Comments on: How to Begin to Play the Trumpet

on 4/15/2007 If you want to know how to play any instrument you must put your interest in it and hav a constant pratice that is what i do before agin my own.

on 4/15/2007 i will love you people to send me one of the note or music sheet on how to play saxophone better you send me your mail to the following address and mail, 9, bode street ajegunle agege lagos state or to Frank2007_a@yhaoo.com

on 9/23/2006 After you put the mouthpiece in your horn and before you begin to practice, always warm up first. How you do it depends on you; it's a personal choice, but warming up is very important. There are some people who can pick up their trumpet and play, but they are rare.

I start out with long tones, from middle G all the way down, and then from low C back up to G. I move to lip slurs, then tonguing, and of course I play all of the major scales; you can add different tonguing patterns to help your articulation. After a while you will be able to feel when you are ready to move on to the rest of your music.

When you are done practicing and ready to pack your trumpet up, don't - that's the worst thing you can do at this point. When you play difficult, high music, you tear apart muscle mass in your embouchure. Your lips will relax on their own in a few hours -- but you waste a few hours in regenerative time you could have had. Instead, try reversing your warm-up routine. I lip slur around a little bit, then go from middle G all the way down to low C#/F#. Don't go as fast as you warmed up, you are trying to relax. After you feel okay, try to do some pedal tones. These are below the written range of the trumpet. Once you've slurred all the way down to C#/F#, go lower. Play a C long tone, hear the pitch in your head, then depress all three valves and lip the note down to an F. Because it's so low, you will be able to make it come into tune. Then play a B, and lip an E out with 123. Continue your pedal tones (fingering for the bottom note will always be 123 with lots of relaxation and lipping down); I go until I'm playing a double-low C.

You will feel the effects right away, I know my lips feel a lot better afterward. If you don't, the next time you play you certainly will. You will be much more relaxed. If you keep playing pedal tones, you will be able to make them all come into tone amazingly well. Surprise yourself!

Also, good posture is very important, but one thing that gets overlooked often is arm position. Most people have a tendency to rest their arms on their chest to help support the instrument. This restricts your air flow! When someone told me that I was resting my arms on my chest, I fixed it -- and my air support improved at least 200%.

on 8/31/2006 Always warm up by playing a simple scale, then it will be much easier to play.

on 8/8/2006 We never use the tip of the tongue to control air when playing trumpet or any brass instrument. The tip of the tongue usually rests behind the bottom teeth. The tongue must form an arch and the contact of the tongue's arch with the palate is what controls the air. Anyone who reads a real trumpet method can attest that! The paper spitting routine is not the correct approach to learn lip buzzing.

on 8/8/2006 Try not to pinch when you reach high notes. Blow faster and harder, or you won't get anywhere. When you practice, do it only 10-15 minutes and then take a break for about 15 minutes then play again. If you play nonstop, it's not good. Do not press the mouthpiece against your lips hard, but just enough so if someone hits your bell it won't break away from your lips. Hope I helped.

on 3/11/2006 Place a pencil in your mouth and support it with just your lips and keep it horizontal with the ground. This exercise will help build your embouchure and you can also blow through this as well. Be sure not to do this too long, around 3 minutes is fine. I hope this helps.

on 3/15/2006 Just visualize in your mind the score and imagine to descend to a low note while instead you are actually approaching a high one.

on 11/22/2005 If you are practicing the trumpet, you can use a harmonica for different tones to practice with. Thats what I always do when I practice.

on 11/22/2005 Exercise every day. Don't force yourself to play in a higher note if you can't. Just practice lower notes and do it in a long tone until your lip muscles develop!

on 11/22/2005 I've been playing the trumpet for almost 6 years now. The most important thing I can tell you on how to become the best player is to not develop bad habits. It's great to have a teacher that plays that instrument. Ask them if you're doing everything right (even the smallest of details).

on 11/22/2005 If this is your first try, your lips may start to feel a little numb and it may feel like they are still buzzing. It happens to me a lot. I get rid of it by having a drink of water. If that doesn't work, try pressing your lips together for about 30 seconds. Keep practicing.

on 11/22/2005 Try to blow half notes from 'C' downward. Try not holding the trumpet and blowing over tones.

on 11/22/2005 On choosing the right mouthpiece; just because the Bach 7c is the most common, that does not mean it is for you. Someone with smaller lips may need a smaller piece, larger lips may need a larger piece. If you have smaller lips you may need a medium-shallow mouthpiece. For someone with larger lips, a more medium-deep may be perfect. The same rule applies to all other aspects of the mouthpiece.

on 11/22/2005 Analyze your air using the Four F's. Fast air will hold a piece of paper to the wall. Free air will do the same with a very open throat and a relaxed upper body. Flowing air will not let the paper drop between articulations while tonguing. Focused air will keep the paper up longer. Air should be fast, free, flowing, and focused throughout your playing range. Actual experiments with paper on a wall are sometimes difficult but may be of some help in trying to understand these concepts. Any time you have trouble in a passage of music, that is clearly not related to fingering or reading of the music, it will probably be an air problem. Note that the four f's are not completely independent. Each area of air control has some effect on the others to varying degrees. I hope this helps!