Short answer - "Until you are able to accurately 'effect' the techniques you will immediately be needing!! If I have "warmed" only to "C" 3, and the opening "number" requires a "G" 3, I have "underwarmed" myself for the job at hand. Perhaps the most important aspect is psychological - "am I READY to begin?" If I EVER approach a given routine it is : Soft low register into the pedals - soft, 4 octave (E's, eg.) chromatic scales asc and desc.
In my estimation, some people "wear themselves out", while "warming-up" It is perhaps important for "new" players for developing a "heirarchy" of warm-up materials and "routinize" (new word) them.
How warm is warm enough and how do you determine that you have warmed up enough (or not enough)? I'm trying again after 20 years to get back into it. (Seems to be a common enough story, doesn't it?)
And as it should be! Music, and the skills of playing an instrument are gifts from the creator - to brighten an otherwise hum-drum existence.
I really need some guidance as far as warm up and practice techniques. I need, of course, just like everyone else, to improve range, endurance, etc. Would appreciate any and all advice and guidance!
SAIL THE SEVEN C'S, take direct aim at the problems you mention. But so does HUNT plays SCHLOSSBERG CD, and Clarke Tech Studies- CS.
All the Best!
Clyde E. Hunt
Dear Clyde -
Until this past holiday season, I hadn't played the trumpet since high
school (20+ years ago). I began playing again for fun, and as a means of
encouraging my 12-yr old daugher in her French horn studies. Determined to achieve a reasonable level of proficiency, I have been practicing 1 to 2
hours per day. About a week ago, I had to face up to the fact that progress
to date has been absymal. I attribute this in large part to impatience, and
the use of my arms to obtain quick range and tone rather than gradually
building a decent embouchure.
Well, It is true that "impatience is the enemy of the ambitious player". I would suggest that two hours of practice per day, may be "tearing down" rather than restoring???
Not having any personalized instruction from my youth to rely upon, I began surfing the web to see what I could learn about embouchure development.I've been experimenting with 3 of the more popular approaches to see which one sounds best and feels most natural for me - at this point I'm leaning towards a Maggio, or at least some reasonable facsimile thereof. Before I invest untold hours in attempting to develop a particular embouchure, I would very much appreciate any experience/opinion you may have on embouchures for someone with my peculiar physical features - specifically a very narrow face combined with a mild underbite.
A very appropriate question. As you may, or may not, know I believe that all good players play in essentially the same way - EXCEPT for the extent to which individual physical chracteristics dictate certain modifications. The differences which I glean from the many "methods or procedures" are LARGELY a difference in (1) NOMENCLATURE (not to mention perceived meanings of that nomenclature) and the difficulty and necessity of verbally describing an internal, unmeasurable, invisible process. (Whew!!) There are people with "websites" who would LIKE to have you believe that all is "cut and dried". Many people fail to see the forest - because they are focusing too extensively upon a single parameter of that complex structure known as the embouchure. I make it a policy neither to recommend nor belittle the publications/writings/beliefs of my colleagues. HOWEVER - beware of those who give "logical," "self-assured" descriptions - but, alas, are not particularly adept at "doing it"!!
The most important thing is to be "working" in a manner which appears to be bringing results. FOR YOU! As always, the real truth is best evaluated by reading everything you can get your hands-on. You will see certain "truths" begin to emerge.
Now, to your question re. some of the universally agreed -upon principles: (1) Get the pedals going - LOUD, firm, in-tune (Tone "quality" is secondary (for these purposes)
(2) Arpeggio's, scales which require you to move from the pedal register, ever higher into the normal register - WITHOUT stopping to "reset" or even, "breathe". AND VISE-VERSA. "Look to develop your foundation before attempting to erect a skyscraper" - Sail The Seven C's
(3) Read #2 again!
(4) Get things "flowing" in the low to pedal register, no tongue. As things improve, begin to add the "tongue". (another problem to be solved!)
(5) If you want ALL registers to "sound" equally well, you will HAVE to spend equal time on all!!!
Excessive mouthpiece pressure is universally destructive - the nemesis of brass players!. While I've developed the facial muscles to buzz reasonably well without the aid of a mouthpiece, when I attempt to capture the buzz by bringing my mouthpiece (Bach 7C) in contact with my lips, I have a ton of leakage around the sides (unless I apply undue pressure) .
Makes sense - you are going to have to apply more pressure to stop the "peripheral buzzing".
I'm thinking some of this may be due to the relatively small radius presented by my front teeth, but I'm not ready to jump to any conclusions just yet. Have you ever seen a decent trumpet player who had an underbite?
Yes!
Are there any special measures needed for this?
