Short-term endurance problems?

[Greyson H]

Hello fellow Trumpet players, I need help with an issue that has plagued my playing for about the past 3 years. I'm now a senior in high school and have been playing trumpet for about 6 years now and practice pretty regularly.

My issue is I "run out of steam" so to speak while playing long passages, mainly my scale routine. (12 major in circle of fourths)
I start out fine, and it feels easy to play but when I get to around the 5th scale my lips feel kinda like they're dried up and I have to work extra hard to finish each scale. My tone gets rough and my articulation gets crackly and inconsistent. By the time I get to the last scale, I feel wiped out.

This only happens if I play "long" passages without taking the horn away from my face. If i pause for a second and reset I can last longer, but you can't really do that in an audition-type scenario. I've asked my band directors about it and my lesson teacher but they cant seem to help so if anyone has had a similar issue, or has any advice it would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[zaferis]

Without sitting with you and listening/watching one can only guess.

But here are my first thoughts:

Could be an equipment thing - mouthpiece is too big for you, or too open... could be the trumpet is to big (say it were a large bore/heavy design).. If things are bigger than you're able to handle you would be working harder than you need to. IMO if you're playing a mouthpiece bigger than a Bach 3C or Yamaha/Schilke 14xx, I'd say that it's a good chance it's contributing to the issue.

It could be that you are overworking, setting your corners/embouchure more tightly than needed fatiguing the muscles more quickly. Possibly too much tension in other areas of your respiratory approach, causing tension that promotes fatigue.

Breathing is quite often a culprit, most young players don't breath well. From breathing posture to too little or too much air.

AND MORE PROBABLE that the perceived issue is caused by a combination of things, to include a mental aspect-stress, nerves, self-fulfilling doubt.. etc.


My suggestion is to be sure that you REST within your routine (as much as %50).. i.e. play one scale up and down 2 or 3 times, take a breath-trumpet on your lap, then the next scale - repeat and rinse.
Then somewhere in your practice day attack endurance specifically, if you think it's a personal weakness. Long tones, long phrases-lyrical playing. - Get the first part to any Sousa March(es) and play it top to bottom without pausing. If you still have chops at the end, do it again.

Then, I think endurance is really about being efficient. Working with the least amount of effort. Unfortunately, it takes a significant amount of time to improve this skill. Stick with it. -iii<
_________________
Freelance Performer/Educator
Adjunct Professor
Bach Trumpet Endorsing Artist
Retired Air Force Bandsman

[dstdenis]

Hi Greyson. This is a common situation that many trumpeters can have while playing a long passage.

When you're practicing at home and you begin to feel tired and lose form and good sound, stop right there. Rest. There's no benefit to continue playing with bad form—in fact, it can mess you up.

Rest until you feel fresh enough to continue with good form and a great sound. You can test your chops by trying to play a soft note; if it speaks easily and cleanly, you're ready. Continue playing from where you stopped. But if your chops still feel tired and you struggle to produce a clean sound, you either need to rest some more or end the session.

I've found that this approach, stopping and resting frequently, does a much better job of building endurance than hammering away with a lousy sound on tired chops. Give it a try!
_________________
Bb Yamaha Xeno 8335IIS
Cornet Getzen Custom 3850S
Flugelhorn Courtois 155R
Piccolo Stomvi

[VetPsychWars]

You're right at that age where your face is changing from a boy to a man, and your lips get thinner. Completely killed me when I was a senior.

You might try a smaller diameter mouthpiece and lots of lip slurs to see where you need to place it. My moment of glory was realizing just how low on my face I had to put the mouthpiece to keep from cutting off the blood supply to my upper lip.

My smaller size isn't that small, either... now playing a GR 65M.

Tom
_________________
1950 Buescher Lightweight 400 Trumpet
1949 Buescher 400 Trumpet
1939 Buescher 400 Cornet
GR65M, GR65 Cor #1

[anothertrpt]

There are many factors that can cause endurance issues. Air control and breathing, mouthpiece placement, aperture size, and equipment are just a few. I would strongly recommend finding a great teacher in your area and getting some professional help.

I had these problems for years and never could seem to make significant gains. I got help from an amazing teacher and made some embouchure changes. It took a lot of patience and hard work, but have been noticing big pay-offs in endurance.

There is no substitute for great professional help.