hitting first note accurately

[shoreman]

My comfortable range is A just above the staff. I don't feel comfortable starting a piece from E in the staff and beyond. Any exercises for nailing that first note accurately.

[mafields627]

Start on 3rd space C and play a solid quarter note with the following:
- Harmon Mute
- Cut Mute
- Straight Mute
- Open

Continue ascending chromatically doing all four of those on each note.

Also, practice taking the mouthpiece off the face, putting it to the lips, and playing the quarter note. Do it several times with no stops in between. This forces you to start the note immediately, no matter where the mouthpiece is, with no weird "ritual" or setting up.
_________________
--Matt--

No representation is made that the quality of this post is greater than the quality of that of any other poster. Oh, and get a teacher!

[Richard III]

I read a very old quote from Pops McLaughlin about owning notes and range. He told the poster to play that note 100's of times a day. When you can do that, add another note above that.

I'm starting that today. Surprising what happens. Breath attack it. Single tongue it. Multi tongue it. Make each one perfect. What I immediately found out was my range wasn't what I thought it was. People say they own a note. I figure if they can do Pops' suggestion, they do. If not, well, they are like me, fooling themselves. Time to put in the time.
_________________
Richard

King 1130 Flugabone
King 12C mouthpiece

[kehaulani]

Physical aspects aside, it is imperative that you hear the pitch before playing it. Singing the note helps focus your mind on the pitch. Sing it, hear it in your :inner ear", play it.

I personally would get leaden chops if I repeated the same note 100 times. Maybe something like Caruso Six-Note exercise would be helpful, moving the pitch center gradually higher over time
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[JayKosta]

Slow practice and paying attention to the things (embouchure, mouthpiece, breath, pitch conception, etc.) that you are doing when it works. Each note has its own 'sensations', and developing the ability to consistently establish those sensations is key.

It would be sufficient to recognize the overall 'big picture' without attempting to analyze each item individually. But some people benefit from consciously making specific adjustments to discover their effect, and making (through practice) the 'good changes' part of their 'reflexes' when playing - so conscious thought is no longer needed.
_________________
Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[Richard III]

[Bethmike]

[Mike Prestage]

shoreman, when you're not getting obvious misses, how do you sound on entries above Eb? How does your articulation, tone, intonation and dynamic control compare to if you're playing the same note as part of a phrase? If there's something going wrong even when you 'hit', it'll be far more effective to address that directly before getting too preoccupied with how often you miss.

[TrumpetMD]

[huntman10]

Kehaulani is absolutely right. Hear the note before you play it.

Then practice that attack so you will also FEEL how it will feel to play it to develop confidence that the note you hear will sound. Continue practicing so you know what embouchure set is required, what tongue arch to use, and how to breathe through the note.

All this builds muscle memory and confidence. Which is what you need for every entrance. No tricks, no other shortcuts. Know what it takes and know that you can and will.
_________________
huntman10
Collector/Player of Fine (and not so fine) Brass Instruments including
Various Strads, Yammies, Al Hirt Courtois, Schilkes,
Selmer 25, Getzen Eternas, Kanstuls (920 Pic, CG)
Martin Custom Large Bore, Lots Olds!, Conns, etc.

[MalinTrumpet]

I had a serious problem with first notes for years. When I started studying with Ray Mase in the mid 80’s he suggested the Shuebruk Graded Lip trainers, grade 2 #1. I did it every day with a metronome for many, many years. The written exercise only goes to A and low C. I extended it to e above high C and low F with my 3rd slide extended. It became part of my warm up. Over time a one time serious problem became a strength. Over the years I successfully negotiated the 1st trumpet part in Mahler 5, Pictures, Rienzi Overture, Shostakovich 1, Rumanian Rhapsody…virtually all pieces that start with a solo trumpet.
I played this exercise THOUSANDS of times.
Good Luck!
LCM

[cheiden]

A good daily routine will have you doing that many many many times and that's bound to make you more consistent. Break out the Clarke Technical Studies book and do everything both tongued and slurred.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart

[delano]

Start on the second note.

