Banishing old bad habits . . . . . .

[BackrowBugler]

Hi, I am a returning cornet player and I am doing my best to get rid of old habits of pressing on and pinching lips as I increase range. I’m currently struggling with both range and stamina. As an example, if I play two octaves starting on low G below the stave, I lose the note at around D third line. It’s that bad. I’m certain it’s to do with pinching the lips and when I was younger I would just press on and usually, not always, get away with it but with poor tone.

What I’ve observed is that if I set a relaxed embouchure on the low G and then REALLY focus not to move it as I go up the scale and ensure good air flow I can parp out two octaves with some relative ease although it feels odd and unnatural. And I certainly can’t play sustained notes on that embouchure at the moment.

I feel like I’m on to something. Does it sound like something I should persevere with? I would love to be able to play slow melodies well and sing above the stave, something I always struggled with.

Thankyou!!

ps. I do intend to get professional advise by way of lessons as soon as covid will allow. I’m reluctant to have a skype lesson.

[Goby]

I think your best course of action would be to get a teacher, even if it means Skype lessons.

If you were my student, I would tell you to start your warmup and embochure setting on middle g (in the staff). If you think about it, thats the middle of your range, so it makes more sense to me to start in the middle and stretch in both directions. Work on a relaxed sound on a G in the staff and expand it across the range with Chicowicz flow studies. If you can't go beyond a 4th line D, then don't. Similarly, if you can't make it down to a G below the staff with your same setting, then don't. Your playing will develop if you're playing with a healthy sound, and you'll have access to those notes in a week or two. Do your best to be patient, and take lots of breaks. A large part of playing the trumpet is breath control rather than embouchure, so give it some time to develop.

[camelbrass]

I'm also returning to playing and trying to get back to some level of competency.

I'm not really worrying about range or what I should or shouldn't be doing with my lips (actually I never did even when I was competent). I'm mainly working on long, soft notes starting the note with breath only, slurring intervals smoothly working outwards higher and lower in different keys and articulating 8th notes. I try and produce the best sound I possibly can and be as musical as I can regardless if it's a 20 count pp G in the staff or a simple Christmas Carol. When I started I sounded like I was playing a badly out of tune kazoo but after a relatively short period of time every now and again a pleasing note or two appears, even the odd highish one.

As my skills return I've been able to add range organically.

Good luck.

Regards,


Trevor

[JayKosta]

[deleted_user_687c31b]

Muscle memory is a tough habit to break. Unlearning things is hard and it's often easier to replace it with something else rather than really 'unlearn' something.

What worked for me was that whenever I noticed I wasn't playing correctly, to stop playing and start again. The aim is to stop reinforcing the old habits and instead start repeating the new way of playing. In your case, whenever you feel yourself pinching your lips, don't continue on trying to change it, but stop playing and start over. Everytime you do so and keep going, you're reinforcing your old habit. That may mean playing in the lower register for a few weeks, but unlearning bad habits takes time.

[cheiden]

[adc]

Work on playing and holding a middle G. Concentrate on keeping the corner of your lips tight and use almost no pressure against the lips. My music teacher want me to do this every session. He encourages me to do it like 5 minutes constant every session.
_________________
Too many Old Cornets to Count

[x9ret]

[RUenvsci]

Definitely seek professional help to help get you started again. That’s what I did and am so thankful for it. Realized I had been playing too stiff and not flexible. Certain exercises can help promote good habits. Phill O’Neill in Australia can help with that, even with his online resources if you’re reluctant for lessons. Don’t be afraid to take a step or two backwards. This can provide a better foundation so you can see lots progress in the near future. Good luck!
_________________
Comeback player

[gtromble]

Looks like you've identified an issue - pinching off the sound by relying too much on muscling the notes with your lips and not enough on your air - and you've experienced how it can be different. So, how to make that how you play all the time?

The simplest thing you can do, IMO, is "air slurs." Play a low C with smooth airflow, and then just blow a little more - don't think higher, think farther through the bell. It takes surprisingly little extra. If the mid-staff G doesn't sound easily, then the chops aren't aligned well or you've got too much tension.
You could also do these starting on mid-staff G and blowing through to get the 3rd space C. Once you get that working, and are using your air rather than pinching the lips to change pitch, then you can work it up. Use the intervals that come with the horn to start. For instance, if you want to work on that 4th line D, start with 123 which gives you the mid-staff Gb, blow it up to Bb and back, and then go up 13, 23, 12, 1 (which will get you the D). Get it responding easily and sounding open in the mid-staff first, then go up, but stop if it starts to close off or you feel you're having to work hard to get the upper note to pop out. It really should be quite easy.

I've been down this road, and I played a long time with an embouchure that functioned, but wasn't really well aligned. Everything I could do took much more effort than it should have, but I didn't know that because it felt normal. Getting chops set up so that just a little more air brings out the next higher partial was a true revelation.

I recommend not relying on scales to try to access the range until you've really got the feeling of how easy it can be with the right air, because with the small intervals of a scale it's very easy to slide back in the habit of pinching the chops to get the next note up, rather than using the air.

Note - I am neither a great player or a pro teacher. What I'm relaying here is what has worked for me. I too struggled in a comeback with range choking off in the upper part of the staff, but when I got the "air slurs" working easily as described above, I got range back to high C and above within a few days.
_________________
Galen Tromble
Silver Spring, Maryland