Trager Trumpet Talk

TRAGER

Trumpet Talktm

presents

How Does It Work?

A troubleshooting guide for those who need some "sound" advice

I rarely write about my philosophy concerning trumpet playing in the various newsgroups, probably for fear of being "flamed" by other readers of these groups. Playing the trumpet is so elusive for many players, and the reason for this is "perception". Every person feels and perceives things differently. After numerous lessons with several teachers, and many different "Super Range Cure All" books, I decided to take a different approach. After I changed my embouchure for the fourth time, I decided to do some "real" research. I started reading doctoral dissertations, anthologies, and photos of various players embouchures and body postures. This experience proved to be priceless. Everyday another "lightbulb" would light up over my head, and I came up with my own philosophies concerning embouchure. One of the most informative dissertations that I ever read, was one entitled, "A Photographic Study Of The Body Positions Of Sixteen Trumpet Virtuosi While Playing Selected Exercises", written by Dr. Edward Lewis, 1985. I felt that this study was priceless in my "working through" many of my own problems playing. As with all disertations, this one is still available through UMI Disertation Information Service - University Microfilms International located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I know that some readers of this page will vehemently disagree with a lot of what you are about to read, but that is human nature, and you are entitled to your own beliefs and opinions.

Many teachers in the field believe that there are "x number" of specific "systems" one can employ to play the trumpet. Based on this line of reasoning, there are as many systems as there are players. Every "decent" player, plays differently, but the similarities of these "decent" players out weigh their differences. You might tell me I am nuts, and ask me how I can compare "Jon Faddis" to "Raymond Mase", and still tell you that there are more similarities between them than differences. Well, there are! Don't let the horn angle fool you! They both employ the same head angle, and chin "tuck". Their body posture when playing is very similar. A player's horn angle is determined by their dental "bite". If your teeth meet even in the front, and you are playing correctly, your horn angle will probably be perpendicular to your lips, and parallel to the floor. The outstanding players bring their jaw out approximately one milimeter from their natural "bite". In other words, if a player has a "severe" overbite, and they bring their jaw out one milimeter before playing, their horn will still point towards the floor. If someone says to me that the "powerful" high note hitting monsters "bunch" their chins when they are playing, I say, "look again". The distance between your top and bottom teeth when playing averages 1/4" low notes - 1/8" high notes. If a player has "short" top and bottom teeth, the casual observer will get the impression that the player is bunching their chin. Every outstanding player that I have had the opportunity to see upclose all play with their lips in an "M" formation. They all employ a similar head angle. They all employ some sort of chin "tuck" as they ascend. I have disertations that prove what I am saying to be most accurate. I think "teachers/players" try to sell books by telling the general trumpet playing public the usual rhetoric. "My system is guaranteed to give you a doubleC in -- weeks or you get nothing back from me except a new set of embouchure problems". There is the "right" way for an individual to play, and the "wrong" way. Pure and simple! Each individual needs to discover what is the "right" way for them.

Let's start with the basics. In order to buzz your lips, obviously your lips have to touch each other. In other words, one lip can not buzz without the other. If a brass player is using too much pressure, it is because their lips are not fully closed, and foward (arm) pressure is being applied to close the aperature further. As you ascend into the upper register of your instrument, your lips need to control your lip aperture, and make it smaller. This is done in various ways by various players. One way is to roll the lips inward towards each other. Another way is to bring the lips foward in a pucker formation. Another possibility is to do a combination of both rolling the lips inward toward each other, and bring the lips slightly foward. Now let's start to trouble shoot! Do you find that you are using too much pressure, and your endurance is sufferng?

What do you do?

I teach many students, and many of them come to me with "pressure" problems. Upon further examination I find that 90 percent of these players are in some way separating their lips, either while playing, or right before they produce a sound. I have my own "take" on this problem. I believe that it is possible to separate your lips two ways. I believe that there is vertical lip separation, or horizontal lip separation. Let me explain. Vertical lip separation, or lip "spreading" occurs when the player quickly lifts up, or twists their lip right before they produce a sound. Horizontal lip separation is different, because it can occur before a sound is produced, or while the player is playing. The player either pulls their jaw inward BEFORE they start to play, or they drastically pull their jaw inward while playing. By employing this "faulty" technique, the player separates their lips "Horizontally". In other words, "Vertical" separation is puling the top lip up, and "horizontal" separation is pulling the lower lip in.

The easiest way to diagnose your own playing, if you feel you are playing with too much pressure; is with two tools; a mouthpiece visualizer (basically a mouthpiece rim with a handle attached), and a mirror. First, buzz with the visualizer on your lips as if it were your mouthpiece. Look into the mirror while doing this diagnosis. The first thing you should notice is your aperature. If your aperature looks like a "large" black hole, then your probably pulling your top lip up before you buzz. If your top lip is way out in front of your bottom lip, and the aperature looks like a "flying saucer", then you're pulling your jaw in either before you play, or abruptly as you play. Once you have made the diagnosis it is time to correct the problem.

HOW DO I CORRECT THE PROBLEM?

Using the visualizer, do the following:

1- Say "MOM", or "M"

2- Place the visualizer on your lips making sure that you don't raise, or move your lips at any time. Make sure that you do not pull in your jaw before you buzz. If anything, try to bring your jaw out slightly.

3- Begin the buzz with a breath attack. The buzz you hear should be a compact clean buzz with little if any distortion in the buzz.

4- Try buzzing glissandos - low to high, and high to low. Instead of moving your jaw in and out, or up and down, try using your lips to affect changes in pitch.

5 - Do this on a regular basis before playing your instrument.

WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

I recommend plenty of lip buzzing without the mouthpiece. This promotes "kinesthetic" response, and allows the player to "remember the feel" of the lips in a closed position. Try buzzing songs, scales, exercises, whenever you can. Next, I recommend very soft mouthpiece buzzing, holding the mouthpiece by the end of the shank with two fingers. Buzz scales, lip slurs, exercises, and songs, striving for a very "small" soft buzz. As you ascend on the mouthpiece, try to use the lips to achieve the results. To ascend, try to slightly roll in the lips, while slightly bringing them foward. Many players try to play using their jaw primarily, and their lips secondarily. During this interim period when you are learning how to play on a closed setting, play the trumpet using a 2 finger hold (thumb and index finger around the bottom of the valve casing). Play whisper soft long tones, lip slurs, and scales. Avoid loud playing for a couple of weeks. Strive for effortless playing, never force a note.

This is just a brief overview of what a player needs to do to achieve a desired set of results. If you have any questions, e-mail me! I don't have a book that I am trying to sell, and many readers of this community ask me why I spend my extra time writing out these pages. I guess that the answer to that question is simple. I do not want fellow trumpet players to go through the pain and fustrations of playing the trumpet that I had experienced for many years. Maybe my community isn't a website designer's dream site, but I do the best that I can with my limited resources.

Take care,

Wayne

wtrager@msn.com