Extending range past D

[vacationInTunisia]

I am an aspiring lead player who has been stuck on high D for the past two years or so, although I have not really tried to extend my range in that time. In the past week or so, i have been able to play quiet E's, F's and even a few double G's, by sluring up from middle C. It is very difficult for me to start on these notes, though i have been able to pull of the Birdland intro once. I suspect my embouchure might be getting in the way due to how i can only get up there when i start lower. Any advice to start hitting these notes without having to slur from the lower register?
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"Are you playing an instrument, or blowing into a brass pipe?"

[Quadstriker]

X range by Y time has always seemed like a bad way to approach range development to me.

[spitvalve]

Without seeing what you're doing it's pretty hard for anyone to give you a plausible diagnosis. Range is usually inhibited by one or more of the following: tension in the throat, wrong tongue level, lack of air support (not necessarily air volume), too wide of an aperture, excessive mouthpiece pressure, too much or not enough tension in the embouchure, etc. etc. etc.

There are a lot of people on this forum who are very good teachers who do video lessons and could possibly diagnose your problem. I'm not one of them, but I've experienced all of the above issues in my quest for better range. It's all about finding balance, but someone in the know definitely needs to see and hear you before successfully addressing the issue.
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Bryan Fields
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1991 Bach LR180 ML 37S
1999 Getzen Eterna 700S
1977 Getzen Eterna 895S Flugelhorn
1969 Getzen Capri cornet
1995 UMI Benge 4PSP piccolo trumpet
Warburton and Stomvi Flex mouthpieces

[Robert P]

If you're getting a thin E, F, G it at least demonstrates you *are* capable of producing the pitch - you've got part of the recipe, you need to find out how to open/fill them up, make them musically useful.

The change you'll need to make is likely a subtle but important one. If you truly can play a solid, fat D that you can pick off, play an octave scale up to a big D then go up chromatically to an Eb - you'll need to push a little more air, a slightly different position of the tongue, slightly different tension of the lips, a hair more pressure. Try to be conscious of everything that's going on. When you can get a solid Eb consistently doing it that way whether it takes two minutes or two months then play the Eb scale and go for the E. And so on.

Also work on picking notes off cleanly progressively higher and higher. For example pick off a top of staff G and hold it. Then try playing a descending scale starting on the G. Then start off with a series of single-tongued Gs then the descending scale.

Then go to Ab, etc. as high as you can. When you can reliably and consistently do all this cleanly and solidly with a given note you're well on the path to owning that note.
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[kehaulani]

Not trying to put this into any particular pedological context, and YMMV, but it was very helpful when I stopped clamping down with my embouchure muscles with strength, and used the muscles to support ~around~ a supple embouchure opening.
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