. If you have to switch from high to low and high again quickly, if you have to pivot it's just going to slow you down. How many great trumpet players do you see using it?

Michael McLaughlin

There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.
Gore Vidal

__________________
Chicago MM

dlewis

Look up the Donold Reinhart method book he is the one who the who developedpivot system

Manny Laureano

The only great one I knew was Cichowicz and that had more to do with his orthodontic set-up than a prescribed method.

Gerry Schwarz pointed his horn down quite a bit. I don't know that it was caused by an overbite, however. I don't think so. Nevertheless, he was very stable. I think that's the best way, staying stable.

ML

thetrumpetmaster

Phil Smith uses this, moves the horn down the higher he plays. Definitely would classify him as a great player who uses it. Don't know if that is due to orthodontics or not, but regardless, it's what he does.

_TrumpeT_

I PERSONALLY wouldn't consciously think about pivoting to gain upper register. But some pivoting occurs even when I don't think about it (especially in the last variation of Carnival of Venice). If you have several trumpets in different keys, try playing the Arban's with smaller trumpets.

__________________


Bach Stradivarius 180/37
Bach 7C

"I built my staccato like the piano; low register with the warmth of the cello; lyrical melodies like the violin; running notes like the clarinet" - Maurice André

Hardnut

Yeah I don't make a conscious effort to pivot the trumpet to get high, but I guess that some must occur without you thinking about it.

Interestingly, if you watch a video of Wynton Marsalis, he often does the opposite of what is suggested here - bringing the horn up the higher he plays which is a really nice effect.

Chris.

__________________
Haydn wrote a Trumpet Concerto?

Manny Laureano

I think there needs to be a distinction between one who pivots and one who does it as result of having learned it systematically and methodically. Having gone to school with Phil I'm pretty sure he didn't learn to pivot in a technical way. In other words, he wasn't taught to do it. It's just what he does. No one taught me not to pivot, it's just what I do.

Actually, wait a minute... I remember being a kid and practicing one particular time. I caught sight of my bell in a mirror across the room. I kept playing the arpeggiated stuff I was working and noticed that my horn was pretty motionless. I thought it was kind of cool because it dawned on me that I was different that way from other kids at school. So, it became a game and I started to play up and down with scales and arpeggios and would do my best to keep the bell (the only thing I could see in the mirror due to the angle I was sitting) motionless. It got to be fun and is still something I do just for fun. My orthodontia is very normal except that my teeth aren't straight. I think Dave Hickman classified me once as having a "floating jaw".

So, there's my take on it. Irrespective of whether other people do it, I don't believe it's necessary to pivot in order to have a good high register or good endurance.

ML