How To Build your Range! |

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

All polite feedback and questions welcome, as always. Enjoy!

[@eclipsecreepergamer7556]

I’ve been playing for about 6 years not and I still struggle with high As and Bs at points when other days I can hit them just fine and even up to Es at points but then other days I struggle like I just started trumpet and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong and by As Bs and Es I mean above the staff

[@ch3wb0y]

This video leaves no room for error, the simplest way of aquiring range is to practice, not mouthpieces like what many people resort to! Fantastic vid

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching and taking time to comment.

[@ChrisDavisTrumpet]

Hi Bryan! Excellent tips! Thanks for your work!

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Thanks for checking them out, Chris.

[@hnatyshyn]

I'm back to brass instruments after a long while (like 25 years!), mostly because of a lips injury. I got some challenge to get the same ease as before on the upper range. Despite all the great exercises out there, it is still difficult. But you just provided the best thing to focus on : "own it". I don't feel the need to play as high as possible, but simply to get better at what I can play. Know my limits, keep up pushing them, and make the best out of it. Thanks

[@canyon12alex]

Thank you for the seed now in my head of HCN/100. It makes so much sense, added to my daily routine.

[@markanthonymamagat2298]

Thanks again Bryan for this great video... Get well soon...

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Thank you. I’m feeling fine, just my voice is catching up to the rest of me.

[@mer957]

Great tips. I'm enjoying all your teachings and am practising to increase my range and more importantly, to be solid. Thanks for all your work!

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Thanks for watching. I’m glad the videos are proving helpful.

[@demetriussheats9926]

I've been waiting for this one! Thank you, hope you get better.

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

You’re very welcome. I’m feeling much better, thanks.

[@TheEngineeringMonkey]

I can reach b above the staff and sometimes triple c. I will be using these tips greatly!

[@kawaii7573]

Sometimes triple C is crazy considering theres over 2 octaves of difference

[@janekzawada8877]

Excellent Bryan, get well soon...

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Thanks Jan. How have you been?

[@janekzawada8877]

@@AirflowMusicNYC All good Bryan lots of blowing, loving these essential reminders and feeling more efficient as a consequence, always like listening to other views and methods, you never stop learning that's for sure...

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Absolutely! These videos have become as much reminders for me, as advice for everybody else...

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Tom Westeren - to answer your question from the Live Chat: 100 HCNs a day is something to build towards.I'm not saying you should necessarily be able to play them immediately. Certainly rest if the sound starts to change.

[@ultramanxk7]

100 times?!, In My amateur world, I thought he meant it a couple dozen times, but good point of reference, now I'm gonna go practice!

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

100 is not a particularly high number, if you’re talking playing them in context of exercises or repertoire you might be practicing anyway. If you need to build up to it, that’s absolutely fine.

[@CaptainQueue]

Great tips, thanks!

[@JamesKeno]

wonderful at 4:22

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@michaelmorris9905]

My friend, when I play longtones it has helped to adjust to being able to improve my ability to play other music that I enjoy as a hobby with accuracy that I was not fluent with before 28 days it has been worth every day. At the end of the I always play music that makes playing the trumpet enjoyable. Playing softer has helped. Maybe a little boring but as long as it helps to make progress it makes me happy. It will be part my practice schedule. I would consider longtones another stepping stone to enjoying playing the trumpet with music I enjoy and that is make my trumpet enjoyable. And it is a challenge not boring. Long text .thanks for helping guys like us. Brian Michael

[@rafaelfreitas4862]

Thanks for tips!! Awesome 🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Will Caviness - in the Live Chat, you balked at 100 times per day. In context, it's not that many. For example, in the Clarke #2 I played in the video, where the HCN was the 3rd degree of the scale, I played it 16 times!

[@sharadshirali1546]

very helpful and informative.

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Glad to hear that!

[@milo7bsp630]

what is the HCN

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Your Highest Comfortable Note. This is explained at some length in the video.

[@ricksharonblumenthal7096]

Big thanks!

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

You're welcome!

[@adrianduchniak]

Awesome! Thank you! 🎺

[@Jcole_200]

Hey Bryan I wanted to know the melody you played in the HCN example

[@alexestridge5925]

In a Sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington

[@wardalafef5705]

Thanks alot i love your videos . Just a question. While playing and practicing softly with no much lip pressure or pinching , i found it difficult to be as relaxed while trying to do the same when i play in my scout band

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

That same relaxed approach is something that develops over time. To maintain as you play louder, check out the Volume Series I posted as part of Exercise of the Week - it was fairly early in the series.

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Short video - the live chat got closed. Sorry. Let's keep it going here...

[@bahutu802]

Thank you for your inspiring videos with a lot of knowledge! I'm subscribed for sure :) If you may answer a question: I bought quite a wide and deep mouthpiece and I love it for the warmth of tone, lip flexibility and articulation. Nevertheless, I lost quite a lot of my range :/ Do you think it would be better to stick to a narrow and flat mouthpiece, or is it all about practicing the right way? Or should I even change mouthpieces, like take a flat / narrow mouthpiece for pieces with a high range, and 'my' wide and deep mouthpiece for the lower tones? Is it even advisable to flip mouthpieces frequently?

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

There's not really a single answer to this. I know great players who play a wide variety of music and use the same mouthpiece for everything. I also know a lot who switch for different situations. Personally, I have 4 mouthpieces I use regularly, so I'm in the latter group. On all of my mouthpieces, I have more-or-less the same range. I don't lose too many notes on the top when I'm playing the biggest one. However, it's more effort to produce those notes, and particularly to brighten up the sound to play lead, so it's not sustainable for me to play everything on just that piece. If I had to play everything on just one, I'd pick something in the middle - on the smaller side, diameter-wise, but not too shallow or tight, so it's a little easier to change the colour of the sound depending on what I'm playing.

