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Mouthpiece exercises


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BrassmanBob
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 7:02 pm    Post subject: Mouthpiece exercises Reply with quote

I'm not always able to get to my trumpet everyday. But, I am able to carry my mouthpiece around and do lip buzz exercises on those days? Is there any benefit to that, or would it not really help.
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Goby
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 7:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Absolutely! The mouthpiece has much less resistance than a trumpet, and practicing on a mouthpiece teaches your embouchure "good posture". If done correctly (i.e. softly and with a clear tone), mouthpiece practice can boost flexibility, range, and clarity of articulation. I'd recommend James Thompson's "The Buzzing Book" as a starting point for some mouthpiece exercises to help your trumpet playing.
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Heim
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 7:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Goby wrote:
Absolutely! The mouthpiece has much less resistance than a trumpet, and practicing on a mouthpiece teaches your embouchure "good posture". If done correctly (i.e. softly and with a clear tone), mouthpiece practice can boost flexibility, range, and clarity of articulation. I'd recommend James Thompson's "The Buzzing Book" as a starting point for some mouthpiece exercises to help your trumpet playing.


Less resistance?
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LittleRusty
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2020 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You might be interested in the BuzzKill if you need to keep the noise down while buzzing.
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Proteus
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 4:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here you go:

https://www.jamesthompsonmusic.com/the-buzzing-book

Cheers.
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B. Scriver
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 6:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also like the BuzzKill. You can adjust the blow resistance and not bother the family dog. Great piece of gear!

http://www.buzzkill.buzz/

Brian Scriver
www.grmouthpieces.com
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Vin DiBona
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 6:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Adolph Herseth advised to buzz the mouthpiece, but not do exercises on it. Play tunes of any kind.
That certainly doesn't mean studies for buzzing are harmful, he felt it was better to make music on it.
Personally, I do both.
R. Tomasek
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Rod Haney
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I’d invest 50$ on Skype and ask Bobby Shew, a half hour should answer all questions and give some tips too.
Rod
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BrassmanBob
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 6:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, everybody, for the suggestions.
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cheiden
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some seem to be able to benefit from extended buzzing but others seem to get to a point where too much buzzing causes them trouble. Proceed with caution.
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Andy Del
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Buzzing will help, will probably need some guidance or risk developing some less than desirable habits.

You can:

Loose horse flaps (floppy buzz)
Lip buzz
Mouthpiece buzz

And gain lots of benefits from it. It only takes a short period of time to do as well, so floppy and lip buzzes while doing a 20 minute commute, plus 10 min on the mouthpiece at lunch might be as much, or more than you need.

Just get the advice and assistance to make this a productive exercise!

Cheers

Andy
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trumpet56
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 12:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My warmup starts with stretches and yawning. As Andy puts it 'horse flaps'. Then I progress to the lip buzz which graduates to the mouthpiece. I find it beneficial going backwards and fowards between the lip and mouthpiece buzz.
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deleted_user_687c31b
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2020 12:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've put a mouthpiece in the glove compartment of my car to buzz while stuck in traffic. In the end, all it did was teach me bad habits because I was combining it with other activities. Personally, I'd rather play less frequently but fully dedicated to practicing properly, than buzz every free moment I have just because. Your mileage may vary.
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Jaw04
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2020 8:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I really, really, really believe that mouthpiece buzzing and lip buzzing is beneficial BUT you should NOT do it for more than like, 20 seconds at a time. That's my opinion of course. Some advocate lots of buzzing and some advocate none.

Sirens are good for feeling a connection through the range without the slots that the trumpet applies to vibrating lips. It makes flexibility more efficient. Again, only do it in moderation. Slurring on the mouthpiece from one note to the next is good if you are having trouble with connecting intervals.

