Finding the aperature again :)

LowNoteSavant · Regular Member Joined: 22 Jul 2021 Posts: 15

It's amazing how simple it is to conceptualize a good opening, but man I'm just having trouble hitting it again.

I haven't played since grade school. Before I quit playing, I remember that getting the upper register was actually easy because I had developed the proper technique to increase the speed of the air stream to get higher.

Now my lips are crackling and I hear separations around the mouth. It's going to be a bumpy ride getting back. Does the "aha" moment make you happy or what? I can't wait to find it again.

Just venting to say, we all have been there.

Dayton · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:38 am Post subject:

Welcome back to trumpet playing! If at all possible, take some lessons. Your teacher can help you get off to a good start with your embouchure, help you put together a practice routine that works for you, etc. Good luck!

abontrumpet · Heavyweight Member Joined: 08 May 2009 Posts: 1764

Don't get too fatigued/keep it fresh. Short spurts of playing (1 minute). Slowly your chops will find it's place again. Don't think about it and just try to make pretty sounds.

chrisf3000 · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:01 am Post subject:

The answer lies in making a good sound. If you make the nicest sound you can make, then the aperture will be right. Thinking about the physical will tie you up in knots. Are tennis players thinking about exactly which angle their arms come down on at a specific velocity? Not necessarily - they are likely picking a spot and hitting to it. Are basketball players thinking which wrist angle they are producing when shooting a free throw? They are focused on the net.

Worrying too much about tongue angles, embouchure tightness or looseness, or aperture sizes commonly produces "Paralysis by Analysis". The easier way is to produce a beautiful sound. Do that, and you are likely producing an aperture that is already the right size and balanced with your air.

LowNoteSavant · Regular Member Joined: 22 Jul 2021 Posts: 15

Thanks guys...when I quit playing before high school I had good range and chops. I was always angry because I was playing lower register 3rd chair stuff.

And I learned later that all the high note guys just had brighter shallow cups...and my band teacher was a recovering alcoholic.

hahahah but he got our band to beat out private school kids in competition.

Robert P · Heavyweight Member Joined: 28 Feb 2013 Posts: 2594

IMO trying to "conceptualize a good opening" is misguided and pointless. The aperture happens, you can't see it or meaningfully try to gauge it.

There's a whole bunch of other things to focus on - if the sound is right, the aperture is right.
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JayKosta · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 4:57 am Post subject:

Billy B · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 5:30 am Post subject:

jadickson · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 5:55 am Post subject:

Two things:

1. I agree that "conceptualizing the opening" is hazardous. Wrong approach, in my experience / opinion. Think about how you want to sound and play, and trust that your body will make the right adjustments over time. That is how you learned how to talk and everything else, that is how our brains work.

2. The best exercise I have found for embouchure is playing a 2nd line G starting PP, crescendo very slowly up to MF, then back down to PP. Keep the tone and intonation steady. Rinse and repeat for five minutes. Once you can do that, you can do the same thing but on different notes, go up and own chromatically. >> Rest as much as you play <<. You will be bad at this in the beginning, but after a few days you will be good.
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Billy B · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 8:13 am Post subject:

Brad361 · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 9:24 am Post subject:

JayKosta · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 12:36 pm Post subject:

SMrtn · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 5:43 pm Post subject:

Trouble finding your aperature eh?

I have the same problem after a few aperitifs

Bethmike · Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 6:26 pm Post subject: Finding Aperture again

If I am having an off day I stop and do this:

Do 1 or 2 minutes of long tones with a weird twist.
- Done quietly
- In staff
- Making sure I am not rolling in or out differently that my usual set
- AND I try to open my jaw as wide as I can and still make a nice sound

It feels like I've opened my jaw an inch, it's surely a fraction of an inch. I will exaggerate the movement for a few seconds, and then settle in to a normal set. It seems to get my jaw in position, and get my corners operating correctly.

Maybe it's weird, but it works for me.
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Billy B · Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 4:38 am Post subject: Re: Finding Aperture again

Andy Del · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:24 am Post subject:

There is essentially zero we can do Low Note to help you based on your posts. Things are not working as you want? THAT is the call to practice. How you go about this is your cal. Most prudent people will get assistance in a meaningful way: a private teacher and reply on freebies from an Internet forum.

The only intelligent thing we can do is let you know what works for us, and that may or may not help. Bet on it not helping.

Go get a good teacher. Face to face or online, but do that, put your $$$ where you want your music to be and enjoy the ride…

Cheers

Andy
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JayKosta · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2021 11:55 am Post subject:

Brad361 · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2021 12:56 pm Post subject: