Long tones and TCE

[chapahi]

How does one approach long tones when applying the TCE technique? I've been working on the concept of TCE and can play notes of brief duration with great ease. I see the power in TCE. I haven't yet been able to sustain a tone with a good sound. Thanks in advance for any replies.
_________________
Sima, Kanstul 1525 Flugel and Kanstul pocket trumpet. Olds Super

[drboogenbroom]

The biggest struggle I had with this approach was sustaining tones. The problem is overcoming the idea of blowing to sustain the tone. Here's what I reccomend and how I managed to lern to do it after years of overblowing.
1. Take an easy breath. Not huge, not full. Just like you were about to start a conversation.
2. Just let the air out. It should be slow and easy. Very little air at all.
3. Now, here's where there might be some disagreement. put the tongue up like you are going to spit buzz and take the same kind of breath. You should feel a slight, very slight, bit of pressure behind the tongue. Release the tongue just enough to let the air through. Don't worry if you get a buzz or not. Do not blow, just let the air past. It should sitll be a small amount and pretty slow.
4. Now try it through the horn, the result should be a nice firm but not particularly loud pop at the beginning of the note and a good mezzo pianoish sustain with a nice effortless sound.

From here, very small increases in effort will yeild huge increases in volume. It might take a few trys for the note to speak but it should work with time and paitence.

Kyle or someone might chime in with a more official approach, but this sure worked for me. Good luck.
_________________
By concentrating on precision, one arrives at technique, but by concentrating on technique one does not arrive at precision.

Bruno Walter

[tptguy]

I think Bruno's explanation is very good. And he has seen/heard the very positive results.

A little more:
A good trumpet is an intune amplifier. Stop 'blowing' and a good horn will then be free to do its job.
While sustaining a pitch never allow the tongue to recede, not even a little. Never arch the tongue because it will then recede. Be very critical about the pitch and focus you hear - from yourself and others - and the ears will quickly train the tongue.

[epoustoufle]

Hi chapahi,

I also found a lot of trouble getting sustained notes with the Superchops technique. About 6 months ago I decided - largely for that reason - to stop working on that embouchure and go back to my old ways.

Well, I guess I've crept back in and have begun doing TCE again.

For some reason this time round there seems to be progress with the long tones. I hesitate (for like 1 second ) to give advice as I am a noobie with TCE but nevertheless I am very familiar with your problem.

The excercises on the DVD are repeated staccato notes in a scale - say F to F in semiquavers da-da-da-da / da-da-da-da /... etc with the volume at forte or solid mezzoforte. I have been doing something different. Try the same scale like this: da-da-da-da daaa daaa / da-da-da-da daaa daaa / etc. at about piano or piannissimo.

That starts to work the muscles needed for long tones, in my experience.

Again, I'm just a noob but I'm right in the middle of these issues so it's not abstract and a long time ago for me. Hope it helps! See ya round on the forum.

Mark

[trumpetplanet]

Sometimes, for no reason other than to get the feel, you could start a note in your normal way and whilst holding it experiment by then pushing the tongue forward between the teeth. Then stop the note and without letting the tongue recede play a new note. Recognise the difference in sound, and reduced effort it takes to make that sound.

For me the best way to get the feel of things was spit buzzing. Whilst doing it try to be conscious of not preloading tension in the face. It is literally putting your tongue through the teeth and then spitting the buzz into action. When you then go back to your instrument you can just listen to your sound to hear if you're blowing too much air.

Before I've seen someone just stick their tongue out and blow to get the sensation of air going over the tongue. Usually the top lip will start to buzz with the smallest amount of grip. You can then bring the tongue inside the lips and get playing. Don't think about it all too much, just play stuff and have clear goals. e.g. today I'll play this tune with half the air I used to, or go twice as long in one breath (that's the same thing). Today I'll work on staccato attacks, tomorrow I'll play simple tunes and just stop every time I notice the tongue isn't where it should be... Small steps.

When I was switching to TCE used to think a lot about how it felt and worry if I was doing it right. One day I just noticed that my tongue is always there now, by habit.
_________________
UK-based professional trumpeter.
Proponent of the Superchops/TCE.

https://neotericbrass.com/
https://trumpetpla.net/
https://tonguecontrolled.info/

[tptguy]

Every time the tongue recedes or arches, even a pinch, the sound/pitch degrades. Prevent one and you prevent the other - always. Doesn't matter if the tone is long or short. Start with shorter sounds and build - with discipline.