Playing melodies is okay, but I think it's overrated. I believe that over-buzzing will lead to manipulations that take the player away from productive habits.
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Cavaillé
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my opinion most people have less benefit from buzzing because they use a different setup in comparison to their normal playing embouchure.
In this video
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9nlmw3u6H6o Charlie Porter elaborates on a very important principle he calls the "marriage" between free buzzing, mouthpiece buzzing (leadpipe buzzing) and trumpet playing embouchure.
For me that was very crucial after years of struggling with and without buzzing.
Now I start with free buzzing with a small centered sound observing my lips and jaw setup in a mirror being the same as in my normal embouchure setup, then I do similar exercises (Chicowitz, Stamp) on my mouthpiece starting with pooh attacks, clean them up until they are crisp. Then I continue mouthpiece buzzing with more range and "sirens" always keeping my normal playing embouchure setup. Pitch control using the piano.
Then I'm ready for the trumpet, pooh attacks, no gravel in the attacks or sound, only mf centered followed by bending. With a correct position of the nozzle upward bendings should be no problem.
Now I can start working on my trumpet.

Best regards, Thomas
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Craig Swartz
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vin DiBona wrote:
Adolph Herseth advised to buzz the mouthpiece, but not do exercises on it. Play tunes of any kind.
That certainly doesn't mean studies for buzzing are harmful, he felt it was better to make music on it.
Personally, I do both.
R. Tomasek


This. I believe one must PLAY the mouthpiece, not "buzz" it. One can easily make sounds on a mouthpiece in various ranges without using the normal breath support we need for playing the trumpet. In leu of breath support the player will often use resistance generated in the tongue/throat/upper chest areas. This is extremely detrimental to playing and is probably the reason that some notable players recommend not using the mouthpiece alone.

Back in the early 70s I was fortunate enough to do some study with Ren Schilke. He advocated free buzzing and some mouthpiece work among other things but he emphasize the breath support regardless of what was being attempted. (We also used his "power studies- Arban's interval studies using wind articulation only) I have a leadpipe and mouthpiece in my vehicle that I play on during long trips. (The leadpipe limits one to the pitches along the harmonic series for the most part but the longer tone work is fantastic.) I've also used a BERP while playing the mouthpiece which allows normal chromatic playing. Both BERP and leadpipe help with the lack of resistance issues of mouthpiece alone.

Finally, I advocate Jim Stamp's Warm Ups (edition BIM/Tom Stevens) for anyone starting off on mouthpiece drilling. READ ALL THE TEXT BFOREHAND. Plsying along with Tom Steven's "accompaniment" CD is also helpful even if the keyboard he used sounds more like a circus instrument. Helps make one aware of the pitch while using mouthpiece alone or on the trumpet. Good luck
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AJCarter
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Heim wrote:


Less resistance?


yes. shorter tube, nothing "pushing back" against you.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Craig Swartz wrote:

This. I believe one must PLAY the mouthpiece, not "buzz" it. One can easily make sounds on a mouthpiece in various ranges without using the normal breath support we need for playing the trumpet.


Craig, isn't the purpose of a lot of exercises, though - to isolate various aspects of technique? I mean, there's nothing wrong with playing it in a musical context, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with playing it in isolation, either.
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Last edited by kehaulani on Tue Jul 14, 2020 8:57 am; edited 1 time in total
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Craig Swartz
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 8:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kehaulani wrote:
Craig Swartz wrote:

This. I believe one must PLAY the mouthpiece, not "buzz" it. One can easily make sounds on a mouthpiece in various ranges without using the normal breath support we need for playing the trumpet.


Craig, isn't the purpose of a lot of exercises, though - to isolate various aspects. Isn't this an age-old technique, that of isolating various aspects?


I'm not sure I understand your comment. I'd not be interested in playing/buzzing in a manner that is not condusive to trumpet playing. I must be missing something- I believe I explained the quoted statement in the following text.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2020 9:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know, either, what you don't understand, LOL. I'm saying there's certainly nothing wrong with emphasizing the musicality at the same time, but that isolating one aspect of playing, i.e. mouthpiece buzzing alone, is not unique either.
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