Education

Playing the Trumpet
John Holt, Assistant Professor of Trumpet
College of Music, University of North Texas

The most essential element in playing the trumpet is the correct position of the mouthpiece on the lips: the embouchure. In the 1960's to 1980's the ideal placement of the mouthpiece was to have a balance between the upper and lower lip. Having the mouthpiece "centered" was considered the best way to achieve a good sound, adequate range and endurance. Since the 1980's, the mouthpiece has moved higher on the lips, achieving a 5/8 upper lip and 1/3 lower lip ratio. By using a visualizer, it is possible to see this ratio.

Reasons for moving higher on the lips:

• 1. Only the upper lip vibrates. The lower lip acts only as cushion against pressure. The more top lip in the mouthpiece, the more potential for strength, range, etc.
• 2. By keeping the corners firm and thrusting the lower forward helps to alleviate undo stress and pressure from the embouchure.
• 3. The tendency in young players especially is to move the embouchure lower on the lips and "pinch" out the higher notes, resulting in weakening stamina, sound and eventually the higher register.

Problems which occur in trumpet students involving range and stamina usually are caused by poor embouchures. Fixing a poor embouchure can take up to six months in a student who is serious about becoming a better player. Do not let poor embouchures happen in the beginning stage.

Mouthpiece selection is an important topic for all students regardless of age, level of advancement, etc. This is one area where a student can make improvement quickly. These points should be considered:

• 1. Start all beginners on a Bach 7C or 5C.
• 2. Do not try to achieve a "darker" or "richer" sound by switching to B cup mouthpieces.
• 3. With older students, consider using bigger mouthpieces with open throats and backbores. (Schmidt -- darker sound; Symphony -- brighter sound etc.)

Mouthpiece buzzing is highly recommended to achieve a clearer trumpet sound. Do not force the buzz, let the sound occur naturally. Remember that you are playing the mouthpiece, the trumpet acts as amplifier. The clearer that you buzz, the clearer you will sound on the trumpet.

Playing the trumpet requires a deep relaxed breath. The breath should come from the diaphragm and should be continuous through the mouthpiece and into the trumpet. Never raise the shoulders when you breathe. The air never stops moving, just the rate at which it moves. (Lower register -- slower, upper register -- faster). Breathe with the music through the corners of the mouth forming the embouchure as you inhale. Do not smile when you breathe. Always keep the act of playing the trumpet as simple as you can. Utilize the corners of your lips to achieve flexibility, strength, range and endurance. Remember that you must buzz the notes on your mouthpiece to produce the correct pitches on the trumpet. An exercise that I find useful is playing the "C" scale without the use of valves. By playing pitches going up as well as down without the use of valves forces one to actually "lock in" those pitches resulting in a more accurate and stable sound.

With proper embouchure and breathing, producing a nice clear sound should become attainable. Always remember to take a deep relaxed breath and sustain the air throughout the sound. Avoid excessive pressure and hold the trumpet lightly. Correct pressure involves a balance between the pressure applied when playing the trumpet against the outgoing flow of air from the trumpet.

When tonguing, keep the tongue forward in the mouth near the top of the teeth. Try to achieve a light though definite "pop" in the attack of the note. The resulting attack should produce a clean, definitive initiation of sound. Never sneak into an attack. Attacks should be understood as if one were knocking on a wooden door. The harder one knocks, the louder the sound. Proper syllable should be "ta". This applies to both single and multiple tonguing.

Those persons who understand how to practice achieve the goals that they set for themselves in the shortest amount of time. Disciplined practice is essential to the mastery of any instrument. There are no shortcuts to success, however a structured practice routine will allow one to garner results in a faster manner. Important issues to understand when practicing:

• 1. Always warm up. The warm up can include long tones, flow studies, flexible studies, scales, etc. The James Stamp warm-ups are an excellent model to begin the warm up routine with. The key element here is to warm slowly and softly, never warm-up by playing loudly.
• 2. Stick to a set warm up routine. Do not try different warm-ups in a random manner. Find one that works for you and stay with it. To achieve consistency, one must develop a routine that can be used in all types of situations.
• 3. Always practice scales and arpeggios. Most works written for the trumpet contain either some form of a scale or an arpeggio. By mastering these at an early age, one will become more successful sooner.
• 4. Practice etude books. Books such as:
• • Bitsch -- 20 Studies
  • Bousquet -- 36 Celebrated Studies for Trumpet
  • Balay -- Complete Method, second part
  • Haynie -- How to Play High Notes and Low Notes
  • Clarke -- Technical Studies
  • Arban -- Complete Method
  • Smith -- Top Tones for the Trumpet
• 5. Work on solos. Pieces that feature you will make you more critical of your own playing. Remember to incorporate all of the aspects of correct playing whenever you play any piece of music. Solos such as:
• • Kent Kennan -- Sonata
  • Halsey Stevens -- Sonata
  • Flor Peeters -- Sonata
  • Eric Ewazen -- Sonata
  • Paul Hindemith -- Sonata
  • Mailman -- Concertino
  • Haydn -- Concerto
  • Hummel -- Concerto

Practice with a set purpose in mind. To achieve a goal, one must first define that goal, then work diligently towards that goal.