"Ah-ee"?

[Asian Man]

i say it to get my tounge moving but i seem to not be able to use the tounge for lip slurs and range. instead i use lip tension.
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Bach Strad (lacq.) 37
Yamaha C Trumpet (silver) YTR6445HS
Couesnon Monopole Flugelhorn circa 1970
7 rims (Curry)
www.myspace.com/whistlingbarofsoap

[fuzzyjon79]

For me, the most important part of doing lip slurs is making sure that I take a big full breath, and make sure that there is a constant steady air flow... without that.. my flexibility will suffer greatly. When working through the Iron's book (27 groups of exercises) there is one spot where he makes a comment along the lines of... "now a student realizes the importance of taking a big breath of air before starting this exercise." If I'm having trouble with my flexibility... I check my air before anything else.
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J. Fowler
"It takes a big ole' sack of flour, to make a big ole' pan of biscuits!"

[scarface]

Lately, I've practiced bending upward between two slurred notes (ala The Buzzing Book). I do this if I catch myself hitching the airstream or manipulating the chops or jaw to get the slur. Bending upward (and downward) with a solid sound gets the air more involved and can show you how close the notes really are.

[trpt.hick]

As mentioned earlier, air flow is important. However, the tongue must change vowels properly if the correct air is to have a chance of changing harmonics. It seems to me that you need to further develop the tongue motion. Remember, saying the sylables and playing the slurs are not exactly the same.

I suggest working with a really good teacher that can demonstrate proper lip slurs. If the tongue level is too high all the time (making a stuffy tone quality) there will be little room for the tongue to raise when slurring upwards. If the tongue is too low, a spread and "yawning" sound comes out. Not good, either.

You will need to first figure out where the front of your tongue is in all registers and where the middle of the tongue is in all registers. If the tongue wants to be too high all the time, try lip bends........lipping (loudly!) middle range notes down a half step, whole step, and eventually a step and a half. This will probably really open up the oral cavity and give you a big sound. ("Opera" singing quality as compared to a "hill-billy" singing sound.) Sometimes a large cup mouthpiece will help at first. Just be careful to not drop the lower jaw too much. (In fact, lower jaw position may very well be the heart of your problem?)

If the tongue level seems to be too low, experiment with various levels of the tongue until the tone quality is just right. Sometimes a very shallow mouthpiece will help because it will focus the sound best when the middle of the tongue is higher.

By all means, do not rely on the lips to obtain the various pitches for you. They should merely firm (slight pucker feel) or loosen (not too much!) IN SYMPATHY with the air stream. Lips by themselves will be lucky to give you more than an octave in range!

Be patient. Don't give up. This is as common as it gets. All players have to figure it out at first.

Dave Hickman

[Trumpet Dude]

Air!!!!
Perhaps you hsould palm the trummpet when you do lip slurs.
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[Asian Man]

i think my tounge is too high when i play in middle register...i guess i should keep it lower until it becomes a habit
_________________
Bach Strad (lacq.) 37
Yamaha C Trumpet (silver) YTR6445HS
Couesnon Monopole Flugelhorn circa 1970
7 rims (Curry)
www.myspace.com/whistlingbarofsoap