Who else plays the trumpet?

Question

I need to learn how to play high D's and E's above the staff. I can comfortably hit the high C. Am I able to do this in about 2 months?

Answer 1

I spent all of high school and college only able to consistently hit a C. I've been performing for 17 years since I graduated and am finally getting rid of the bad habits that held my range back. I will try to go over a few of the things that I have recently changed in the hopes that you can learn from my mistakes.

Embochure - I played with a skewed embochure, my bottom lip was not centered on my top lip. In addition my the aperture (opening) of my lips was not lined up with the aperture of my teeth. This resulted in a very bad use of my air and led to other problems which I will get to later.

Breathing - If you aren't using your diaphragm properly you will not be able to play high, or for that matter you probably will not be able to play well. Be sure that you fill up your lungs from the bottom. What this means is that when you breath, try thinking of breathing all the way down at your belt to start with and filling up your lungs bottom to top, your ribs should expand after your stomach pooches out. Be sure that when you take a deep breath that your shoulder do not raise up, this creates tension and is counter productive, which leads me to the next point.

Relax - The more relaxed you are the better. When you tense up and have your shoulders up by your ears you are actually restricting your air flow. Try this experiment. Take a deep breath and hold it. Now, relax and concentrate on your shoulders, throat and diaphragm as being completely loose while holding the air in. Once you are completely relaxed and with an open throat release the air. This is the kind of air that you want. If you were to try to push the air out when you are tense, with your diaphragm and throat tightened up you would not be able to empty your lungs as fast. You should strive to be as relaxed in your playing as possible, which leads me to the next problem area.

The octave key - Otherwise known as your arms. Jamming the trumpet into your face may seem like a good idea when you are tired or well into a practice session. Unfortunately the results that you get from pressure actually reduce your endurance and hurt your tone and the ability of your lips to vibrate. Do not submit to the temptation. When you find yourself using a lot of pressure when you are practicing, take a break and let your chops recover.

There are also numerous exercises that claim to build range, all I can suggest is to keep practicing and try to work on good habits. Two months probably isn't enough time to drastically improve your range but stranger things have happened when bad habits have been changed.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Yes you will be able to do this in that time frame. Just like anything, just practice, using chromatic scales at first. Over time you will be able to use scales etc with more gaps. And try not to push yourself toooo hard. You don't want to split your lips! Practice in 15 minute slots several times a day. Goodluck :)

Answer 3

The same way you get to Carnegie Hall--practice, practice, practice. It's all about breath control and building your embouchure. If you're tiring out quickly, try practicing at two different times in the day.

Good luck!