Playing trumpet

[J.c. Sherman]

A famous music educator told me long ago that if one is serious that you should concentrate on one instrument. The saying comes to mind, "Jack of all master of none" sage advice I should have taken years ago.
Concerning the upper register development two words contain the secret to success in this area.

LONG TONES

Boring I know but it is the secret to the extension of the range to the extremes both upper and lower.

It's educators like that that tried to deprive me of my career. Educators like that who told me exactly the above, then asked me to play trumpet in their second band... horn in their orchestra, then admonishing me to specialize as I was playing tuba and bass trombone in my senior year for money while they played in the community band.

Educators who try to limit other are not educators.

But that doesn't mean that you don't have to be smart about it.

J.c.S. (who carries a grudge)

[MaryAnn]

Welllll....I have to admit that I really still get going when I see the old adage "you have to develop your low range in order to play high." Developing your low range will develop your low range. Developing your high range will develop your high range. Range has to do with LIP POSITION. Go look up Roger Lewis' posts about range and you will have the answer. It is not even hard to play high, IF YOU KNOW HOW. You will not learn how by practicing the low register. In the low register, your lips are rolled out, like pursing your lips, somewhat (just to try to get some picture going.) Playing high is the opposite, in that your lips are rolled in. Rolled out = lots of red showing, even the wet part. Rolled in = much less red showing, different kind of skin vibrating. It's easy, really. I can pick up a tuba if I haven't played for a year and play high notes on it. I don't have any endurance, but the notes are still there because it's all about technique.

MA

[MaryAnn]

Pursing lips was wrong image....I think I meant the opposite. Oh well.
MA

[Michael Bush]

Welllll....I have to admit that I really still get going when I see the old adage "you have to develop your low range in order to play high." Developing your low range will develop your low range. Developing your high range will develop your high range. Range has to do with LIP POSITION. Go look up Roger Lewis' posts about range and you will have the answer. It is not even hard to play high, IF YOU KNOW HOW. You will not learn how by practicing the low register. In the low register, your lips are rolled out, like pursing your lips, somewhat (just to try to get some picture going.) Playing high is the opposite, in that your lips are rolled in. Rolled out = lots of red showing, even the wet part. Rolled in = much less red showing, different kind of skin vibrating. It's easy, really. I can pick up a tuba if I haven't played for a year and play high notes on it. I don't have any endurance, but the notes are still there because it's all about technique.

MA

This thought from Roger Lewis together with some ideas about breath control from David Zerkel got me playing above the staff on a BBb for the first time since high school (when I imagine I was just squeezing like hell, but I don't remember). Very, very valuable.

[Dutchtown Sousa]

Welllll....I have to admit that I really still get going when I see the old adage "you have to develop your low range in order to play high." Developing your low range will develop your low range. Developing your high range will develop your high range. Range has to do with LIP POSITION. Go look up Roger Lewis' posts about range and you will have the answer. It is not even hard to play high, IF YOU KNOW HOW. You will not learn how by practicing the low register. In the low register, your lips are rolled out, like pursing your lips, somewhat (just to try to get some picture going.) Playing high is the opposite, in that your lips are rolled in. Rolled out = lots of red showing, even the wet part. Rolled in = much less red showing, different kind of skin vibrating. It's easy, really. I can pick up a tuba if I haven't played for a year and play high notes on it. I don't have any endurance, but the notes are still there because it's all about technique.

MA

I can see why people say to develop your low range to improve your high range. It might not help your chops but it will help with breath support I would assume

[b.williams]

Would learning how to play a trumpet help me develop chops for the upper register? Anyways will this help me with sustaining notes in the upper register?

I recently started playing the cornet with a Dennis Wick 2 mouthpiece. I started on trumpet long ago and wanted to return to my brass playing roots. What I have found is that...wait for it... yes, playing the trumpet has helped my high register not only on tuba, also the trombone and euphonium. Playing the cornet up to g above the treble cleff staff has allowed me to play up to the equivalent pitch on all the other instruments. WOW!!!!

[hup_d_dup]

I am a trumpet/cornet player who has been playing tuba for 4 months. I find it easier to play at the top of the staff and above than to play some of the notes right in the middle of the staff (such as C, B, Bb). The first day I picked up a tuba I was able to sound notes up to the open 8th partial, something that took me years to learn as a trumpet player. I still need to round out the sound but getting up there is not a problem.

Is this due to my experience as a trumpet player? I don't know, but I suspect that it might be related.

Hup

[bububassboner]

Yes playing trumpet will help out your high range, because it makes you buzz an area which you normally don't buzz. Developing a great buzz is the key to pretty much every aspect of playing, and range building is no different. The horn only picks up what we put into it, sure the horn can help out a bit but if you can not buzz a note than you can not play that note on your horn. I not only buzz with my normal tuba mouthpiece but with a trombone mouthpiece and a trumpet mouthpiece. The great thing about buzzing on the smaller mouthpieces is that higher playing/buzzing is easier, so I try to take that ease of playing up there from the trombone/trumpet and apply that to tuba. I also do this the other way. I have a huge Alexander mouthpiece for tuba that I buzz really low on (pedal C area) which helps that range on my normal mouthpiece. Yes playing low will help the high (due to increased air flow required for that register) and yes long tones will help (as that does help the buzz) but the most efficient way is to perfect the buzz (on just the mouthpiece). The research has already been done on this (thank you Arnold Jacobs) so just do it. You can even buzz while on tubenet! I know I do (I also have to clean my screen more than most).

[chronolith]

Having performed many times on the trumpet and the tuba over the years, I will say that playing the trumpet does help the high range on the tuba, but not in such a way that makes it impossible to do without a trumpet. I could probably use a few lessons with Roger Lewis, but breaking the code for high register playing on the trumpet for me had to do with the speed of the air and position of (raising) the tongue, not to mention tightening those corners. With sufficient stamina you can find your way up into the Maynard Ferguson range without too much trouble. Build a solid (and not forceful) attack on the notes and you are on your way. I also agree that long tones are key to development. These have been helpful to me as a tuba player.

So does playing the trumpet help your tuba high range? Not directly. If you are just messing around on a trumpet then you might be taking a step backwards while hoping for miraculous results. I am thinking back to a post where someone referred to the tuba low range as the "cash register". For a trumpet player that is the high range (depending on the gig of course) so you spend a lot of time working out the heuristics of mobility and getting up to the high range easily while keeping it beautiful. It is emphasized on the trumpet as a point in your progression, not so much on the tuba.

Playing the trumpet might help you gain an understanding of the mechanisms for improving high range, but you might do just as well by talking with a trusted trumpet teacher and find out some of the heuristics they have learned.

BTW, in defense of whiny trumpeters who complain about their busted chops in the high range, they are just as wary of tuba players who complain about not having enough air in long phrases or low register forte.

[Mark]

One liner of the day:
Q: What does a trumpet player say when meeting another trumpet player?
A: Hi! I'm better than you are.

That's two lines.

[Mark]

Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjKrOP5 ... e=youtu.be" target="_blank" target="_blank

[Mark]

Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjKrOP5 ... e=youtu.be" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Before I watch it, do I have to be
1/ wearing a wild tie or
2/ driving a 12-year-old sports car...

...??

Joe,

You've seen this video. It's Chris Olka playing five octave scales.

[Mark]

OK...

I thought it might be a trumpet player video (per thread topic).

Why would I post a video of a trumpet player in a thread about playing trumpet?