Alright guys, I have a couple of problems with slurring (it's by far my weakest area). Here's the list:

1. When slurring above the staff, I get an IMMENSE amount of pressure in the chest. What can I do to remedy this? I talked to an accomplished friend of mine, and he recommends a slur pattern from above the staff C to G, to B to F#, and so on, then going back up, without changing the aperture, only the speed of air. What do you think of this? I was thinking about a more freer-blowing leadpipe, though this is probably not a hardware issue, but trying to push too much air through a small aperture.

2. When slurring, in general, I can never seem to go faster than eighth note triplets ~100 bpm before it really starts to sound choppy. Should I just practice here? How do I move my tongue faster?

3. When slurring between partials, from, say, in the middle of the staff g to top of the staff G or fourth space E, it hits all of the other open valve notes (or partials) with a sort of 'ba-da-da-ding' sound. Arban recommended tonguing lightly at using more air for the top note, so is that all I have to do?

Thank you for reading!

Addison

i'd be interested in hearing this too

1. My guess is that you are tensing up in order to hit high notes. Focus on breathing and posture and relaxing.

2. You have to find the sweet spot where it takes just a tiny little bit of tongue/air to change the pitches. The sweet spot is the middle between the two partials. That is how I visualise it. The better you get at it, the larger the middle area becomes until you can do lip slurs with both notes centered.

3.Practice this:
Metronome on 60bpm.
Start at 2nd line G.
play half notes up the scale, returning to g each time, so 2 beats each you would play g,a,g,b,g,c,g,d and when you hit the d take a breath then play g,e,g,f#,g,G and hold the upper octave.
Don't tongue any not but the starting G and the G you play after the D.
Repeat.
When doing this, you are slowly getting used to how much air it takes to get each note to sound without hitting each partial. Going up the scale lets you do it slowly instead of trying to hit one octave leaps right off the bat.

Also speed the metronome up to 80ish and play this exersize once you get the hang of the last one:
You play a G scale up and down at the same time. So it looks like this
Starting on middle G. g,A,g,f#,g,B,g,e,g,C,g,d,g,D,g,c,g,E,g,b,g,F#,g,a, g,G,g,Lowg,g
small letters go down the scale, big letters up the scale. The small g is 2nd line g.
Rinse and repeat. Work on really hitting each pitch on the beat. Breath in the middle of the exersize. No tonguing except the first note.

The first exercise has REALLY helped thus far, thanks so much! I find it's still a bit hard to do, but he jump seems much smaller now, and the 'ba-da-ding' sound goes by much quicker (if at all for some). I will be sure to check out the second once I've mastered the first! I'm looking to attend some sort of Yoga class in my area, so as to relieve some of the tension and closing of my throat when playing. Thanks again!
Addison

Also, I find doing them with alternate fingerings really helps, but would this hinder the actual practice, or would this better help finding how much air you need to reach the top note? Thanks,
Addison

Originally Posted by CaptainAddy

Also, I find doing them with alternate fingerings really helps, but would this hinder the actual practice, or would this better help finding how much air you need to reach the top note? Thanks,
Addison

i find that it's more of a crutch that way. the break as the moving valves temporarily close off the airway helps make it alot easier, and in performance you may choose to do that, but for practice i would say to avoid it.

Can someone explain "partials" a little? Similar to the OP I have trouble slurring certain combinations, especially for ex 2nd space A down to F, or A to D. Seems like the A note just gets stuck...my fingers move to F but the note just hangs at A. Since I have a cheapie student model I'm always leary that something like this might be because of the horn, and not just a matter of practice.

hrmm... i know someone will come along and give a more scientific answer about the physics behind harmonics etc, but here's my version of an easy answer

a partial is one of the core notes played on a brass instrument. i.e. middle c, g on the staff, high c, g at the top of the staff etc. the notes you play with open valves. all the valves to is lengthen the pipe, thus lowering the pitch of the core note.

so first partial is middle C down to F#. second partial is G down to C#. third is high C down to Ab.

does that help?

To add to what Robert said...
A "partial" refers to the way that standing acoustic waves form inside the trumpet. The "first partial" is a single standing wave occupying the entire length of the "plumbing". The "Second partial" is two standing waves (end-to-end so each one is shorter); the "third partial" is three, etc. As the number of standing waves increases, the notes corresponding to the partial are closer together.

Here is a thread that goes into great detail if you would like to read further.
http://www.trumpetmaster.com/vb/f131...lot-47113.html (hidden slot?)

Originally Posted by hahkeystah

...a partial is one of the core notes played on a brass instrument. i.e. middle c, g on the staff, high c, g at the top of the staff etc. the notes you play with open valves. all the valves to is lengthen the pipe, thus lowering the pitch of the core note.

so first partial is middle C down to F#. second partial is G down to C#. third is high C down to Ab.

does that help?

Yes it does, thx! So evidently special attention needs to be given to note combinations that cross partials, like my example 2nd space A down to F, D, etc. where the A seems to "hang". Is this something to do with embouchre, finger speed, etc. ??