Seckse

I have a decent tone but it's not the best. I've only been playing trumpet for almost a year and I'm not the best but better than I expected to be.

I was just wondering if anyone has any tone advice; ways to make it better, etc.

&Buzzing advice. I buzz with my bottom lip and that may be my tone problem, not positive.

Solar Bell

Why not hop on over to the Introductions & Greetings forum and tell us a little about yourself.

That being said, you haven't given us anything that we can help you with yet.

What kind of horn?
Mouthpiece?
You only buzz bottom lip?

Welcome to TM


-cw-

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Chuck Willard
The Willard of Oz

"Don't be afraid to see what you see."
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screamingmorris

Better tone can be accomplished many ways.

For example:

1. better mouthpiece
2. better trumpet
3. better embouchure
4. better breathing
5. better mental attitude
6. use minimal mouthpiece pressure (not too much, not too little)

BTW, you don't mention what you mean by "better".
Do you want a deeper, richer sound?
Or a more powerful sound?
Or a more brilliant sound?

What brand and model of trumpet do you use?

What brand and model of mouthpiece do you use?

Go to
An Introduction to Donald S. Reinhardt's Pivot System
and scroll way down to "Reinhardt's Embouchure Types" and look at the photos and read the text and tell us what embouchure type you were born as.

- Morris

Seckse

Okay, sorry. You guys are the real deal here, :P

Let's see.. to answer your questions:

1. By "better" a more brilliant sound.
2. My trumpet is not branded; neither is my mouthpiece. All I can tell you about the mouthpiece is that it is a 7C
3. My embouchure type would be IVA

tedh1951

Try simple stuff first:

Try repositioning the mouthpiece on your mouth - a tiny bit up or down - see how that changes (clarifies) the sound, lift the bell up a bit (just lift your chin) - see if that changes things, rotate the mouthpiece in the receiver by 90 deg - see what that does - then another 90, and another - which one is the best (make a note), poke your lower jaw out a gnats nut - did that do anything? Clean the trumpet and mouthpiece.

Careful - one change at a time - then evaluate - if it doesn't change things then reset, try something else (one change at a time) - now read more of TM and some of the great posts you'll find here - good luck. Finally, spend a motza and buy a Monette or something.

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Ted

Miyot

Listen to other players you like and imitate their sound. If you can hear them live, the better. We pick up many things from those we like and sound can be one of them. This sure isn't the fix it for sure advice, but it can help.

MJ

IVA..... Now we can get to the bottom of this

He is my advice Seckse. As long as you aren't doing anything crazy or have physical problems I suggest you buy some recordings of players who you think have great tone. Spend a lot of time listening to those players. When you come back to the trumpet copy those players.

Practice!

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rowuk

Sekse,
you have been playing almost a year. Do you have a teacher? Is the teacher a trumpet player? What do you practice? How much do you practice? Do you play with any groups?

The bottom line is that very few people that just teach themselves really get good. A proper trumpet teacher can solve something in 5 minutes that you may need a year for (if you get there at all). Internet advice is cool, but trumpet is a physical activity, not a virtual one. Once a player has achieved solid basics, many of the concepts can be understood. Before that, even good advice can be bad.

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

screamingmorris

If you want a more brilliant sound, then you could try a shallower mouthpiece and / or a mouthpiece with a tighter throat and backbore.
If you like the rim and diameter of a Bach 7C, then you could try a Bach 7D or even a Bach 7E.
If you want a slightly larger cup diameter and a shallower cup depth, then Bach 3C is a very common mouthpiece (about the same cup depth as a Bach 7E).
On the Internet you'd pay about $30 plus $5 shipping.

For a student-level trumpet of decent quality with good sound, many people like a Yamaha 2320 or 2335, or a Bach 300.
A used one on eBay costs less than $200.

A Type 4A embouchure is very rare and is very difficult to play with.
(I am Type 4, not 4A)
Are you sure that you are a Type 4A, or is that something you just guessed from glancing at the pictures?
A Type 3 is "downstream": The lower lip curls under the upper lip causing the airstream to be projected downward, and the player points the trumpet slightly downward.
A Type 4 is "upstream": The upper lip curls under the lower lip causing the airstream to be projected upward, and the player points the trumpet slightly upward.
It is easier to determine embouchure type when the person plays high notes, because the lip curl and the trumpet tilt become more obvious when playing the high notes.

If you are not sure of your embouchure type, experiment with mouthpiece placement:
Try 50 percent upper lip and 50 percent lower lip.
Then try playing with more upper lip than lower lip.
Then try playing with more lower lip than upper lip.
Use the position that feels most comfortable, most natural, provides the best sound.

Also experiment with trumpet angle:
Try playing with the trumpet pointed straight out.
Then try playing with the trumpet pointed *slightly* downward.
Then try playing with the trumpet pointed *slightly* upward.
Use the trumpet tilt that gives the best sound.

- Morris

tatakata

Please don't listen to Morris. Sorry Morris. Do you really think the majority of great trumpet players in the world have "typed" their embouchure. I'm sure some have but give me a break. This kid needs a teacher, a couple of records, and some practice.

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