trumpethack

Hey Manny,
I was just wondering where mouthpiece practice fits into your school of thought in playing. I was also wondering about how high you can play on the mouthpiece. I top out around concert B/C on the mouthpiece and have been there for quite a while. I have asked some other professionals and some can buzz much higher and some can't very easily, but can still play well above where they can play the mouthpiece. I was just wondering what your take is on this. Thanks!

-Matt

Manny Laureano

It's interesting... I advocate buzzing for people but I don't do a lot of it because the my sound is usually 95 to 100% there when I start the day out practicing. When folks have a little trouble getting that full sound right away I advocate musical buzzing on the mouthpiece to stimulate the relevant parts of the embouchure to go to work, not the other way around as some like to do.

My mouthpiece range is the same as my regular range. That is to say somewhere at the beginning of the altissimo register to the low F or so. When I buzz for practice purposes, it's usually a very brief bit to correct an errant slur or two.

One of my favorite things to do as a demo is play "Maria" on the mouthpiece including the obbligato section in the middle of the tune to the high C. I don't much like to go higher than that but I could if I had to. It's all good stuff to do. It's such a gorgeous melody and it's like musical vitamins.

ML

Vulgano Brother

There does seem to be a "break" on the mouthpiece where it will want to pop up to the next harmonic. Vizzutti said he worked quite a while to get past that break. Most players don't sweat it, prefering to use mouthpiece buzzing for musical rather than strength benefits (except for imitating a mosquito behind violists at outdoor rehearsals).

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Manny Laureano

Jerry,

So, are you saying that Al worked to fill the gap between the break to whatever that next note was? If so, yeah, you're right... that's tough work.

ML

Derek Reaban

I wrote a post called How Can I Break Through my Break? and addressed it to Alex several months ago. Based on the literature from James Thomson related to the High C:

Read Alex’s response in the above link (very good suggestions).

In addition to her suggestions, I think this may be another way to target “ironing through” the break in a progressive way. If you play on the mouthpiece / leadpipe combination (i.e. take out your tuning slide), the “fundamental” is about a first space F (Eb concert). The next harmonic is a 9th above the F (a G at the top of the staff) which takes a while to relax into without forcing. Just above that is the High D (notice that this is the standard harmonic progression Low fundamental, octave, fifth, etc.), and clearly falls into that “break” area for me.

For details on this approach have a look at Brian Scriver’s website


If you would go to a hardware shop and find some flexible tubing (with an inside diameter that fits your mouthpiece) and cut a section so that the 3rd harmonic is about an A (1st ledger line), you could practice getting the feel of this “break” on a longer tube. When the 3rd harmonic is working really well, you could cut off just a little of the tube so that the 3rd harmonic is now a Bb. If you keep doing this progressively, you would move through the High C and on up to the D and higher. I’m guessing that by moving through this range on the mouthpiece / leadpipe combination, you would also be easing through the High C break on the mouthpiece alone.

I’m in the same boat that you are. I can play up to the High C on the mouthpiece alone but no higher. On the horn I can play up to an F above that.

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Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona

Vulgano Brother

More fun stuff: Play a C major scale (starting on third space c) using no valves! The d will be a lipped down e, the f a lipped down g, and a and h a lipped down high c. (For the more advanced [like Mr. V] try the same in c# )

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trpt2345

I like that kind of stuff, I do lips slurs of a perfect fourth by lip only in the low register, good practice.

Michael McLaughlin

"It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it."
Miguel de Cervantes

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Chicago MM

rowuk

Instead of all this lipping up, down, mouthpiece and leadpipe work that we never need in concert, buy a natural trumpet - plug all of the holes up (if you have them) and practice bending the notes in tune. The same work, but to a musical end (the natural trumpet jobs pay better too!).
I think Mr. V and many other world class players need to keep their own minds going - and come up with this stuff that really won't help us "non-world-class" players. The break on a mouthpiece has to do with its physical length and the volume of the backbore. As soon as it is plugged into anything longer, more length, more volume, deeper fundamental, it breaks at a lower note. Fighting physics doesn't really prove anything(except when you have invested a lot of money in an out of tune trumpet........).
If I ask myself what can Mr. V do better than other World Class players that could be attributed to "the break"(great name for a movie), I would have to say: nothing. If it helps him believe in himself, then it is worth it - for him. Chops wise he has no audible problems anyway. Let's see what his students accomplish in 10-15 years, then we know if "the break" was significant or not.
The magic is in logically practicing what we need - not looking for magic. I think brass players just get too physical sometimes.

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