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The best advice I received on Trumpet Herald


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Turkle
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 8:35 am    Post subject: The best advice I received on Trumpet Herald Reply with quote

Hello, everyone. Back in 2009, I had some dental work done and couldn't play the trumpet at all with my new front tooth. Just terrible. I was suffering and couldn't play above a C in the staff.

Someone on TH here - I totally forget who, and I couldn't find the thread or PMs when I searched for them - sent me an "embouchure reconstruction exercise." It was basically a Schlossberg program, to be played every day without fail. That person didn't even email it to me - they mailed it to me in a letter!

By using that program - contained on one sheet of paper - for 6-8 months, I rebuilt my embouchure and got all my range back, only in a much improved form. Those exercises formed the embouchure I use today. I am a believer in Shlossberg!

The other day I was leafing through my Schlossberg book and there, between a couple of pages, was the Embouchure Reconstruction plan. Boy, what memories. And it didn't even have the person's name on it who wrote it up and sent it to me!

So I'd like to personally thank that person - whoever you are - that took the time to mail me that one-page Schlossberg embouchure program. You literally saved my trumpet playing ability - which to me is almost like saving my life.

Cheers, everyone! And if the person that sent me that would send me a PM, I'd love the opportunity to mail you a little thank-you gift in return for helping me out in a time of desperate need.
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CJceltics33
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 8:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is it a page in the Schlossberg? I’d love to make a note of that if needed.
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ljazztrm
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's a professional trumpet player out on the West Coast named Dave Belknap who has a very good fundamental routine. Could it be him? Are you resting as long as you played between each exercise? Are the 1st three exercises #14, 15, 18 (18 done 3 ways, slurred, ST, TT)?
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 9:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What a nice post, Turkle. Thoughtful and, well, kind of sweet. Good on ye.

BTW, could you post that regimen? Some of us might be able to benefit from it. Thanks.
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So here's an update:

In PMs, Lex helped me confirm that the routine was in fact, sent to me by Dave Belknap. I started Googling him to find out how to contact him, and it appears that he passed away in 2016. So it looks like I was about a year too late to buy him a thank-you gift.

I was also going to ask him if he minded me sharing his one-page embouchure routine with the wider world because it helped me so much during a very difficult time, musically speaking. And I see from PMs I've received and comments on this page that there are others that might find the instructions useful. It's too late to ask permission, of course, but I figure it's OK to share them now.

With the above in mind, here is a photo of the one-page "Reconstructive Embouchure Therapy," by the late Dave Belknap:



The above routine rebuilt my chops in about 6-8 months, and I played it every day for about 5 or 6 years. I now use a modified version that's a little shorter. But I credit that daily routine for giving me bulletproof chops and helping me play trumpet again at all.

As Lex pointed out, I hope Dave Belknap was playing until the very end.

Cheers, everyone. I hope that maybe someone else will have the great results that I did.
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homecookin
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turkle,
ljazztrm beat me to the punch.
As I was reading your post, Dave Belknap's name
came to mind.
I copied that same Schlossberg routine from one
of his posts, and it certainly is a very efficient
and effective daily routine, as he said it was.
I noticed I had not seen any posts from Dave
on TH in the last year or so. I often wondered
if he had passed away.
Dave was a very experienced and dedicated
professional trumpet player.
RIP Dave Belknap.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 12:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent, Turkle. Thanks. Nice of you to share and post.

If you don't mind - what range did you get with this?
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 12:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kehaulani wrote:
Excellent, Turkle. Thanks. Nice of you to share and post.

If you don't mind - what range did you get with this?


Exercise #26 is basically "the sky's the limit," I usually take mine to an F or G above high C depending on how my chops feel that day.

My normal usable range is an E over high C, but with a few days notice I can put my high note chops together and have a reliable G over high C, but that's something I do for the gigs that demand it - I don't really keep that note in my normal wheelhouse.

I stress that this isn't a "range-building" routine as such, it's much more about developing and maintaining the right set of chops on that can later form the basis of high register development. One of my recent teachers said that I had a very "natural" embouchure, that no matter what register or volume I was playing in, I just put the horn on my face and the note came out with little visible effort. That's the kind of chops this routine built for me.

It's boring but it works! Put on a ballgame and get to work!
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homecookin
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turkle wrote:
kehaulani wrote:
Excellent, Turkle. Thanks. Nice of you to share and post.

If you don't mind - what range did you get with this?


