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Self assessment of your playing is necessary but be prepared for some 'honesty' in your answers. The truth may hurt!
Here are some questions to ask yourself....and possible remedies.
1. REGARDING TONE QUALITY:
a. Is the sound I make on the trumpet pleasing? -
If not, spend some time playing long
tones at varying degrees volume. Experiment by changing the size of
the cavity within the mouth. Maybe the lip vibration is too far on the
inner part of the lip?
b. Does it reflect the sound of the players I try to simulate? - If
not, listen very carefully to the sounds you wish to copy. Note the amount
of vibrato, volume, attack, the type of trumpet or bore and the compatibility
of the mouthpiece with the trumpet. Practice emulating the sound.
c. Can I hold a 'straight' tone without any vibrato? - If
not, practice loud tones in front of a mirror. Listen carefully to the
note production. Watch that the jaw is not vibrating and the trumpet is
still.
d. Am I able to apply vibrato to help 'warm' the tone of a note? - No?,
then be careful how you introduce your vibrato. Basically there are three
types. Volume vibrato done using the diaphragm, a pitch vibrato done with
the jaw or a movement of the hand backwards and forwards. The jaw vibrato
used in an 'uncontrolled' way will produce a 'nanny goat' sound.
e. Could my sound penetrate through a symphony orchestra? If
you cannot get a huge volume of sound then practice holding long tones,
start very soft and increase, within one breath, to the loudest you can
play. Try to hold this a little longer each time. Reverse this procedure
starting very loud and decreasing the volume until you are holding a very
quiet note. Each time you do this, try a little louder and a little softer
and a little longer. Do so over the whole range of the instrument.
f. Can I adapt my tone to compliment all sections of the orchestra? - This
is the ultimate test of course. Adaptation of tone can be practised but
the player must know what he /she is striving for. Experiment creating
different sounds by altering the cavity in the mouth, the tongue position
in the mouth and the jaw position. Desired effects will only come if there
is a continued smooth air flow from the lower lungs, through the airways
to the throat, mouth, lip aperture and eventually through the trumpet..
g. Is it a clear tone? Clarity can be gained by not
having the vibration too far on the inner part of the lip. The embouchure
should be centred on middle C of the trumpet range, not low C. If the embouchure
is set to the lower range then the sound in the upper register is not only
strained, but it has a 'musty' quality to it.
2. DYNAMIC TONE QUALITY....
a. Can I play a broad dynamic range of sound?
b. Is my crescendo from pianissimo to fortissimo smooth?
c. Can I diminuendo from fortissimo to pianissimo smoothly?
d. Am I able to sustain a quiet passage?
e. Can I play loudly for a continuous passage?
All the answers to these questions can be
rectified by the use of controlled breath support. Exercises to help control
the breath should be done using long tones varying the degrees of loudness
to the extremes, varying the 'weight' to which the diaphragm is used, varying
the intake of breath according to the length of your note, always exercising
the diaphragm by playing longer tones each time. Listen carefully for any
impediment in the tone. Try to avoid sudden changes.
3. BREATH CONTROL....
a. Am I inhaling breath quickly enough? - Make sure
your inhalation is done through the mouth by dropping the jaw. Do not smile!
Do not inhale through the nose!
b. Is my inhalation sufficient to sustain a phrase? - After
deciding where the end of phrase is and how long it must be sustained,
practice taking in air, through the mouth, as deeply as possible and in
sufficient quantity to sustain the phrase. Remember also, we don't want
to end a phrase and have to exhale excess air!
c. Is my breath too shallow? - Inhale more air through
the mouth to the bottom of your lungs. Do not breath into the chest or
shoulders.
d. Am I filling my lungs? - Air filled lungs expand
all the way around your body. If your tummy and abdomen only are expanded
then you are not completely filling the lungs. You ought to be able to
feel the expansion from the front or the tummy, around the sides and to
the back.
e. Am I ventilating too often? - Too many unnecessary
breaths will induce a state of hyper-ventilation. This happens when the
brain has had an excessive amounts of oxygen. If you feel 'dizzy', stop,
rest and, when you feel able, check out your method of breathing.
f. Do I have difficulty in breathing deeply i.e. to the bottom of my lungs?
- Practice inhaling through the mouth so that the
lungs are full from the bottom and all around the sides and back. Exhale
all the air through the trumpet. Do not stop until all the air is entirely
used before inhaling deeply again.
g. Is my breath able to support the top register? - The
top register will develop quicker and easier if proper breathing techniques
are applied. As in any other range, breath control, with support of the
muscles in the diaphragm region, is vitally important. If the player develops
a 'squeeze' in the upper chest or throat then air flow and support is infringed.
