Trumpet: Encyclopedia II - Trumpet - Technique

Trumpet - Technique

As with all musical instruments, there are physical challenges to playing the trumpet. The knowledge of operating the instrument is called technique. Almost all aspects of technique are controversial, since different people have different problems to overcome, and different successes to celebrate.

Several important aspects of technique:

1. Breathing properly (abdominal support of air). "This is one of the areas of brass playing that causes a great deal of confusion. Much discussion about the importance of the diaphragm has sent many a player down the road to confusion, inability, and bleeding lips. The upper part of the torso contains a large family of muscles that all have been designed to function in a teamwork fashion specially when we do something requiring forced exhalation, eg. blowing out candles, spitting something out of our mouth, or blowing into a wind instrument.

   "There are 3 layers of abdominal muscles from the groin to the sternum (breastplate); there are 2 layers of muscles (inner and outer) in between the ribs; there are back muscles from the lumbar region upward to the shoulders; there is the diaphragm just below the lung sacs; and there are muscles coming-down diagonally from behind the ear which connect to the top of the rib cage . When a person does a "forced exhalation", the entire family is activated as a "one- family" movement. They ALL simultaneously increase their tension levels in order to raise the internal compression level (PSI) in the lung chambers. This moves the air FASTER which is one of the first necessary things that must occur when a player moves "upward" in the register.

   The area that the player needs to become aware of is NOT in the diaphragm but in the center of the abdominal muscles, approximately near the navel. The body has a natural way of centering itself if you only just try to blow suddenly as if spitting a piece of rice or blowing out a candle. By learning to control the variance of tension, either isometric for holding a compression level or by tightening and relaxing the degrees of tension based upon what you are playing, one discovers that it is really the abdominal support that controls the air. This ab support certainly influences the diaphragm but it is NOT the diaphragm alone that moves the air. It is the FAMILY of muscles, all guided by the abdominal centering." (Bobby Shew)

2. Strengthening the embouchure (muscles of the face). Some commonly accepted ways to do this are:
   1. Lip slurs: playing exercises that change notes without changing the fingering. This forces all of the work to come from the facial and tongue muscles as well as changes in breathing.
   2. Tonguing exercises: playing exercises that have many notes started with a sharp definition produced by the tongue.
   3. Practicing on the mouthpiece: playing exercises on the mouthpiece only, without the trumpet. Without the resonating chamber of the rest of the instrument, the pitch may vary much more freely. To be able to play something requires development of control. Also, this may reduce the amount of pressure one can apply.
   4. Playing high: playing in the upper register, at the top of the player's comfortable range. This is an excellent way to increase one's range, as eventually the higher notes will become easier and the player can move on to progressively higher top notes.
   5. Reducing pressure. To play higher notes on the trumpet requires compression of the embouchure (the muscles of the face and lips), as well as air pressure to provide the energy for the vibration of the lips. One way to compress the lips is to press the mouthpiece firmly onto them, however this is counterproductive in the long run and is not an effective way of playing in the upper register. Blood cannot flow into the lips, so they become stiff and swollen, unable to vibrate. Also, the other muscles necessary to play without pressure are not sufficiently developed.
3. Avoiding bad habits. There are many bad habits that can develop while learning trumpet that can ultimately lead to slower improvement, a poorly developed sound, lessened endurance, or even pain. Common bad habits include pressing the mouthpiece to the lips (as explained above), uneven pressure (see Double buzz), inflating cheeks when blowing (although this is debatably a bad habit considering some of the greatest jazz trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Harry James, and Charlie Shavers were known for it), playing with poor posture, and closing the throat (tensing of the throat muscles, resulting in partially choking the air flow.).
4. Having too tense a posture is another bad habit . Producing notes becomes easier when the body, especially the embouchure and shoulders, are relaxed. Try not to extend the arms more than 90 degrees from the elbows.
5. Keeping neutral corners. Keep the corners of the mouth in a neutral position to avoid stretching or compressing the aperture too much. Pulling the corners back too much (into a smile) pushes the lips together thereby restricting vibration. Pushing them front too much pulls the lips apart too much, also restricting vibration.
6. Not resting the pressure of the mouthpiece evenly on both lips. One wants to find the ideal mouthpiece placement that allows maximum vibration. Experiment with different angles and positions until the best possible one for vibration is found. This position may vary in extreme registers.
   1. Furthermore circular breathing adds to ability to play without stopping.

Trumpet - Fingering

Table of valves to press down to play various notes, from low to high. "0" means all valves up, "1" means first valve, "1-3" means first and third valve simultaneously. If the valve says 0, no valves are pressed, and different pitches and notes are attained by changing the embouchure, or lip position and tightness The standard fingering of notes after double high C maintains the same pattern established in the octave leading up to it. Virtually any fingering combination may be successfully used as an alternate in the register above high C, hence alternate fingerings are left undefined after "E above the staff."

Note that the fingering schema arises from the lengths of each valve's tubing. Valve "1" increases the tubing length enough to lower the pitch by one whole step, valve "2" by one half step, and valve "3" by one and a half steps. Extending the third valve slide when the third valve is in use further lowers the pitch slightly. Air passing through longer lengths of tubing produces a lower pitch.

• Note: Although anything above a high C can be played by lip-slur instead of fingering, it is not recommended. True professional horns are built based on slotting. Slotting is done by valve combinations and the ease of the instrument to hit (or slot) from note to note. So lip slurring is not the most accurate way to achieve high notes.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Technique", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki