Free Buzzing for Trumpet! (probably cornet and flugel too :D)

[@uraringy5200]

英語解らないけど、何となく役立つ事を教わった気がします😊有難うございます✨

[@ロクアンドロルしかない]

I taught myself to play guitar, and piano but as a child I always wanted to play Trumpet so eventually after seeing demonstrations of practice mutes at 60yrs I bought one, I do not have a solid practice routine at the moment I would be pleased to actually do half an hour a week but funny thing, I also play harmonica and I could bend notes and play blues harmonica the first time I tried it, I knew the instrument could make the sound so I just moved the aperture around until I got the sound, getting back to the trumpet first of all KZbin is a great resource for learning new things, I don’t know what exactly is triple C but talking from point of view of the valve diagram you get as a beginner the middle C I presume, the natural resonance of a Bb Trumpet so I can play that, the next octave, the next octave and some notes above that C not exactly sure how high as I said less that 30 minutes per week, planning to change that but it takes at least two back to back 10 minute sessions for the aperture to firm up again and not forcing it by tightening the lips is definitely the key or rather don’t thin and over tension the lips but compression with the diaphragm, tongue and aperture muscles like squirting out of a thin straw and the high notes are strain free apart from all the air pressure inside the body and a few weeks ago I accidentally hit the pedal tones and now have cracked that and long tones and pedal tones are the secret of relaxed high notes finally my point being with an average of 30 minutes a week if that, I can hit notes people are struggling with as they practice daily taking lessons and I CANNOT BUZZ MY LIPS AT ALL and any attempts to do so is extremely uncomfortable and my conclusion is, not an essential skill and can be ignored in favour of at least mouthpiece buzzing, lip buzzing the aperture needs to be way firmer than with the mouthpiece because the seal creates the pressure that you otherwise need to create by firming your lips excessively.

[@CameronJay]

Woah, long comment and loads of cool stuff in there too. I'm a bit jealous of you as I've really only mastered one instrument and strongly believe that we should strive to explore as much music as possible, on as many instruments as possible, a lot easier said than done. To cut to the chase - yes, I agree about the lip buzzing. It's not an essential skill and definitely is not for everyone and maybe more importantly, should not be over used or overly relied upon. The technique I try to demonstrate is that of achieving a lip buzz with minimal pinch or squeezing of the aperture. Even with this method there is more tension in the aperture than buzzing the mouthpiece, (which still has excess tension in the embouchure) than just playing the trumpet. I still use free buzzing but sparingly, usually after a period away from the instrument or if I'm unable to achieve a required intensity in my practice. I hope my comment aligns with and compliments your own perspective and wish you all the best with your playing. Thanks for the message and don't be a stranger; invaluable perspective here that's relevant and constructive. Thank you! C

[@laserjim]

Interesting. So your fingers are perhaps providing some support / resisting points at the ends of the vibrating aperture, then you're not needing as much lip tension to make the buzz happen? Clamping top-bottom to buzz, I tried just now, definitely is hard work and feels wrong. What I instinctively do when free-buzzing is allow the tip of my tongue to go just over the top of my lower teeth to provide a little support for the lower lip. I don't think I do that so much when playing.

[@CameronJay]

Hey James, nice to hear from you and thanks for the comment. The best way I can describe it is that I'm barely applying any finger pressure to my lips at all whilst trying to find where the buzz naturally happens whenn my fingers reach a certain distance from the extreme corners to where the mouthpiece resides. That's the movement of the fingers from the edge of the mouth inwards whilst blowing gently. I found that by doing I was able to learn a non aperture pinching buzz thta was a lot fuller and created less tension after a free buzzing session. Does that make sense? I happy to look in to this a lot more as I believe I'm only just beginning this aspect of practice..

[@CameronJay]

Ps.! The tip of my tongue is below the top of my bottom teeth and I generally breath attach a free-buzz. 👍

[@laserjim]

@@CameronJay That makes good sense to me 👍I mainly buzz a little during warm-up, or after playing. Haven't really thought a whole lot about it, except to notice where my tongue sits. I'll try your finger method this week

[@CameronJay]

@@laserjim thanks James, any input would be greatly appreciated.