equivariant

I have two questions that I am curious to know the answer to

1. What are the specific benefits of lip slurring exercises? I mean beyond being able to play a slur when required in a piece of music. Why do all the experienced players here emphasise that slurring exercises should be part of the daily routine? (I have just started working on the Arban section on lip slurs.)

2. What percentage of your range should you be able to buzz on the mouthpiece alone? If you can play up to A above the staff on the trumpet, should you also be able to buzz that note on the mouthpiece? If you can't buzz the note on the mouthpiece, does that mean that you can't really play it?

Jim

Al Innella

Lip slurs help develop your embouchure strength and breathing[air flow]. How high you can play on the mouthpiece varies from player to player, it's easier to play higher with the trumpet because of the resistance in the horn, this also alters the angle the mouthpiece sits on your lips. Don't worry about owning a note on the mouthpiece, own it on the trumpet, be able to play it soft,loud,tongued, slurred,ascending and descending scales, interval studies , then you own the note.
Some players remove the main tuning slide to buzz with the trumpet , others use a gadget called the "Berp" that attach's to the lead pipe , all to help retain the same feel as using the trumpet.

dizforprez

I tend to think that lip slurs are the most overrated exercise for trumpet. They can develop strength, but so can a lot of things, and I almost never hear them played correctly. I think if you can buzz the slur you have probably gotten most of the benefit from that exercise. When it comes to airflow I get more benefit from flow study type exercises that work half and whole step changes. Maybe someone else here can enlighten us as to why they are so great.

Regarding buzzing the mouthpiece: there seems to be a natural "break" at concert B above the staff.

Sofus

Yes, that´s when the pitch played is beginning
to be so high that the mouthpiece begins to act
as a resonator instead of a megaphone, i.e. a
lousy megaphone with very poor matching between
inner and outer air.
At high pitches the moutpiece will have the same
behavior as a natural trumpet, with partials and
all. However, it doesn´t have an appropriate bell
at the end, which makes the matching of mp end
to the outer air poor.

__________________
" There are no secrets to trumpetplaying - except Practice Your Head Off - and that´s no secret! "

Bud Herseth 1977 in Hamar, Norway


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Mouthpiece and Solidarity

gbdeamer

Link removed.

I posted the clip just to show that range while buzzing the mouthpiece isn't necessarily limited. I didn't want to start a critique of Pops in general.

Apologies all around.

Sofus

Sound just like my water kettle!

__________________
" There are no secrets to trumpetplaying - except Practice Your Head Off - and that´s no secret! "

Bud Herseth 1977 in Hamar, Norway


********************

Mouthpiece and Solidarity

dizforprez

That is cool, I knew it was something along those lines, but not all the details. It would be interesting to know if people think there is a lot of value in being able to smooth out that break. Not just being able to go over it, but come back down.

I have only heard one player in person buzz over that and come back down, and he sounded like a million bucks!

rowuk

If you have a decent, well balanced daily routine, you know inside of a couple days if any of this stuff is good.

Mouthpiece buzzing has little or nothing to do with building good chops as the resonant trumpet does behave MUCH differently. Still a couple of minutes a day is great for the ears and to just "loosen up".

Slurs are one of the most important parts of playing trumpet. When properly played, your embouchure migrates to its most efficient form without mirrors, magic capes or other falsities. When the slurs start really popping out of the horn over a wide range, you are where most of the rest want to be!

__________________
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

rowuk

Listen to this dude try to play music and you quickly find out why this is not for you.

__________________
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

dizforprez

I understand (those clips are very painful to listen too) but I will point out that the guy in question is not demonstrating the concept I am referring too, though he is buzzing above the break in question.

Let me put it another way:

Certain players and teachers believe there are benefits to working out natural breaks on the mouthpiece and trumpet (ala Jim Thompson). Is there anyone here that has worked out to where they can playing smoothly over( and back down) the natural B break( even if it is one half step above) and do they feel that it was worth all the work?


Personally once I reached that break, I stopped working on expanding my mouthpiece range, just curious to see if others, kept going and how it went for them.