High register on a big mouthpiece?

[Anterux]

The high range (or the low range) is one of those things that can take a lot of work and then they happen from one day to another and we think: "why couldn't I do this before?!"
Maybe because we can't explain well what we do with our embouchure, with the air, etc.
We use to say "use lots of air". Yes. It can't be wrong. but when I did this it gave me a great headache. Because I was doing a tremendous pressure. Less pressure? No. pressure is needed up there. but how to do an efficient pressure, without blocking the air? (that caused me the headache)
Well, I have two wellknown tricks:
lower the embouchure in the mouthpiece (more upper lip, less lower lip causes lower lip to be smaller inside the mothpiece) and turn the lower lip over the lower theeth (this will make 2 things: the lower lip will get harder and the upper lip wil be touching a harder tissue on the lower lip)

these things helped me a lot. I gained an octave in the upper range. No headaches, no unesserary pressure.
The only problem is: I have to work on not moving my embouchure too much, or I loose flexebility on jumps.

Hope this helps.

Back to topic

I think it is possible that training with a big mouthpiece can help, possibly, to build a strong embouchure.
However if I have my favourite mouthpiece already, I would use it always. but that is just an opinion.
or if you are going to use a bigger one for training, perhaps you will get to like it and stick with it...
Training soccer with a beach ball will help your soccer?
Maybe...

[ahowle]

I play on a pt88+ (friggin huge) on my CC horn and have no problem playing F's above the F above the staff, and usually a fourth higher than that, thus a Bb. Give me a smaller mouthpiece, and I can't play any higher. Give me a trumpet, and I almost never can play higher than a "high C," which is the exact same pitch as the affore mentioned Bb. I don't think it really matters - how you sound is almost all in how you use your air.

[MaryAnn]

I pretty much agree that "your range is your range." The highest note I can hit well on about anything is concert C above middle C. I can "go" higher on horn and trumpet but they are not secure and never have been. It doesn't seem to have much to do with air with me though; there is some embouchure thing I still don't seem to have figured out. Maybe your embouchure is how you use your air, huh?

MA

[IkeH]

I just received an MF2 from Mike and it's not that big of a piece, just bulky from the extra weight. It's based on a Bach 18 which is fairly small in comparison to what's out there. Having said that, I think this is a great all-purpose mpc and the upper register stuff on this one is some of the easiest I've come across and would encourage you to take advantage of what it has to offer.

[dave]

Maybe your embouchure is how you use your air, huh?

Same issue I have been working to death the last couple of years. I finally made some progress this year by doing two things: practicing with a practice mute with lots of volume/dynamics changes. Lo and behold, my diaphragm started to get stronger and high notes became easier. So now I make half of my practice session devoted to scales that start at mf, crescendo to ff and decrescendo back to mf, and arpeggios that are often called flexibility studies, but really are breathing studies.

The second thing I did that is helping is daily use of a powerlung. I bought the breathaire model, and it was immediately too weak, but by stretching the spring on the exhaust side, it works great.

-Dave