Getting nowhere slowly.

[jmor56]

66 year old comeback player, practicing daily for 4 years now, using a Yamaha 6335s. I started with a bach 3c and moved to a 3cw symphonic, and love how I sound with it. Wanting to improve my range, I tried Total Range, and made a little progress up to an Eb. After finishing the exercises, I would wait an hour as the book instructs, and try to play other music and my lips were too stiff to get sound without a lot of difficulty. After about 6 months of that I switched to CG. After a year of working through CG on my own and not seeing any range progress, I started taking privately on line with a CG teacher. Now after about 13 months with him, my technique has definitely improved, as has my endurance, but my range has gone nowhere. I can slur up to a high g, even double c when I first pick up the horn, but struggle to play a c# or d in the middle of a rehearsal. My teacher says it’s not the equipment, but it’s hard not to question that after several years of trying, and watching every YouTube video and reading every article I can find. I’m extremely frustrated. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[AndyDavids]

Without seeing you play, it is very difficult to diagnose...but I can relate to some of this, as I also have experienced similar symptoms.
It sounds to me as if you are forcing the air inefficiently- cutting off the upper register. I had to "relearn" alot of what I learned the wrong way.
This was just one thing...I'll message you about some other things without droning on here.
-Andy

[mafields627]

Just for clarification: when you say "double C" do you mean the one two ledger lines above the staff or the one an octave above that?
_________________
--Matt--

No representation is made that the quality of this post is greater than the quality of that of any other poster. Oh, and get a teacher!

[Croquethed]

You mention having trouble hitting C# and D in the middle of rehearsal. What sort of group do you play with, and how long are rehearsals? How much of that time is spent with the horn on your lips?

There are guys on this board who are rock-solid pros who top out at D and E. I've been back at it for 9 years after 40 years away from it, and I'm streaky with the E. I'll go 3-4 weeks where I can't miss and then (usually after a 3-4 week span of needing to play muted exclusively), I'll have trouble going above Eb again. But I'm just a park bench noodler so I don't need anything above that C-D.

I know how much range I would like to have (unlimited) but know what I really need (I'm there), and I keep working on technqiue to expand it. But I also realize a 280-pound guy who runs a 40 just shy of 6 seconds isn't going to be a wide receiver. Growth mindset and realistic expectations and patience, that's what old comeback players need. Keep working, keep EXPERIMENTING, and don't give up.

[Billy B]

"watching every YouTube video and reading every article I can find"

This is your problem
_________________
Bill Bergren

[delano]

[JayKosta]

[Nixer]

[Robert P]

[Dayton]

Sounds like you are making excellent progress in just four years. You've now arrived at a plateau with your range as you continue to improve in other areas. The notes you are struggling with in rehearsal are likely the highest notes you'll see written in community or church group music. I realize you want more range, faster, but it will take time. Keep on practicing intelligently and diligently, and you'll get there.

A few thoughts regarding your plateau. First, are you wearing yourself out before rehearsals (particularly given your focus on range)? Try backing off on your practice a bit, particularly one or even two days before rehearsal. See what happens.

Second, if your trumpet is in proper playing condition -- good mechanical condition and reasonably clean inside -- then your horn is probably not the issue, especially if your challenge is with rehearsal not practice. Having said that, you've probably been playing long enough now to have a decent sense of what works well for you. Thus, no harm in borrowing a horn or visiting your local music store to see if another horn makes a noticeable difference.

Finally, if gear is an issue, the 3CW Symphonic is a more likely culprit than your horn. Get in touch with a reputable mouthpiece maker like Pickett, Hammond, Reeves, Stork...for a consultation. They'll steer you in a good direction.

Good luck!

[trickg]

For clarity in this thread, "double C" does not mean the C above 2nd ledger C, it means 2nd ledger C - what many young players refer to as "High C."

I think range is often looked at as some kind of marker for ability, which is unfortunate. I've been working with a kid from my hometown over FaceTime and I've hit a bit of a block with him - I think he has a misconception about how "good" he is as a player because he had the ability to hit high notes by the time he was in middle school.

The problem? He doesn't want to fill in the blanks on any of his other fundamentals - he wants to slop his way through pep band tunes so that he can try to play high notes, which he mostly lost once he got his braces removed.

To jmor56 I'll say this - don't worry about the range too much. You're a comeback player and only have 4 years back on the horn. Unless your desire is to be a big band lead player, you're probably fine with the range you have.

As a young player I'd been playing 8-10 years before I started to get a handle on upper register with any consistency, and even today, 40+ years later, my usable range tops out at a D# - my hit/miss ratio decreases dramatically after that, and that's ok - almost all of the music I've been required to play over the course of a career of playing for pay has been 2nd ledger C and under.

If there has been any regret over my life as a player it's that I just never had the chops to be a big band lead player. For that, the D# just doesn't cut it - for the bands I've played with, I'd need a G consistently. With that said, my range never prevented me from being a solid 3rd and 4th book player.
_________________
Patrick Gleason
- Jupiter 1600i, ACB 3C, Warburton 4SVW/Titmus RT2
- Brasspire Unicorn C
- ACB Doubler

"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP

[GeorgeB]

Well stated. Patrick. I couldn't agree more.

George
_________________
GeorgeB
1960s King Super 20 Silversonic
2016 Manchester Brass Custom
1938-39 Olds Recording
1942 Buescher 400 Bb trumpet
1952 Selmer Paris 21 B
1999 Conn Vintage One B flat trumpet
2020 Getzen 490 Bb
1962 Conn Victor 5A cornet

[Nixer]

[jscahoy]

[delano]

[trickg]

[Rogerrr]

You might be getting somewhere slowly without noticing…

I often think I’m kinda stagnant and then my teacher will mention something he’s noticed….Last lesson I was feeling a little guilty about not working harder…then out of the blue the teacher said my ability to get different tones out of my horn was way improved over where I was a few months ago

It’s hard to assess yourself sometimes
_________________
Sax player learning cornet & trumpet...and occasionally a little bit of trombone.
( so don't confuse me with an experienced player )

[jmor56]

[delano]

Someone lost a bet.

[jmor56]