This will cause a 'blocking' of the sound altogether.
h. Am I 'blowing' the air through the trumpet or am I holding back? - Ultimately
it is you, the player, who can answer this. If the sound is not focused
or too 'intimate' then I would suggest you practice getting the air past
any resistance and out through the trumpet. Imagine blowing a candle. Hold
the candle only 20 cms from the mouth and blow the flame, not strong enough
to extinguish it but strong enough to flicker it. Now move the flame away
to 50 cms. To get the same effect the air flow must increase. Double to
distance to 1 mtr. Again the air force needs to increase. Repeat this exercise
until the candle is some distance away. Try to sustain the 'blow' to reach
the flame and continue the flickering. Trumpet air support and speed is
like this.
i. Maybe I'm 'blowing' too much air through and I run out of 'puff'? -
This
is possible also. There must be complete parity between the volume of air,
the force and the aperture size in the lip. Exercise as in 1e.
4. MOUTHPIECE PRESSURE....
a. Do my lips retain a deep ring from the mouthpiece? - You
are playing with too much pressure on the mouthpiece. Compression between
the lips which alters the size of the aperture is preferable to pressure
against the mouthpiece.
b. Is there any scar tissue on my lips? - This is
caused by long term excessive pressure on the mouthpiece..
c. Does my mouthpiece slip downwards when I play? - Investigate
the possibility that you might be using too much saliva. Players who lick
their mouthpiece excessively find that the mouthpiece slips and they have
little endurance.
d. Is my top lip slipping out of the embouchure? - You
could be placing the mouthpiece too low. It need s to be at least 50% on
the top lip but usually more.
e. Do I find that I play further to the side as I get tired? - This
can have a number of causes. The topic of my research
is about 'sidedness' and 'lateralization'. My thesis is that trumpet players
that play off centre have a neurological developmental difference in that
they have a sense of centre which is 'off centre'. That is, a greater sense
of 'feeling' to one side or other to a varying degree. Data is being collected
on this and will be reported in due course. It will certainly be 'advertised'
on this trumpet site. Other reasons for playing to the side can be dental
configuration, jaw shape or some mishap or other that has happened to the
facial muscles. Muscles that are stronger on one side or other can be a
result of continual misplacement of the mouthpiece.
f. Can I feel my lips in the mouthpiece cup? - This
is a result of a 'puckering' of the lips. The player is forming the aperture
too far inside the upper and lower lip. Re-shaping the embouchure
will
rectify this.
g. Am I having to push harder to get higher notes? - You
are using too much pressure. Exercise the flexibility of your embouchure.
Lip slurring over the whole range (or as much distance within you experience)
will help the compression of the lip and control over the muscles. Try
to avoid pressing on the mouthpiece when doing the exercises.
5. ENDURANCE....
a. Do I tire too quickly? - You are out of practice
or you may be using too much pressure. Endurance comes with fitness and
fitness is a result of thorough warm-up routines done regularly followed
by intelligent practice.
b. Can I get through the piece of music without taking a break? - This
depends on what you are playing. However, I should think that a good rule
for a performer to follow is this - practice it twice as long, twice as
high, twice as loud, twice as soft, twice a fast and twice as slow as you
need for your performance. The resulting confidence will stand you in good
stead to perform at your peak....
c. Does my top register disappear as I get tired? - Whose
doesn't? Try to pace yourself in practise and in performance.
d. Do I need more stamina to continue playing well? - Stamina
and endurance come from continual educated rehearsal, practice or training.
As you increase your ability, increase the standard of your playing
6. FLEXIBILITY....
a. Can I change registers with ease? - One of the
worst faults with a trumpet player is having to stop, reset the embouchure,
then start again in the new register. I have seen it with pupils. Of course,
it cannot be an ideal situation. The best embouchure is one which copes
with the whole range with flexibility
an lasts for longer than you need. If one cannot do these things then with
a change of shape is necessary or the player needs to train properly.
b. Do I have to change the shape of my embouchure to change registers?
- One of the worst faults with a trumpet player is
having to stop, reset the embouchure, then start again in the new register.
c. Am I finding difficulty in sustaining the same tone when I change register?
- You might need to check out your mouth shape, cavity
shape and tongue position. It is important to have the correct cavity behind
the teeth for resonance in the tone.
d. My cheeks seem to hurt when I do flexibility exercises! - Don't
puff out your cheeks. get in front of a mirror and do your flexibility
exercises without straining, changing the expression on your face or pushing
on the mouthpiece.
e. I am trying to 'smile' to slur upwards? - Smiling
doesn't help much in trumpet playing.. All a smile does in to stretch your
lips sideways giving the effect of a smaller vibration and higher pitch.
It is a fallacy of course because there is a limit to how much stretch
one can get from the lips. See the next question....
f. Is my aperture compression working? - It is important
to have a 'round' aperture in the lip. Smiling creates a sideways stretch
which gives an 'oval' shape to the aperture. It is important to compress
the aperture from all directions.