[@dyergraeme123]

Hi Bryan. Thanks for another great video.I have think that your exercise number 17 Target Practice is also a good way to add to your daily score of 100 on your HCN. So I now have. Sales up to HCN Arpeggios up to HCN Etudes that include HCN Glissandos to HCNArticulations on HCNMelodies that include HCNTarget Practice HCNMaybe another suggestion might be lip flexibilities to include HCNAny more ideas from anyone ?

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

That would totally work. The examples I included are far from an exhaustive list. It occurred to me, unfortunately after I posted the video, that my Combination Drills are perfect for this too.

[@57dogsbody]

I find I'm having problems around Eb to E. As it doesn't really matter what I do with the valves, I find I've hit a brick wall and if I get an E I don't know how I've hit it, and so find it hard to repeat. PLEASE HELP.

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Which Eb/E? Just above high C?

[@57dogsbody]

@@AirflowMusicNYC Yes , Just above high C.

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Ok. So how is your high C or Db? So familiar that they’re 99.9% reliable? Able to play them 100+ times a day without fatigue? Able to play them soft and relaxed, at will?

[@57dogsbody]

@@AirflowMusicNYC Not always, sometimes I think "this is harder than it should be" but other times they are fine. But,and it's a BIG but, it seems to take loads more effort to get to the E! I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but I ALWAYS try and chip away at it every day.

[@gianlucatarasconi2194]

Hi Brian thank you so much for the video clear and really interesting. One question? What about lip position. I usually play with a sort of open/spread position this give me a quite accettable sound and range but unfortunately above high D my lips remains too much open and stops to vibrate 😔 any suggestion in order to correct this wrong habit will be much appreciated. Happy Music, as always 🎶🎵👍

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Make sure your Breathing and particularly Breath Support are on point to balance with the more open setting. Then practice breath attacks and soft, relaxed playing to refocus the lips. That’s only my general advice without seeing what’s going on...

[@theflash4139]

Why do you want to play softly for all of your notes when developing range?

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

The thing that makes the high register difficult for almost everybody is using far too much air. The higher you go the less you need. The other thing that takes less air is playing softly. Training your lips to respond to a smaller airstream helps both. It’s generally not a problem to add a little more air to play louder if your soft response is in place.

[@theflash4139]

@@AirflowMusicNYC So when you play softly it is a matter of airspeed to hit higher notes? Right now I can play a double G and it still feels like I'm playing a note where my lips are still vibrating. When I try to go for the A I am just blowing air and my lips don't seem like they are vibrating.

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

It’s always a matter of airspeed. It’s just about how you generate it. If your A is airing out, how is your G#?

[@theflash4139]

@@AirflowMusicNYC I'm pretty sure that the A is airing out for me, my G# I would say is squeally to where I am using air, but my lips don't seem to vibrate like I think they should.

[@mr2australia]

@@AirflowMusicNYC​ I have the exact same range limit as Adam, and have done for many years (20+). I'm keen to learn how to break through this barrier. I will try what you suggest in the video, though I am worried that there may be another barrier for me. I can scream out a super G without much effort, though cannot play an A at all. I am using a Schilke 14a4a mouthpiece with a Calicchio trumpet. Do I need to try a shallower mouthpiece?

[@nicolashargreaves3624]

Hi Brian, how long do you do the 100 hun notes for days or just enough for you to move comfortably up to the next hun? Cheers

[@chuckb9595]

Since he didn't answer, let me give my 2c. Sounds like it's until you feel you "own" that note. Good luck to you

[@cobians72]

Hi Bryan...When you master the HCN, should i go 1/2 step or full step up for the next HCN?

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Half step. We need to be able to play in all keys!

[@sokanadenramasawmy2143]

i cannot get the lower notes right it sound lower in tune

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Do you mean that you find you’re riding flat when fluttering in the low register? The best advice I can offer is to try both methods and see what works best for you.

[@sokanadenramasawmy2143]

yes the lower notes sound flat@@AirflowMusicNYC

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

You originally posted this on the Flutter Tongue video. Is it a problem when flutter tonguing specifically, or generally when you’re playing?

[@pauldavies9360]

Nice tips! Not a fan of the 'presenter voice' though lol Great content still Subbed!!

[@sokanadenramasawmy2143]

sorry what do you mean by both method

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

“Both methods” refers to the flutter tonguing video you originally posted your question on. I didn’t realize at first that you’d posted the same question on different videos.

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

You originally posted this on the Flutter Tongue video. Is it a problem when flutter tonguing specifically, or generally when you’re playing?

[@sokanadenramasawmy2143]

yes the lower notes sound flat

[@5lyfetee]

Mouthpiece?

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

Are you asking about my mouthpiece? Or something else?

[@5lyfetee]

Bryan Davis - Airflow Music the mouthpiece you’re using in the video and do mouthpieces determine range?

[@AirflowMusicNYC]

I play a variety of mouthpieces but, if I remember correctly, in this video I’m playing my Apredato - a custom piece by Karl Hammond, converted to the water-filled Apredato system by Schagerl. (Basically a heavyweight piece without the weight) Mouthpiece characteristics can have an effect on range but not in the way that’s usually considered. Watch “M for Mouthpiece” from the Trumpet A-Z series for more about that.

[@sharadshirali1546]

Your voice does sound a bit hoarse. But who the hell cares about it. You more than make up with loads of tips and techniques.