what are good ways to build endurance on my trumpet?

Question

just this week i had two pepband games my school played in. im one of the lead trumpeters, so im up in the high notes all the time; mostly a G above the staff and up. after the first game which was awesome, my lips were completely worn for the rest of that week, and the game we had just tonight was really bad: i was hurting & having troubles after the first few songs. what are some good ways to prevent that, or build my endurance so i can wail the high notes without my chops getting worn as fast?

Answer 1

I had the same problem. Some exercises that have helped me are the basics, long tones whisper tones and practice. whisper tones are easy, all you have to do is play a note as soft as you can for long periods of time and go down chromatically. For example you play a g (in the staff) and hold it for about 15 seconds without taking a breath. Trust me , it sounds very boring, and it is, but in the long run it will help allot.

Answer 2

You will want to develop a good practice routine which includes lip slurs.

Advanced Lip Flexibilities by Charles Colin is the book you want to get. Do the exercises faithfully (and read the information in the beginning) and you will notice dramatic improvements.

You can find it here:
http://www.charlescolin.com/trumpet/trumpet.htm

Proper resting between exercises and knowing your limits is also important. You play the trumpet with your lip muscle, the orbicularis oris. Like the biceps, the lip requires proper conditioning to get stronger.

Proper wind and breath support is crucial as you start playing higher. You play wrong, you'll damage you lip, that simple. Get with a good teacher and discuss the "belly push" and use of your diaphragm to play.

Answer 3

practice a lot. If you practice for an hour a day, but then try to play 2 hours on another day, your body is not used to it and you might have problems..

Also, make sure you warm up slowly & sufficiently when you know you are going to be pushing yourself. The muscles in your face and mouth are like any other muscle and need to be treated so.

Answer 4

keep practicing, and try running through scales chromatically, an octave at a time
i have a friend who was 1st trumpet in marching band and jazz band, and that's what he used to do

Answer 5

First start with your "ahh, ohh" exerises. or practice with blowing up balloons. it'll help your lips AND your lunges. or you could start kissing EVERYONE you see. But some people might not like that to much.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

you could do some breathing exercises. or maybe even do some swimming it will build ur lung capacity and keep u fit and healthy

Answer 8

just keep blowing,,hard