Trumpet Notes

Dr. Ryan Noe (ryan.noe@maine.edu)

July 15, 2024

Creating Tone: 2 actions are necessary

1. Air flow

2. Embouchure

Airflow (Breathing Gym)

• The exhale is a result of the inhale

  • Sounds like Darth Vadar on inhale

  • For exhale, release the air *Don't Push Air*

• Breathing exercises (Zen and the art of Archery)

  • In for four and out for four; and then 4 sips

  • Game:  Who can hold the paper up against the wall the longest?

  • Inhale and exhale exercise - Paper AirPlane , Dart , Bow and Arrow 

  • Chasing the Dragon - teacher led; hand up to inhale, hand down to exhale, bend over at the end

• Breathing Tools

  • Breathing tube

  • Breathing bag

Embouchure

• To set the embouchure

  • Say "MMMM"

  • Place mouthpiece under nose and equipally place on upper and lower lip (50/50)

• There should be 1 setting for all ranges

• Place a pencil in the middle of the embouchure to build muscles.

High and Low notes

• High and low notes are produced by changing the vibration speed of the lips

• This is achieved by changing the speed of the air approach the lips

• To change the speed of air think about changing tongue position.

  • HIGH: "Eeeee", faster air, and thus higher notes

  • LOW:  "Oooo", slower air, and thus lower notes

• Suggested youtube videos:

  • "French Horn MRI with Sara Willis"

  • "Want easier high notes with Adam Rapa"

• Exercises to work on this skill

  • Lip slurs by Bai Lin, Schlossberg, and Charles Colin (books)

  • Place mouthpiece under nose and equipally place on upper and lower lip (50/50)

Buzzing and singing

• Beginnings

  • First lessons have them match pitch on singing and on mouthpiece

  • Do sirens

  • Buzz songs by ear

• Intermediate/Advanced

  • Buzz warm-ups

  • Buzz entire pieces of music

  • Utilize B.E.R.P. device

Warmups

• Beginner

  • Call and Response

    • Buzzing Starts of C scale

  • Remington

    • G-F#-G, G-F-G, .... G-C-G

  • Lip Slurs

    • G-C-G, F#-B-F#, .... C#-F#-C#

• Intermediate

  • Chicowiz flow studies

  • Buzzing Basics - James Johnson

• Advanced

  • Stamp

  • Arbans

Maintenance

• Oiling valves

  • Brands: AI Cass and Blue Juice

  • Show students how to remoe valves to oil *NOT FROM THE BOTTOM*

  • Weekly

• Slide Grease

  • Any brand is fine

  • Should be done at least once a month to avoid frozen slides

  • 
    

• SUMMER

  • Before leaving for the summer, oil and grease instruments before stored

• At-Home Bath (every 6 months)

  • Fill tub half full with warm water and dawn soap

  • Remove valves and leave them out of tub on a cloth

  • Remove all slides and put horn and slides into tub

  • Run snake through slides and tubes while under water

  • Leave in bath for at least 60 minutes

  • Place mouthpiece in boiling water

Equipment

• Instruments

  • David French rental company

  • Beginning trumpet on a budget, King, Holton, Bach TR-300 (do not like, bad lead pipe) Yamaha YTR-2330.  Price range is about $300-500

  • Intermediate trumpets around $1,200 Jupiter (bad valves, week spring - pull them out so they longer), Getzen

  • Professional trumpets new around $3,400, used around $1,500.  Bach Strad 37 or 43, Yamaha Xeno

• Mouthpieces

  • Bach 7C, 5C, 3C, and 1C.  Number refers to diameter across, as the number goes down the mouthpiece gets wider.  The leters refer to the cup size/depth.  Beginners should start on a 7C, as they get older jump down to 3C.

  • Shilke/Yamaha 14A, 4A.  Number means wide, letter means shallow.

  • Avoid Amazon, should not be $10, possiblity of lead.

• Mouthpieces

  • Straight Mute: Denis Wick, Tom Crowne, Stoneline

  • Cup Mute: Denis Wick, Stoneline

  • Harmon: Wah-Wah, Jo-Ral

  • Plunger: SINK PLUNGER (drill small hole to allow enough air to go through when closed)

Transposition

• The standard trumpet transposition is "Trumpet in Bb" thus when the trumpet plays a written C, the sounding pitch is 1 whole step lower sounding a Bb.

• Remember the rhyme "when it plays a C it plays its key"

• Most transposing instruments sound lower than their written pitch

Pitfalls, or common things beginngers do incorectly

• Bad embouchure or placement of mouthpiece

  • Trying to use differen embouchures for high and low playing will hold a student back in the long run

• Too much pressure on the mouthpiece

  • There should be enough pressure to create a seal but not more.

  • Pressure test, place left hand near end of bell placing instrument beween thumb and index fingers do the same with right hand lead pepe, try to play, hands will slide if preson is attempting to use pressure to create tone.

• Pressure is used because the aperture is to wide, pressure makes the aperture smaller thus can help with high notes.

• Hand posisition

  • Right hand pinky should be on top of right and hand should be open like holdng a ball

• Students should move to a slightly larger mouthpiece around 3rd/4th year

High ad soft practice pplaying chromatics up and see where they start to get loud...not going to be one and done 

Accent on Achievement for trumpets

For braces bumpers 

Videos:

Living trumpet player, Hakan Hardenberger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow1nTHYhqqw

Allison Balson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1eyZAedhY4

Tine Thing Helseth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8cNnxLsvdk

Ingrid Jensen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwwUiDmD9RE

Embouchure chat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxANlnKO9bw

Tonguing