Trumpet
1. Head up.
2. Position mouthpiece 50/50 (half upper lip, half lower).
3. Light pressure, do not pinch.
4. Chin flat.
5. Tongue lightly.
6. Open throat, horn parallel with floor.
7. Fill horn with air, do not overblow!
8. Trumpet supported by the left hand.
9. Finger tips on valve buttons for best fingering technique.
Check the following embouchure characteristics.
a. Jaw is low.
b. Tongue is not arched (pretend you have a golf ball in your mouth or say the
syllable “Hoe”
c. Any time the player is having a tough time reaching high notes tell them
either or both to firm up their bottom lip (or say “bring your bottom lip
in”but not over the bottom teeth, just in) or say “make a tiny hole in the
center of your lips”.You will be surprised how well bringing in the bottom lip
works.The chin will become flat like when you are putting on chap stick or
lipstick.
d. Make sure the cheeks aren’t puffing out by telling them to firm up the
corners of their lips.Tell them that their cheeks will hug their molars.
Articulation Issues:
a. One frequently over looked articulation issue that directly affects the
students overall sound is the tongue touching the lips when tonguing.If you
hear an abrupt, harsh attack to each note or/and you hear an non musical sound
(like a popping or thudding sound) to the beginning of each note tongued the
player is putting the tongue THROUGH the teeth which touches the lips.This is
the kiss of death.If you can get the player to get the tongue back in the
mouth by using a “da” articulation they will instantly sound more professional.
b. Most players tend to tongue with the tip touching the area where the upper
teeth meet the upper gums.If your player is having a tough time articulating
this way you can try either:1. Have the tongue touch further back on the upper
pallet (this is also a good suggestion if you are trying to get the player to
articulate with a softer attack).2.Though it is not used often some players
like to use “anchor” tonguing where the tip of the tongue is anchored where
the bottom teeth meet the bottom gums.The forward 1/3 of the tongue’s center
touches the front of the upper pallet.
c. If the player’s tonguing sounds very non defined and weak they may be
trying a fakey “shu – shu – shu –“ articulation where the sides of the tongue
are touching the upper molars instead of keeping the tongue low and
articulating with the tip of the tongue.Have the player only execute one note
with a “da” tonguing… then make it two notes and so forth.Always make sure the
onset of the note is distinct.
Moving partials (lip slurs).
a. If a player is having a tough time moving from low to high lip settings
tell them to bring in the bottom lip.
b. If the player is having a tough time jumping down to low notes have them
drop the jaw.
Trumpet Links
www.trumpetgeek.com
www.trumpetstuff.com
www.trumpetlessons.net