If it is too severe, you can have your mouthpiece "bent" so you won't be inclined to "throw-back your head".
Hoping that this all makes some sense, somehow.
Clyde E. Hunt
Dear Clyde, I just received your "Sail the Seven C's" and have enjoyed it thoroughly. I started on trumpet in the fifth grade and progressed rapidly. I had a high C by the time I was in 7th grade and played in the high school band(1st part) from that time on. I developed a pressure habit as time went on and no one caught it (7 different band directors in my 8 years of public school band). When I attended college I started out playing on the 1st stand and everything seemed to be going fine, although I could never seem to get beyond high C. As college went by my playing started to deteriorate and I was persuaded to turn to the piano as my major instrument. By the time I graduated with my Bachelor of Music Ed. I was an accomplished pianist, but a lousy trumpet player and I too was left to wonder "what went wrong?".
I know - one wonders how many times it happens each year??
I didn't teach for five years after graduation in part due to marriage and family circumstances and in part due to my frustration in not being able to play trumpet. After all, "how could I teach someone else to play if I couldn't correct my own problems?". I did start to teach and have had a great deal of success with my band programs in general and have had some very good trumpet players in my program. I am still struggling however and am continually frustrated in my efforts to regain what I once had, to say nothing of what I hoped I would be as a trumpet player. I have taken some measure of comfort in your comment that 40 is not too late as I am now 41. I'm hoping that finally this program will be the answer to my problems.
Enough of the sad story part; my questions are as follows: 1. I have an overbite - not severe; what I would consider "normal" for most people. I find that my pressure problem seems to be more manageable when I don't hold the horn at a 90 degree angle but rather tilted down slightly. Is this ok?
Absolutely! Excessive pressure is invariably applied to the upper lip. Dictating to someone, the angle at which the instrument MUST be held, is paramount to having all your students buy, and try to wear, a size 6 shoe!
I am able to produce a beautiful, full ringing tone from low F# to Eb2. I just seem to struggle with range beyond that and endurance.
2. I'm playing on a Bach 3C mouthpiece and a Benge trumpet. Any thoughts?
Mark - it just doesn't matter! (Good News!) uh, for some, it is considered "bad" news. (: >)
3. Nobody has ever had me attempt to play pedal tones before. I am able to play them on trombone, but have trouble getting them out on trumpet. Is there a big difference in the enbouchure required?
I do not play the trombone, therefore I can't answer this. Get started with the pedal tones - "NOW"! I would venture that not a great deal will happen until you get the pedals "roaring"! FIRST PROJECT. Get that F, 1st valve, just as big and fat as the F# (123) 1/2 step above. Then work it down, half step at a time, from that point! Also, try playing the "G" OPEN, rather than 1-3 valves. Let me know how this progresses!!
4. Finally, my secure range is to Eb2.
Eb 2 is on the 4th space - is this the one to which you are referring?
How do I approach the exercises outlined in order to build my range without continuing to do stupid things to get the notes out?
ASk me again, after you've developed the "hang" of the pedal notes. They need to be
our first priority!
LET ME KNOW how it goes!
Keep 'em flying!
Clyde Hunt
One of the big problems, is being constantly surrounded by the mediocre! So many potentially brilliant, young players are content to simply play well enough to get by!!!! That is, to be the equal of, or better than, those with whom they are surrounded. The above are, I believe, surmountable - If you truly understand that YOU are the answer.
"Think not, that you can become an uncommonly good player by practicing the commonplace"!! You must be head and shoulders above the pack!! But the REAL race is with yourself, not with others! - Clyde Hunt
Before anything else takes place, please examine the following fundamentals: (1) The fundamental "martele" attack - Arban 11 -11. So often I am amazed when people who are supposed to be "good" players, are unable to play this in an acceptable style.
(2) Breath Control - get out the Clarke Tech Studies. Follow his instructions precisely. Keep increasing your repetitions until you are able to do TWICE as many as you thought possible!!!
(3) Excessive mouthpiece pressure is the NEMESIS of brass players!!!!
(4) Accept the premise that there is an "EASIER" way, than the way you are now doing things.
(5) Be prepared for the possibility that some of what you were taught is either NONSENSE, or that you misunderstood what was being said.
Now, If I have not yet infuriated you, (Grin!), please tell me something specifically about that "wall" you have run into! Keep 'Em Flying! Clyde Hunt

My mouthpiece throat sizes are stock, except for the BACH 1E, which is about a 23. BTW, this mouthpiece was given to me by an acquaintance because he had had it "drilled-out" , and now declared it to be "ruined". (range and intonation problems) Also, my "old" BACH 1, has a #23, I believe.
"Is it not better to have a mouthpiece designed to be more open?
NOT NECESSARILY!
(YES) - Opening the throat seems to help LOUD playing, especially.
(NO) - It MAY adversly affect soft playing (lack of resistance).
And yes, intonation may become a problem - at first. But as always, that can be overcome as we "relearn" to play the mothpiece. Intonation is, firstly, the players problem - people who head off to the local music emporium and begin "trying" mouthpieces, and forthwith begin making pronouncements re. intonation, must not be
taken seriously.
I believe there is often a problem when "week-end warriors", and people who may practice for 3 - 4 hours a week, try to use equipment utilized by those who are SERIOUS about playing the trumpet. I SUSPECT that the majority of playing difficulties are directly attributable to "insufficient practice".
Clyde
Another very important question - are you (physically) READY to develop this register? Many people are anxious to "run" before they can "walk." Impatience is the enemy of the ambitious student.
May I make a, perhaps, crude analogy? Were you to decide that you want to lift weights, and your goal is to ultimately be able to press 200 lbs, how would you proceed? Would you go to the gym, strap 200 lbs. on the bar and begin "jerking away"? Ridiculous, you say? Equally ridiculous to take out your trumpet, take a death grip on it, and start "banging-away" at "double C" - or any other note which is out of your reach!!!! And one last question. "Does it really bring solace to know that, "90% of all the notes you need" lie between middle C and C3??" Clyde http:www.erols.com/bflatmus
FACT: Nearly any player can dramatically improve his or her high register. What is needed is the desire to do so, and a dedicated, systematic approach. The high register will not succumb to the casual player.
MYTH #2 If I could find just the right mouthpiece, I too could be a high note artist.
FACT: There are mouthpieces which facilitate brilliance and intensity of sound. These mouthpieces, sometimes labeled high velocity, are more "V" shaped as opposed to bowl shaped. Sometimes, usually at the music store when we are trying mouthpieces, almost any mouthpiece appears to be superior to the one we are now playing - hence the answer to all our prayers. But pitch is determined by frequency of vibration of your lip. If you can play a C4 on a Schilke 5a4a, you can also do so on a Bach #1. Don't get into the drawer full of mouthpieces syndrome. Choose a rim that is comfortable and learn to play it. I am convinced that a larger cup diameter and a more open throat, which permits a larger airstream, actually facilitates the development of the high register.
MYTH #3 I need a special trumpet.
FACT: Mouthpiece tapers, varying bores, different bell sizes, and various alloys will alter the timbre and playing characteristics of an instrument. But the instrument, in fact, has even less to do with lip vibration, which determines pitch, than does the mouthpiece.
MYTH #4 Playing and practicing in the high (G2 to C5) register will ruin the middle and low registers, and make my tone brittle and laser-like.
FACT: Not practicing all registers equally will allow one-sidedness to take place. Practicing the pedal register, especially, will serve to counteract the extreme compression required to perform the high register. More than likely, a piercing, laser-like sound and a too blatty low register is really the fault of a too small, too shallow mouthpiece. This combination leads to jambing the mouthpiece for the high tones, which is sure to elicit the above mentioned complaints.
MYTH #5 You must play in all registers without changing your embouchure, or play in all registers without re-setting your lips.
FACT: I don't disagree in principle with the above statement. But I believe it has been widely misinterpreted because of semantics and/or insufficient explanation. The opening quote, taken literally, is nonsense! No two tones are played with precisely the same lip setting, let alone an entire register. What is required is a constantly adjusting embouchure, capable of moving from the bottom register through to the top register without the necessity of stopping along the way to regroup your chops.
Re-read the last sentence and memorize it! It is of the utmost urgency that you understand what is meant. The understanding which you believe that you have right now will probably be altered as you progress toward the Constant Adjustment Embouchure.*s Clyde Hunt Extracted from SAIL THE SEVEN C'S (C) Copyright B Flat Music Production
I agree that a deeper cup certainly helps to eliminate that very metallic sound we often hear (a very distorted sound). ALSO, for me it is much easier to articulate cleanly on a deep mouthpiece. Here is a response which I wrote previously, regarding my equipment.
(1) I use a BACH #1 for "legit". I started using it when I was about 23 (1960 - still use same one), because maestro Louis Lane had complained that my sound was too "bright/loud/whatever". I had been using a 1-1/4C in the orchestra, prior to that.
(2) For my Yamaha Custom Picc I usually use a Yamaha 14A4A or Bach 1E, depending upon the sound quality I'm seeking.