[MrOlds]

Shuebruk is a good place to start. Franquin and Bodet (available at qPress) have similar exercises.

Since the OP is having trouble with top space E and tops out at A above the staff I’d recommend starting the Shuebruk with a grade 1 exercises 7-11 in the section covering Attacks.

Set the metronome to 40-60 bpm. Slow is good. Take the horn off the face during rests. Imagine a clear start to each note with full resonance at the very beginning of the note. Hold each note for its full value. At 40 bpm a quarter note is long.

When these are mastered try some of the interval exercises in the following section.

I’d spend a few weeks on the Grade 1 stuff before moving to Grade 2. When you get to grade 2 you could do a different attack exercise each day. If you’re short on time move through the exercise in whole steps instead of half steps.

If you’re more of an app person the Q Tones app randomizes attack challenges (loud-soft-high-low-single notes-multiple notes). It’s configurable so you aren’t asked to do crazy stuff outside your current capabilities.

[ayryq]

[GeorgeB]

If you don't have a problem playing a scale and hear the note while doing so, try a thing called target practice. Start a scale and stop at a note. Take the mp away from the chops, put it back and play that note. Do it to every note in the scale several times. Then just pick random single notes and play them one at a time.
George
_________________
GeorgeB
1960s King Super 20 Silversonic
2016 Manchester Brass Custom
1938-39 Olds Recording
1942 Buescher 400 Bb trumpet
1952 Selmer Paris 21 B
1999 Conn Vintage One B flat trumpet
2020 Getzen 490 Bb
1962 Conn Victor 5A cornet

[Dayton]

A few thoughts. First, as you approach the limits of your range you will likely struggle with articulation. Focusing on articulation of those notes may not yield your desired results (other than to help improve your range, which can then help with your accuracy).

Second, know what the notes sound like. That will help you play them. Sounds silly, but if you can hear the pitch in your head it will really help with your accuracy (and efficiency). As players approach their upper limits the focus seems to shift from a pitch to a "high note." Playing suffers as a result.

Finally, here are a few exercises from Arban's Method that can help:

Syncopation studies starting on page 23. Play them as written, but also break them into short phrases with rests where you take your mouthpiece off of your face. For example, p. 25 #12 could be played first measure through the G in the second measure. Add a rest and take the mouthpiece off of your lips. The A through the E in the fourth measure. Rest. Them G through the first E in the fifth measure. Rest. And so on. You can also turn each note into its own entrance. Play the first note sustained. Rest. Play the second note sustained. Rest. Do a few measures that way and then play the phrase as written. Move forward in this manner.

Slur studies on page 41, #14 and #15. As per above, play as written and add rests to get the mouthpiece off of your lips. This gives you more "entrances" to work on.

Intervals on page 126, with various articulation patterns. Be creative.

Tenths on page 131, #12 played both forward AND backward.

Good luck!

[ebolton]

One thing I have found helpful with this is playing scales from the top down, then the bottom up. At first you might make a lot of mistakes hitting the first note, but you'll know within a few notes and it gets quite a bit easier. At least it did for me.
_________________
-Ed

[JayKosta]

When I mentally 'hear' the note to be played, it generates the corresponding embouchure and breath setting. Similarly, when I make a particular physical setting, I experience the note pitch that would result.
I think developing this ability is critical to 'learning to play'.

Of course I do sometimes 'clam', and that is often because of physical fatigue that inhibits proper production of the setting.
_________________
Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[shoreman]

when I played in the local community band there was one song I dreaded. I'm sorry I can't think of the title at this moment; but it was probably a Glenn Miller arrangement that had the trumpets starting on a high A,(just above the staff)for a dotted half note, than coming down the scale with two sixteenth notes, then three eight note triplets, before ending on a whole note. Out of ten times, I think I hit that A twice. very frustrating to say the least.