Links between whistling and playing trumpet?

[beagle]

I enjoy whistling with the birds in our garden - they're good to jam with sometimes. After a long practise session on the trumpet the other day I went out into the garden and noticed that tired lips really affect my ability to whistle. Lower tones sounded airier and high tones (which birds prefer) were really hard to reach.

It is obvious that you won't be able to whistle or play trumpet so well with tired lips, but it suddenly got me wondering whether practising whistling can be of any benefit to tone and range for trumpet players (there are other advantages to whistling such as pitch and ear training but I'm more interested in physical aspects for now).

I wonder if there is any correlation between whistling range and trumpet range.

Also is there anything a trumpet player can learn from a whistling embouchure?

I'd be curious to know what people think about any links between trumpet playing and whistling, especially the educators and embouchure experts among us.

Rob
_________________
Schagerl Sig. James Morrison
Selmer Paris Chorus 80J

[mathgeek]

A good whistle set up is very similar to a good trumpet set up.

1. Lips are pushed forward always.
2. Pitch is determined solely by air speed and tounge level.
3. The natural force of the air leaving your lungs is enough to get a full sound through the entire range of the whistle.
4. All of this is done in a completely relaxed manner.

Granted, there is quite a leap from whistling to playing trumpet, but I think the similarities lend themselves to a good model for newbies or for those relearning the horn (such as myself).
_________________
Bach 43
Marcinkiewicz CG Personal (22 throat)

[JayJay]

Whistling and trumpet, go together pretty good. there ARE differences, but I can see that, how they can be related...

Like bowling and horseshoes...the stance for bowling and the follow thru are very simular to horseshoes...some of the pro bowlers use horseshoes to practice their bowling form and keep in shape...
_________________
JAYJAY

God Bless Y'all!
=======================
-=iii=<() '71 Conn Director Trumpet
o=ciii=<O
o=ciii<O
o-ciii<O
BLESSING BCR-XLS

[Thermos]

I was near another trumpet player in pep band, and we started whistling some song (25 or 6 to 4 i think). When the song did those run like things, whatever you want to call them, right before going back to the verses, i kept on whistling, and he dropped out. He was shocked at how high I could whistle. I can also play about a 5th higher than him on trumpet. (he has a G or A and I have a D or E).

With the whole tongue arch debate (please don't let this start into one... but why should I try to delay the inevitable?), I feel investigation between whistling and trumpet range could produce some interesting results--although arguably with little practical value.

[Macc]

Since I have played the trumpet I have paid a lot more attention to what happens when I whistle, so this thread is very interesting to me.

I've always whistled a lot, and the tongue has a big effect on pitch - or rather, when I whistle higher, the tongue flexes. The lips have a major effect too though, I don't agree that onlyair speed and tongue affect the pitch at all.

I'm not at the trumpet level to be able to feel exactly what's going on when I am forgetting about everything and just playing music yet. So I don't know how much I arch my tongue etc - ie how similar to my whistling my trumpet playing is. I'll keep an eye on it though for sure.
_________________

[pelirrojo173]

On a somewhat related note, can anybody double tongue while whistling and still keeping their tone? I've been trying to do that lately with limited success.

[bosch]

i'm close but no cigar on the double tonguing thing - but in general i really wish i could play as well as i can whistle!

you may be interested to know that the world whistling champion David Morris is a former british open solo cornet champion - google it.

[Macc]

No, and I have been trying - but then I can't double tongue on the trumpet yet either
_________________

[tptfrbrains]

[murph66]

I don't know about whistling helping out in trumpet playing, but trumpet playing sure helps out in whisting. Since I started back on the trumpet in 2002, my whistling has gotten a lot better. So has my trumpeting for that matter.

[Jerry Freedman]

[connloyalist]

Well, I have experienced the reverse being true. Due to health problems my nerves don't always work like I would want them to. In 2004 I had a major embouchure crash due to this (long story), which took about 9 months to recover from. During that period I couldn't whistle at all. When my embouchure returned, so did my whistling. So now I use what I call the "smile and whistle test" to evaluate my embouchure health: 1) when I smile does my top lip curl in properly? (one problem during my embouchure crash was that the outside of my lip would go up when smiling, but the inside would stay behind, causing my top lip to curl outward) and 2) can I whistle properly?

As for the double tongueing, I have trouble single tongueing while I whistle. It just doesn't work for me, mechanically.

Regards, Christine
_________________
There is nothing more permanent than a temporary solution.

[Asian Man]

I'm pretty good at whistling says a lot of people around me. My range is pretty good, up to the top C on the piano without distorting my whistling embouchure. I find that yes when our brass chops are tired so are our whistling chops, and another thing is the slightest bit of swelling will affect the apeture of the lips. Do I see any benefits from whistling? None that are directly related to Trumpet besides it can be a lung workout, not as much as Flute though, I use it in the place of singing most of the time. It's a great way to train your ear and easier on the ears than trying to reach a high note with your voice. It's also tongue arch workout, if there is such a thing.
_________________
Bach Strad (lacq.) 37
Yamaha C Trumpet (silver) YTR6445HS
Couesnon Monopole Flugelhorn circa 1970
7 rims (Curry)
www.myspace.com/whistlingbarofsoap

[crzytptman]

If I'm not mistaken, Clifford Brown would whistle for an hour as the first part of his warm up.
_________________
Crazy Nate - Fine Yet Mellow Fellow
"so full of it I don't know where to start"
Horn: "just mismatched Kanstul spare parts"
- TH member and advertiser (name withheld)

[busterfields]

[Billy B]

Just put your lips together and blow.
_________________
Bill Bergren

[Craig Swartz]

Dang it, Billy, you beat me again... In any event, whistling might have some benefit but nothing is going to compare to putting the horn to your lips and playing. If done properly, the more you play, the better you will get. If done improperly, the more one will establish a bad habit and become more difficult to remediate. I think I need to start recording some of these posts in a journal and publish it under humor. Someone is probably already doing it. I would market it in the nation's high schools... "Trumpet for Dummies" by dummies.

[skootchy]

Is it okay to have two seperate embochures for whistling...ya know one for the high notes???

[corsair]

I've whistled forever, and my whistle range is about my trumpet range. I have found that over the course of whistling that after a 15 year layoff of trumpet, my range for playing really didn't decrease,(endurance did though). But, I too, have compared the similarities and basics between the two, and found that the tongue arch and airflow are the two that seem to be the most common elements to both. If I whistle for a long period of time, the same facial muscles fatigue as playing trumpet. So, hopefully, I can strengthen those up with a lot of whistling LOL. As for double-tonguing, I find that triple-tonguing is easier while whistling than double. So too, I try to see if it helps for playing. Jury is still out on that one though.

[Trumpet_JHuff]

Colin's "Lip Flexibility" book begins by telling you to practice whistling(change pitches with your tounge). Says it helps with lip trills.