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[soulmanpete]

Hi havn't been on for a while and the comback is going ok been playing now for 4 months and can play basic tunes pretty well and the tone is getting better ..
One thing one I am having trouble increasing my range can play up to D then zzzzzz
play lower notes well ..any suggestions
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www.groovetram.com ...funky music forum

[Cheng]

Keep practicing. There is no short cut for this.

If you are not taking lessons, give it a whirl. A GOOD private teacher will help you get your practice sessons into focus and to identify what it is you need to work on each day.

Don't overdo the practice at the start. You can do more damage than good. Practice in short sessions with a rest period between playing.

In time it will all come.
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Harry Marks
Yamaha 6345HSII;Yamaha 6445HGSII, Schilke E3L, Flugel Kanstul ZKF-1525;
Cornet Conn Connstellation (1967);
Piccolo Kanstul ZKT 1520
Mouthpieces Various Monette Prana 2's
Santa Rosa Wind Symphony
SRJC Orchestra

[richardwy]

Soul,

for the 1st three weeks i spent maybe 2 hrs or so a day usually in 20 minute sessions playing the Arban's 1st studies and for fun got a hymnal.

endurance and range were nil in the beginning. they both improved over time. i spent very little time "noodling around." lol, prob due to the lack of endurance and range.

happy practicing,

richard oliver
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1972 Selmer Radial

[Trumpeter58]

I learned quickly that at my age (56 when I began my comeback after not playing at all for about 20 years) the chops don't want to do what they did when we were in our teens. It took me six months to get to where I could play much of anything with comfort and confidence. Then the doors of opportunity began opening. First came community band, then the opportunity for some organized practice with the advanced band at a private Christian school, then community jazz ensemble, followed by our local university concert band and university jazz ensemble. All of those opportunities presented challenges that have really helped me along. Sometimes the progress has been slow, and at other times things have come back to me with surprising expedition. I'm still struggling with double and triple tonguing, but I think I'll eventually get there.
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"Blowing" my retirement away.
"All that we know is infinitely less than that which we have yet to learn."

Blessing ML-1S
Olds Special NA 100ZU
Holton Collegiate cornet (circa 1953)
Olds NF13MRT Flugel
Monette STC1-B4S

[shastastan]

Is the D you're talking about in the staff or above it? For 4 months back playing D above the staff is pretty damned good, IMHO. I've been back for 17 mo. and only play a usable high C (after 50 years off). At 66 my physical endurance isn't what it once was either. I think that lip slurs helped me the most to build up. Your mileage may vary.

Stan

[bilboinsa]

[plp]

If the D you are having trouble with is the 4th line D in the staff, that is not unusual. For the first few months of my comeback, when I got to Eb I couldn't get it to stabilize at all. E above that was so sharp it hurt, and I had to reset my lips for anything above that. The tone was pretty bad, and it was very discouraging.

What worked for me was focussing my air to the center of the cup, and trying to make the airstream as small (no decrease in airspeed or pressure) as possible. More mental than physical maybe, but I heard Bob Odneal speak about the mental concept of pulling a thread from between the lips, and focussing on that tiny area. I found by rolling the lips in it made it easier to get that focused sound. Everything stabilized better, tone got better, and the 'break' that was at Eb moved up to 1st ledger A.

If you are talking about 2nd ledger line D, forget everything I've said. You've got a better grasp of it all than I do, and if you can slot high C# consistently, have 2 notes on me!