Insane Range

[mcamilleri]

BE has turned my trumpet playing upside down, and never more so than last night.

Reporting from a world gone mad -

I started to warm up, trying to play G or C in the staff to get things going. Out popped a high D - easy, loud and clear. This is not a high or difficult note for me, but to pop it out in a warm-up like that was simply weird. So I did my warm up from high G to G above high C, and it felt easy.

One of my favourite jazz heads is 'Sandu' which goes from low to mid F and around and about. Played that, then again an octave up (with articulation), then an octave up again (to triple F, rather dodgy there).

The highest I regularly play is F above high C, which I do often when I solo, as it is pretty solid with good volume. Just for fun, I sometimes flip up to the double high Bb, which is normally a squeak. When I tried it last night, the note spoke plain as day, with good volume. So did the double C. What fun!

An hour later, after running through a book of Aebersold play alongs, the high notes where still there.

Just to show how little 'effort' has gone into this, over the last 2 weeks I have only managed about 2 decent practice sessions (away for work), and have not spent any real time on BE exercises. Over the last 4 weeks I have really only done the BE roll-out to warm up and tongue on lips exercises and studies. Oh, and I played all that on a 5C, not a lead trumpet mouthpiece - I tried my Curry 10.5Z 620M lead pieces, and it really made no difference. And to top it off, I grew a beard a couple of weeks ago, so the mouthpiece was pressing on fuzz, not flesh.

If I hadn't been there myself, I wouldn't have believed it. Using BE my high range has become so easy. Before BE, I had a solid high E, though it took real effort, and I could only do it on a shallow lead piece, blowing my brains out. I now play higher and louder and with far less effort on a 5C.

What has made the difference, I think, is all the work I have been putting into tongue-on-lips over the last month or so, as I have made this my normal articulation. I have been playing studies and etudes using it - often spending 30 minutes or more on it. My articulation has cleaned up, and my lip position has definitely changed. The improved high range seems to be a by-product.

Michael
_________________
Alpha Angles
Besson Loyalist

[jarrelainen]

Glad to hear things are going great for You!

Anyways, I haven't been doing BE for more than 2 weeks, BUT the tonguing on lips is, even if the question is "can you tongue, rather than do You tongue on lips" , a minor revolution so far concerning my playing also, it really is something very important and shouldn't be overlooked, and if possible use it as much as possible when playing normal also.

just my 2pp, JK

[TXBD]

Like Michael, my BE practice is sometimes minimal, and often with several days between "serious" sessions. I have had the exact same experience, with higher notes popping out with ease. (Nothing as high as his) I've written a couple of times on this forum about how we, as trumpet players, often overdo things - if one time through is good, then five times through is better. I feel like I, personally, benefit more from the occasional rest day. It's helped me concentrate more on other things like literature, community band music, etc. Others may be able to do BE every day, but an every other day schedule seems to still give me some tremendous results. Congrats to you, Michael, on your "mad results".

Billy Marquis

[barryj1]

Michael, You are an inspiration to all of us! Fantastic post along with the earlier one about your injury.

barry

[mcamilleri]

Gee guys, thanks. And you haven't even heard me play - if you did, you probably wouldn't be quite so inspired . I still have a lot of areas to improve on, and am no-where near putting any pros out of work. Still, I have fun, and continue to improve technically - which is something that had eluded me for nearly 20 years before I found BE. Thanks, Jeff.

Michael

[HJ]

Michael,

>and am no-where near putting any pros out of work<

Don't you dare!!!!

But, don't be shy. I think we all know what you mean. I AM a pro but for me also goes that I still have a lot to improve. I played things last months that I never expected to play, ever, but thanks to BE, persistance and patience (don't forget this!!) it starts to work.
I can play a double high C everyday now and not just once. In my improvisations I can play up to high G and sometimes beyond, but same as you, there are days, places, music that could be better. The nice thing of your post is that it proves what is in the book: there will come a day that you think and feel that everything is possible. That does not mean that you can do everything rightaway, but you feel that you eventually WILL be able to do almost everything. And yes, there will always be challenges. In my experience the challenges are becoming more musical instead of technical and that is a great feeling. Finally working on music, that's why we all do it, isn't it?

Bert

[jarrelainen]

Yes!

it is all about the music, and that's one thing thats been irritating me over the years.
One can be very musical and still not have success with the trumpet.
(not meaning that I'm Beethoven or Mozart, because I'm not, but I have had success with other instruments and have pretty good sense of rhytm and tone )
It is irritating and annoying to keep struggling for years with technical stuff that should be secondary when we all look for the moment and opportunity to make music, thats why I find it wonderful that there are still research and bold people who want to expand the theories behind trumpet playing and make it practical(hope you understand what I mean )

[HJ]

Jarrelainen,

I understand what you mean.

My musicality literally saved my musical life a couple of times. When I studied at the conservatory I had to do some exams and I remeber one very clearly. My playing was absolutely rubbish, I could play to maybe G top staff (fifth year conservatory!!!), but happily for me the people that decided that I could do another year at school and not have me thrown off heard (and said) that in the end I could be a great player. They could hear music through the broken tone. To me this was very frustrating, I wanted to sound like Hubbard and Clifford, and I sounded like a very weak Chet Baker (which is great, now that I think of it, as long as you can choose to sound like that).

Well, anyway, it is about music, but it sure is nice if the music sounds the way you want it to sound.

Bert

[barryj1]

Brass players have off days, moments of quiet desperation when, despite their best efforts, nothing sounds or feels quite right. Only a few days ago, my chops were rolling in and out effortlessly. I was playing in the extreme high register and locking into double-register tones with no strain or physical difficulty. Yesterday, on the other hand, I sounded so awful I cut my losses and finally put the horn away after only twenty minutes. My roll in excercises were stiff and unresponsive. The advanced lip slurs began to thin and fade up around a high D. Not a good sign!

There could be any one of a dozen explanations for my musical reversal of fortunes (i.e. a nagging stomach virus, a rough week at my social service day gig, three consecutive days of crappy New England weather, etc.). No matter. What I’ve learned from the Balanced Embouchure, if nothing else, is persistence pays off. You put the trumpet down for 24 hours then resume the basic BE exercises with renewed intensity. Eventually the internal mechanism resets itself; your playing negotiates the rough spots and reaches another musical plateau. The bottom line: don’t get distracted by the occaisional bump in the road. Jeff’s system works just fine! The trumpeters who contribute their favorable and, at times, amazing, experiences with BE to this forum confirm that the method is pretty much fool proof.

Barry




[ This Message was edited by: barryj1 on 2004-04-01 10:55 ]

[ This Message was edited by: barryj1 on 2004-04-01 10:57 ]

[ This Message was edited by: barryj1 on 2004-04-01 10:58 ]

[jarrelainen]

Agree!

Bert, I guess there is noone that cares and loves to make music that would seriously stand the idea of creating the limitless music thats in your head by using only a two octave keyboard, with only the standard sound of a sine wave

Which is kind of the way it feels sometimes, considering playing the trumpet.

Barryj, I guess there is and will be some days that it won't feel good, I had one today actually, but I guess that is propably as You said a transition phase before something is happening.
I haven't been doing the BE exercises for long, but still I can feel something happening with my chops allready.
My sound and endurance has gone up!
Well, so I guess just have to stick through it, when having the bad days

Take care, JK