(3) For big band lead/soloist I usually use the Yamaha 14a4a. If the band is really "potent" (loud, let's face it) I may use my Yamaha YTR 739 big bore trumpet (well, at least it was in 1979).
(4) with my silver Getzen Capri Shephard's Crook Cornet, I recorded the H.L.Clarke Characteristic Studies. HOWEVER, I did record a couple of those with the BACH #1). I really can't tell!!! (or remember). The ARBAN 14 Characteristic Studies - first 9, on the Getzen cornet, using an Olds 7s mouthpiece(deep and conical).
(5) With my sextet, Swing's The Thing, I used a Shilke 13a4a.
However, on As Time Goes By, I used a turn-of-the-century Carl Fischer
"cookie cutter" mthpc., DEEP "V" cup with an enormous throat!
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I have found that buzzing, without the mouthpiece, is of value. Personally, I don't spend spend much time on it. But for those who are using entirely too much mouthpiece pressure, relying on the equipment to form the embouchure, it can be a real eye-opener. It is possible to develop a remarkably pure sound, free of unwanted overtones, extraneous "noise" and with e definite, defined pitch center. However, I have been able to develop this only to C3 - high C. (Man, talk about firm corners!). I use this technique to help young players (of all ages) understand that playing the trumpet is NOT like "sounding" a New Years Eve horn, or any other more "mechanical" instrument; that the mouthpiece "collects" your buzz and, of course, effects the "sound". But you will sound like you, and me like me, regardless of the equipment used. If your buzz is "in-tune" you will play "in-tune". You can become less of a "slave" to your equipment. Thanks for listening!
Clyde
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In response to the ever-tightening aperture, which raises the pitch of the buzz, IT IS NECESSARY to increase the strength of the airstream in order to overcome the "tightening" of the lips-aperture. You can readily experience this feel by buzzing: C2, then E2, then G2, for example. This, of course, is the feel of the "NO (mouthpiece) PRESSURE" embouchure.
Now - put down all three valves, play very softly, and use so little mouthpiece pressure that you can hear the "buzz" from around the mouthpiece, as well as through the trumpet. THE ONLY MOUTHPIECE PRESSURE to be used is that which is necessary to stop the leaking from around the mouthpiece!!!! And the "bunched" chops and internal pressure will serve to FURTHER lessen the ill effects of the mouthpiece pressure. You can probably play a full octave, non-tempered scale (to E3) in this fashion. Press the lips together and squeeze the diaphragm muscles and sphincter as you ascend.Relax same as you descend The importance of the internal air pressure is OFTEN UNDERESTIMATED even among those who are otherwise good players. If you are using little enough pressure you can probably feel the partials "bumping" by.
Clyde E. Hunt, author, SAIL THE SEVEN C"S - An Easier Way To Play The Trumpet (Book and demonstration CD)
HERBERT L. CLARKE - Technical Studies
In my estimation, the First Study, and the remainder for that matter, are only secondarily about mastering fingering complexities. They are primarily about: (1) low,low mouthpiece pressure, (2) pressurizing and "leaning" on the air when ascending, (3)playing ppp, and (4) SMOOTHLY adjusting your embouchure for each and every tone as it goes whizzing by.
Several of the exercises have been expanded so as to require greater range, within a single blow, than do the originals. Etude #1 moves, in a single phrase, from F# below the staff to C4!(double C). Each of the etudes has been recorded as written, and also 8VA!!
35 min. cassette - $12.00
printed music by Carl Fischer
Several people have asked for further information about the "silent whistle", especially as it relates to the Clarke Technical Studies.
Here's the objective. Every note we play has a best setting to
insure:accuracy of pitch, purity of tone, and great resonance. Try
this experiment: whistle: Middle C (Tu)- G(second line)(tah) - C2(third space)(ta) - E(4th space)(tee). Notice the movement of the tongue in order to assure an accurate, resonant tone. So often we read, "play every note with the same lip setting" I do not believe that any two notes are best played with the same lip setting, let alone many or all. By "silent whistle", I mean for you to follow the moving, melodic line so that the tongue and embouchure are placed in the best possible position, or focus, to best produce the tone in question.
Playing the trumpet accurately and with good resonance (beautiful tone) is contingent upon learning to smoothly and efficiently move your "chops" to the correct focus for each individual tone! I call this the "dynamic, constant-adjustment embouchure", as opposed to the "static embouchure", where the partials are selected by using the arms to vary the mouthpiece pressure.
Beautiful brass playing is all about the ability to maneuver the
embouchure WHILE PLAYING!! Flexibilty is the key to brilliant brass playing!
These exercises are designed to reinforce and compliment the principles of SAIL THE SEVEN C'S.
Sincerely,