Articulation

[Brassplayer18]

Hi everyone, I am having a small issue with starting some notes and certain articulations. Basically when I play, some notes seem to be delayed even though I am ready to push air through the horn. I feel that I also can't seem to articulate or start some notes. Now, I believe this has been my case for a while, but now it's irritating. I play on a variety of mouthpieces and that could possibly be one problem. Could articulation problems possibly come from the alpha angle of the mouthpiece, as they can arise from the other parts of the mouthpiece? I try and practice some everyday so I keep up with the horns. On a side note, I play trombone and don't really have this issue and I don't think it's a problem either. I'm not really sure, but it could be my embouchure. But, any advice is helpful at this point. Thanks.
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August R.

[cheiden]

Perfecting attacks is a skill like any other and it has to be cultivated with regular practice. You might try spending time on breath attacks. Initially you may only be able to do this at moderate volume and with significant delay in the note start. But as you continue practicing this you should find that you'll be able to get quicker note starts with less and less volume. In time it should become relatively effortless.

I wouldn't fret the mouthpiece too much. So long as it's not a real oddball, I'd just chose one and stick with it.
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"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

[DaveH]

The rim of the mouthpiece can have a significant effect on articulation, with sharper rims providing more accurate and reliable articulation.

[dstdenis]

It's not unusual to have issues with embouchure response playing trumpet. It's a balancing act to get the chops stronger without getting stiff and losing response. To keep things in balance, trumpeters usually practice exercises specifically designed to keep the embouchure supple and responsive.

The best ones I've found for this (IMO) are in the Franquin Method, the exercises on sound production and the long tones exercises that follow. Other exercises that help with this include the Special Studies for Trumpet, by John Daniel, and the Clarke Technical exercises, practiced very softly.
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Bb Yamaha Xeno 8335IIS
Cornet Getzen Custom 3850S
Flugelhorn Courtois 155R
Piccolo Stomvi

[cheiden]

I appreciate that you don't believe doubling on trombone should be an issue. But I would contend that relatively few players seem to succeed well at this. Not that I'd try to discourage you but I'd be prepared to spend extra time on exactly this type of embouchure balancing.

FWIW, I'm just an amateur hobbyist player and I occasionally play French horn, and just now started dabbling on tenor sackbut so I'm not entirely unfamiliar with what you're going through.
_________________
"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

[tpter1]

I have a similar issue, especially when I';ve been off the horn for more than 2 or 3 days. Here's what works for me:

Concentrate on developing the idea of delivering air to the lips rather than to the tongue. This can be developed using "Paa" attacks in your practice sessions.

Flutter tonging the start of notes. This helps with tongue placement (among other things), which could also be part of the issue.

Soft practice. Concentrated for an entire session devoted to playing p or less.

Since articulation is basically speaking, make each note say the word "tooh". Like you're singing to a 2 year old about their age.
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-Glenn Roberts
"Character is the backbone of human culture, and music is the flowering of human character". -Confucious

[BBB1976]

Yes I agree with dstdenis, Special Studies for Trumpet by John Daniel is a wonderful book for this. Also, the early stuff in the Arban.
Good luck to you.

[Craig Swartz]

I agree with using breath attacks (actually, releases) as a starting point. Another simple way to work into articulation is to say or speak the type of note "front" you wish to create- hard or soft, legato or staccato, or in-between, etc. If you can't imagine how to do it "vocally", it may be difficult to duplicate it on the more complex instrument. Experiment, experiment.

[solo soprano]

To produce a clear attack, a responsive lip and a fast air stream are the most important elements. While there will be those who disagree, the tongue, in and by itself, does not make a sound. It is rather, the immediate vibration of the lip that produces the the first attack, and the interruption of the wind by the tongue that causes the lips to stop for a split second and start again, that produces succeeding attacks.

To develop a good tone delivery, I suggest some use of the "HEE" attack. Here's how it's done: moisten the lips and "press them together. (Not pinched.) Take a big breath and blow, striving to make the attack with no tongue as clear as you can. The air stream must be fast, like a bullet.
Then when you add the tongue to this type of blowing, you will have an attack that has full sound.

KTM / K Tongue Modified:
A word about tongue placement. Say the syllables "aw - eee - aw - eee" and you will notice that the tip of tongue stays behind the lower teeth. There are some who have erroneously called this "anchor tip tonguing." But the tip of the tongue should not be anchored rigidly behind the lower teeth, since the tongue must be allowed to float up and down into the correct level for each note. The tip, then, should be placed lightly behind the lower teeth, by the top of the teeth, not down at the gum line. The front center portion of the tongue moves forward to make the attack against the upper teeth. Tonguing in this manner has several advantages: Accuracy is increased, since the tip of the tongue is not constantly getting in the way of the air stream. Wide intervals become easy, since the tongue can instantly adjust to the level required of each note. And one can articulate mush faster, since the tongue doesn't have as far to move. Learn KTM and develop it.
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Bill Knevitt, who taught me the seven basic physical elements and the ten principles of physical trumpet playing and how to develop them.
https://qpress.ca/product-category/trumpet/?filter_publisher=la-torre-music

[Brassplayer18]

I appreciate everybody's replies here. Thanks a lot for some of the suggestions. I will see if they will work for me. Thanks again everyone!
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August R.

[McVouty]

A problem some players develop is relying on the tongue release to get the lips vibrating rather than using the air support. The problem with this approach is that when playing softly or delicately the notes often refuse to speak.

What we actually want is for the lips to vibrate using just a 'solid' column of air support, and the tongue does nothing more than interrupt the airflow.

To develop this, I find it useful to start from an air attack on a low C followed by slurring the first 5 notes of the scale of C up and down. Get used to this feeling, and then alternate slurring with legato soft tonguing. You are aiming to keep the same feeling when you play the scale slurred as when you play it tongued - try not o to accent the front of the note - start slowly and work up to a steady tempo, but not too fast. Do this many times until it starts to feel more natural and you can hardly tell the difference between the slurred and the tongued phrases. Once you're happy with this, you can progress to a more detached tonguing where there is a small gap at the end of the note before starting the next. And then finally staccatto, always keeping the attack as light as you can keep it.

It takes time to learn this, but as you do, you'll gain much more control over your articulations and your embouchure will also improve as a result. You can apply this to your general practice, by always playing phrases slurred to start with and then add in the articulations afterwards.

Hope that helps!

Cheers

Carl