Exercise #26 is basically "the sky's the limit," I usually take mine to an F or G above high C depending on how my chops feel that day.

My normal usable range is an E over high C, but with a few days notice I can put my high note chops together and have a reliable G over high C, but that's something I do for the gigs that demand it - I don't really keep that note in my normal wheelhouse.

I stress that this isn't a "range-building" routine as such, it's much more about developing and maintaining the right set of chops on that can later form the basis of high register development. One of my recent teachers said that I had a very "natural" embouchure, that no matter what register or volume I was playing in, I just put the horn on my face and the note came out with little visible effort. That's the kind of chops this routine built for me.

It's boring but it works! Put on a ballgame and get to work!


That is exactly how I remember Dave explaining this routine.
It is about developing and maintaining an efficient embouchure
coupled with the necessary breath control.
Increased range comes as a byproduct of this routine.
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CJceltics33
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

About how long does this routine take ?
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 3:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CJceltics33 wrote:
About how long does this routine take ?


With proper rest, about 45 min on average, but that sort of depends on how fast you take everything and how much rest you personally need (which can vary considerably from day to day, as you're no doubt aware).

I used to do this routine, then blast through an Arban etude or something, then put the horn down for at least an hour or so, then I'd come back to the horn and do my scales, arpeggios, work on new material, etc.
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razeontherock
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 6:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This deserves to be a sticky! I know of no pedagogical approach that doesn't hold the Schlossberg book in high esteem, yet we've all heard that the book doesn't convey how the exercises were originally intended to be used. So I conclude this book is more mysterious than trying to get the most out of Arban.

I remember Dave Belknap, as well as the sad announcement of his passing. He was a great contributor here
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ljazztrm
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 10:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I pm’ed with Dave over the years on the TH. He was definitely helpful to me and was always trying to help other players. I mean he even ‘snail mailed’ Turkle that sheet - talk about ‘old school’ - Haha! In fact, I believe he even sent actual Schlossberg books to students on the TH to borrow who couldn’t afford one at the time. In that spirit, I’ll share some other things Dave and I discussed as well as my own insights on this routine.

Quote:
I stress that this isn't a "range-building" routine as such, it's much more about developing and maintaining the right set of chops on that can later form the basis of high register development. One of my recent teachers said that I had a very "natural" embouchure, that no matter what register or volume I was playing in, I just put the horn on my face and the note came out with little visible effort. That's the kind of chops this routine built for me.


Quote:
That is exactly how I remember Dave explaining this routine.
It is about developing and maintaining an efficient embouchure
coupled with the necessary breath control.
Increased range comes as a byproduct of this routine.


Exactly, this routine can give you the foundation for developing the extreme upper register. For some reason, this routine really can establish a very solid embouchure foundation and efficiency in playing. For those interested in extreme high register deveopment: If you are a jazz player, just improvise up in the double C range. If not, get one of Pops’s books where he has you playing music up there. Or take Concone and Charlier up an octave. Mouthpiece-wise, make sure you have a rim that is comfortable for your chops and underpart that is appropriate for the volume that you play. In the practice room, this is usually a medium deep piece. Dave always emphasized that it’s best to find the rim you really like for your chops and, then, change underparts to the music you need to play. I have always agreed with this and am a big fan of the Storks’ mouthpiece philosophy: http://storkcustom.com/doctor-mouthpiece/ I’d recommend doing Dave’s Schlossberg routine on all the mouthpieces you play - just rotate every day.

The Schlossberg part of Dave’s routine takes me about 1/2hr to do. I only do #26 on pg.8 up to the high C as written, since I am playing up to G above double C every day when I am practicing jazz. Also, I don’t do a ‘warhorse’ cornet solo after the Schlossberg like Dave did. Being a jazzer, I usually do ‘Giant Steps’ and ‘Countdown’ along with Trane, or the Aebersold play-along, after the Schlossberg. This works out my mind, fingers, and extreme upper range. Another advantage to improvising on these fast tunes all over the range of the horn is that you can’t shift your embouchure around for different registers. If you’re not a jazzer, try a few of the faster Walter Smith ‘Top Tones’ etudes up 8va.

Dave was a big fan of practicing this routine everyday (like it he did it every day for close to 70 years - which I guess is fairly consistent;-), so there will be days where you are probably going to need to do it early in the morning/late at night. If you need to be vewy, vewy quiet, the Best Brass Warm-Up ‘in-the-bell’ practice mute, is great without a ton of resistance. If you can be a little louder, Matt Anklan’s Silencer in a regular harmon, or, better yet, the Trumcor ‘Zinger’, is really free-blowing and quiet. The Silencer is also great because it really centers the Low G and F# in the harmon.