7. TONGUING.....
a. I am having difficulty articulating a clear note? - Check
out the placement of the tongue. Articulation must
be precise and clear. The note should be started with the 'TEE' 'TAA' or
'TOO' sound depending on the range. Do not stop the note with the tongue.
Stop the air.
b. I'm not quite sure where the tongue should strike? - This
depends on the cavity 'syllable' shape. Low notes should be formed using
a 'TOO' shape. You will notice the tongue very low creating a huge cavity
in the mouth. Middle range notes have the 'TAA' formation with the tongue
around the middle of the mouth. Higher notes require more 'TEE' shape which
creates a very small cavity in the mouth. The tip of the tongue should
strike at the bottom of the top teeth according to the syllable sounded.
c. Am I forming a cavity 'syllable' sound in my mouth? - The
shapes required for a compatible resonance should be formed as explained
in the last answer at 7b.
d. Is the mouthpiece touching the lip when I start the note? - Adequate
preparation time is needed before each placement of the mouthpiece. It
is foolhardy to bring the trumpet to the lip at the same moment you try
to start the note. Give yourself a chance to produce the best note, the
most perfectly formed note, the most appropriately articulated note that
you possible can. This requires a thought process and time needed in its
preparation.
e. What part of my tongue is touching the teeth? - Just
as the whole range of brass instruments are articulated differently, so
too is the shape of the tongue. Imagine the whole spectrum of orchestral
brass from the tuba to the piccolo trumpet. Assume that the tuba is articulated
with a 'THOO' and the trombone with a 'DAA' and the trumpet with a 'TEE',
so also is the range within the trumpet articulated from 'DOO' in the lower
regions to 'TEE' in the upper stratosphere. Think also about the shape
of the tongue from a vertical perspective. You can assume the lower instruments
shape is very flat in comparison to the trumpet with a pointed tip. So
too should these shapes fall within the range of the trumpet.
f. What is happening to the back of my tongue? - According
to the syllable shape in the mouth, the back of the tongue should echo
the tip. Very low in the mouth for very low register, very high in the
mouth for the high register.
g. How high is the back of my tongue? - As just stated
in 7f, it is important to shape the required syllable in the mouth. The
high register TEE creates a shape with small cavity, the low register DOO
places the tongue very low in the mouth.
8. PRACTISING....
a. Am
I practising enough? - A good rule for a performer to
follow is this - practice twice as long as is needed, twice as high, twice as
loud, twice as soft, twice a fast and twice as slow as you need for your performance.
The resulting confidence will stand you in good stead to perform at your peak....Make
sure you rest often.
b. Do
I give my lip enough time to recover after a long 'blow'? - Muscles
need to revive themselves. Too much pressure on the lip stops circulation. Recovery
is important to avoid scar tissue. Rest for as long as is needed so that when
you play again you feel fresh after your warm-up.
c. Am
I warming up correctly? - Warm-up exercises are vital
to the trumpet player. Lips are a combination of many many muscles. Each muscle
has a job to do. Trumpet players put great demands on these muscles and sometimes
treat them very badly. For a 'fit' athlete to train or race without 'warming
up', stretching and 'coaxing' the limbs into a preparatory state would be foolhardy.
The trumpet player is also an athlete in that the task requires great physical
strength, training and muscular control. Each muscle needs careful preparation
before putting it through too vigorous a workout.
d. Do
I spend enough time exercising my technique? - The fingers,
finger muscles and the control of them need constant practice and exercise.
Technique on the trumpet encompasses all the coordinative skills requires in
playing. Breath control, forming the notes, blowing the air, articulating the
note, shaping the lip muscles and fingering. Coordinating
the fingers must be exercised as part of the daily routine.
e. Am
I considering the physical side of my playing enough? - A
trumpet player needs to be fit. He needs to breath well, blow well, stand or
sit well, control the fingers well and shape the mouth and lips correctly. I
think it unlikely that a professional player would go on to the concert platform
to perform the Hummel Trumpet Concerto directly after eating a huge roast meal
with all the trimmings. This would be suicide. The physical aspect of playing
starts with training correctly, in a good posture,
exercising all aspects of trumpet playing. If one trains the physical being,
surely this will be of benefit to the muscular co-ordination required in performance?
f. How
fit am I as a player? - Fitness can be defined as 'being
in good physical and healthy condition' An athlete would define fitness as that
which will enable him to finish the race distance (and win), a footballer needs
to be able to complete the game and to keep up with the play all over the field.
A trumpet player needs to have the physical stamina to enable him to play at
his level to completion of the piece concert, dance, parade or practice without
becoming tired physically or mentally and that the 'chops' are still able to
be controlled and function properly.
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