What can you tell me about your background as a trumpeter?

Sounds like you're just like most of us! My initial understanding of this took *months* of practice to cultivate. Two years after discovering it, it's starting to really solidify. To use a garden analogy, we're interested in growing perennials ... the plants that just keep coming back and getting stronger over the years . . . . and cultivating a garden of perennials takes consistency and time. All my best!

Which part? Happy to try and help . . . .

Adjusting my tongue position and angles depending on octave. After like almost 6 years of casual playing I never thought to use my tongue in anyway I just let it sit there. I guess im doing it like you explained wrong cause my sound soundd raspy when I try to use my tongue. I got bad habit of smashing my face into my instrument when I get tired and like really tensing my face, although it's worked pretty decently I know it's bad techni

@@charmsly9506 Sounds like you may be closing off the airstream with the tongue, rather than channeling the airstream with it. Arban maybe said it best when he said that the tongue needs to be "hermetically sealed." Meaning, the sides of the tongue need to create a seal on the teeth, so that a simple exhale is all we need to funnel the air straight to the aperture. The tongue needs to be in the place where the sound resonates with less effort . . . part of it is about the air, but a bigger part is about resonance/vibration. The more you practice, you can actually *feel* the vibration at the front of the mouth chamber, as though it were *on* the tongue . . . like a vibrating bubble. Hickman was the first teacher of mine to mention this to me. I didn't get it until the summer I posted this video . . . .

Thank you! Would love to have vinyl.... I'll keep my eye to that for sure. 🙂

We would love to come to the South of Spain! Who could we talk with to help that happen?

@@ryanstrumpet I will think through whom.. I cannot promise anything and when but I will have it in my mind

Yes. With an understanding that the placement itself is as much about resonance as it is about airstream.... wish I'd understood it a *long* time ago! :-)

Love it!!! So glad it feels helpful!

None taken! You might imagine that I've gotten a *lot* of feedback about that. :-) Count yourself in good company! Hopefully you find it resolved in later episodes! (KZbin doesn't allow me to adjust background volume on posted videos.)

The way I was taught "arching the tongue" only accomplishes the "first focal point" or "half-whistle." Arching the tongue works to the top of the staff, but not above that (for me and my students). The other two "focal points" of the half-whistle, assuming the embouchure is healthy, and the tone resonant, can unlock the range above the top of the staff.

Maybe that means not only the outer surface of the lip or lips but the inner too..

@@josealejandrocalerodiaz877 Only the outer (naturally dry) surface of the lip tissue vibrates. For me, I experience the double reed as the two lips vibrating in a similar way. I know I've found it when the amount of pressure I apply with the mouthpiece does not cause the buzz to stop. If my top lip is the only one buzzing, then the buzz cuts out around the top of the staff. If the double reed is in place, I can buzz on the visualizer up to a high F or G, without difficulty. Hope that helps!

@@ryanstrumpet it's really helps. Thanks for your videos

Came to Utah for the gig! (*love* Boston). 🙂

No one taught me this particular approach. It's kind of Hickman-meets-Rapa-meets-Dayley-plus-physics . . . . 😂 Hope it feels helpful!

Thanks, @Jason. Yes, I have found mouthpiece size (particularly rim diameter) to be absolutely crucial for success on the horn. For me, I have a pretty unusual dental bit; with teeth that are kind of askew. If I go any smaller than a Bach 1 rim, I find myself getting into trouble over time. For others, a smaller diameter is most helpful. I suspect it has more to do with teeth than lips. A friend of mine explains it like shoes. It really does help to find a pair of shoes that fit, if your goal is to run. Same with the mouthpiece. Best of luck!

I've noticed a few common stumbling blocks . . . maybe one of these might help unlock it for you? The first is that my students tend to place the tongue so high that the air actually gets choked off. We want the "focal point" (the narrowest passage for the air; between the top of the Tongue and the roof of the mouth) to be as open as possible, while still sounding the half-whistle. The second is that it can take a good bit of practice to resist the urge to blow harder as we ascend. "Always blow the same." (Cichowicz) Along these lines, even the tiniest change in the airstream will negate the efficacy of the Tongue level. The third is blowing without singing. There's something crucial about clearly audiating or hearing in our imagination *exactly* what pitch we want to play. The fourth is also always a possibility: if we haven't learned how to really play the center of the horn, the the tongue level won't do much to help. When you find the center, the horn "lights up," and produces more sound than we might be used to hearing, with less effort. Episode 2 goes into this in more detail. Hope that helps! Best of luck to you on your trumpet journey!

If only . . .. 🙂

Here's hoping! Audio side of the release, hopefully this coming year.

Thanks, Braden! Glad it's hitting the spot!

Thank you, Rebecca! I really appreciate this note . . . 🙂

Love hearing these stories, Kyle. So glad this is feeling helpful to you!