Another thought about mouthpieces - A shallow straight V cup or a very shallow C cup with a tighter throat, can really give you that big, bright lead sound very efficiently. If you are going for the extreme upper register and want a darker sound, I am finding a medium to medium-deep straight V cup mouthpiece is excellent for endurance and efficiency - more so than a traditional ‘B’ or ‘C’ cup style mouthpiece. Jim New has made a new set of mouthpieces for Jim Manley based on the Maynard Ferguson design. If you like the smaller diameter pieces, the Lead3 is a shallow straight V with a 30 throat that gets a HUGE bright lead sound, and the Jazz1 piece is a medium depth straight V that gets a very nice jazz sound…reminds me of the Holton MF3. Derek Saidak at Legends mouthpieces makes the TSX which is based on Maynard’s FBL ‘Personal’ model. This is another fantastic straight V lead piece. A little darker than the Manley - Great for lead stuff on mic especially. Then, the Legends FBL TM which is a medium-deep straight V and gets a really pretty, dark sound - especially nice on ballads and softer small group jazz gigs. The diameter feel of the Legends pieces feels just slightly bigger than the Manley pieces. The Legends is .613 and Jim New’s Manley pieces might be around a .610.

In addition to Dave’s routine, for extreme upper register focus I highly recommend checking out Lynn Nicholson’s video ‘Got High Notes?’ and the Cat Anderson 20 minute ‘G’ with the teeth closed.


Link


I mention Cat’s 20 min soft ‘G’ because it enforces the ‘unfurled’ position Lynn talks about - You can’t really roll your lips in with the teeth closed. I don’t do the circular breathing or the leadpipe like Larry talks about in this vid - I just do the 20 min soft G breathing thru the nose and my teeth are closed in my normal bite position. If you want a super clear look at the unfurled position, and exactly how to do it, definitely get Lynn’s video!


Link


Well that’s all I can think of right now - Thanks so much Turkle for bringing this topic up and posting Dave’s instruction sheet - It cleared up a few things I didn’t know. All the very best and Happy New Year to everyone! Lex

p.s. - Dave, if you can read this wherever you are now…thanks bro!
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ljazztrm
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
This deserves to be a sticky! I know of no pedagogical approach that doesn't hold the Schlossberg book in high esteem, yet we've all heard that the book doesn't convey how the exercises were originally intended to be used. So I conclude this book is more mysterious than trying to get the most out of Arban.

I remember Dave Belknap, as well as the sad announcement of his passing. He was a great contributor here


Yeah Ray, well said! Even with all the great advancements in teaching techniques and equipment, there are some things that never change as far as trumpet playing. Clarke, Schlossberg, Arban’s, Irons. They are like multivitamins..and, yeah, it’s so great to have such a solid Schlossberg routine time-tested by a long-time pro!
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2017 8:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Boy, what a post. Thanks!
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trickg
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2017 8:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good stuff! Thanks for posting that!
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ljazztrm
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 31, 2017 9:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sure thing..Hey, thank Turkle and Belknap! Wouldn't of posted if not for them Best, Lex
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fraserhutch
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's funny how this works - I was given the identical set of routines by my teacher in university back in the day. I did these for years as part of my daily routine, alongside the Gordon daily routine.
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi fraserhutch

I do Gordon routines each day, Systematic approach range study, Colin flexibilities, Clarkes technical and others. I just came across this a week or so ago and thought i would give it a try for a change.

I start the day with this, then rest and pant for an hour or so then do the rest of my normal routine. Like all methods i guess, the more you do it the easier it gets and i hope to get a bit more strength and endurance maybe from it.

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:34 pm    Post subject: Re: The best advice I received on Trumpet Herald Reply with quote

Turkle wrote:
The other day I was leafing through my Schlossberg book and there, between a couple of pages, was the Embouchure Reconstruction plan. Boy, what memories. And it didn't even have the person's name on it who wrote it up and sent it to me!

A couple of nits to pick. Perhaps I have a different printing of Schlossberg?

"Page 6 #22 - rest at the end of the each line" - There is only one line?
"Page 7 #28 - rest at the end of the 2nd line" - There are only two lines total?

Just curious about what the intention was.

Gary.
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