How to Lip Trill on Horn

Thank you for watching!
I remember desperately trying to lip trill in high school and trying to find any information out there about it. Hopefully this has helped you, even if just a little bit! Again, my tips have just been gathered through my own experience and the experience of students I have worked with, but I thought it’d be worth sharing.
Let me know if you have any questions, or thoughts in general-thanks again!
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Links for Helpful Exercises/Books:
-Farkas Book: www.amazon.com/Art-French-Hor...
-Wendell Rider Book: www.amazon.com/Real-World-Pla...
(This is Wendell’s own website-where it is sold for a reasonable price. Otherwise Amazon currently says it’s about $400 lol.)
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Music:
A Bouquet of Roses by DJ Quads (@DjQuads)
Misty Mornings by DJ Quads (@DjQuads)
/ aka-dj-quads

[@davidlangston6927]

Thank you. I was never taught to lip trill or double tongue. This is useful

[@canalfelixiano9411]

Oh god thank you so much, I just did my first real trill because of your video I’ve been stuck for months trying to do this The first exercise is a godsend I swear

[@hughnini2167]

Great video lesson Alyssa. Many decades ago I was principal horn in a substantial university symphony and we played all the big charts: Mahler, Brahms, Strauss, Respighi, Tchaikovsky, everything. I could, double and triple tongue like no one else, had a huge range, and gorgeous sound, but a lip trill? Never had one. I couldn't BUY one. I think if I'd had you as a teacher that might have turned out better.

[@SimonSpeedcuber]

First real trill ever came to me today right before my exam! 😁✌️

[@dwightkschrute80]

You sound terrific. Thanks for sharing.

[@cwooly007]

YEUS! Bless you! Gotta get started on these. I feel like such a newb using my valves.

[@warriorSD7931]

Thank you, it helps a lot!

[@oo5150]

thank you very much I am also a horn player and your advice helps me a lot 😊

[@chloe6420]

Thank you so much! I’m a freshman and my all region this year has a measure of lip slurs, and I’ve never really been taught proper lip slurs so I’ll definitely be doing these exercises!

[@KevinGenus]

Chloe, listen to Alec Frank-Gimmel. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXSseZ6Yjp6rgdE. Plays lip trills like Dennis Brain did.

[@heatherunterreiner5318]

OMG. I love you. Thank you. So much.

[@fredhaeger7089]

thank you for this video. I want to develop trill and will use these to help me

[@dianawolf894]

Lip trills on horn are fun. (This lady makes lip trills very musical in the intro)

[@Coldscar]

"Technical Studies for Solving special problems on the horn" by William R. Brophy - is also a great book for trills

[@yingjieqi4511]

Great video! love it! will definitely try and follow you~~

[@jinjithputhankalayil649]

Awesome 🔥🔥🔥😍😍😍

[@wendellrider1212]

Hi Alyssa. Excellent job! Yes, we are looking for the node between the two notes and our goal is to have a controlled instability. We never center either note. We have to trust our subconscious mind to do the actual movements. Excellent job! Unfortunately my old website is gone and I am in the process of making a new one. I do have the books and the DVDs that go with it. So thanks for posting this excellent video! I am in the process of posting some of the DVD segments on my KZbin channel. I was hoping to share this on my KZbin channel, so feel free to share this on my site, if you know how. Or maybe you could teach me how to do it. One other tip is to do these things on lower notes, like the F# below low G, only playing that note on F horn 123. This makes it easier for younger players, especially. It is more slippery down there and takes less energy. Of course it is out of tune- sharp, but that is not important for the learning process.

[@BenjaminGessel]

Will try these exercises. :-) (Yes, I'm a serious hornist, and an even more serious composer. :-) )

[@zangoose..]

Thank you so much for this video, I will definitely try these exercises out :)

[@alyssawidener8669]

I'm so glad it helped! Good luck with the exercises, and feel free to ask me any questions about them too! :)

[@carlw]

Great trill exercises! 👍 BTW, is that a Stork mp??

[@thebiasslayer8244]

Thank you very much for this lesson. Can you teach how to buzz without a mouthpiece ?

[@alyssawidener8669]

I've gotten this question a few times from others! Hoping to do a general buzzing technique video sooner or later and hopefully that'll help!

[@jinjithputhankalayil649]

Which mouthpiece is good plastic or normal steel??

[@qbonics30]

It’s kinda freaky I’ve been practicing and watching the office all week then I see this😭😭😭. cool coincidence 😂

[@DanielG0926]

Nice edits! I learnt a few things even though I don't play brass lol.

[@alyssawidener8669]

Haha, thank you! Glad I could still help!

[@luisdimas63]

Hi Alyssa, all your videos are really really great and it motivates me to play the horn, but I´ve been had some problems because any tutorial show what is the right music scale and anybody use the Grand Staff on the screem like you do, and I don´t know if someday you could do any video about that... I´m from Central America

[@alyssawidener8669]

Hey! I'll try my best to get to a video like that, but I can't make any promises. I get a lot of requests for covers and tutorials, but I always like hearing what you all want to see next--thanks!

[@luisdimas63]

Thank you so much I'll be pending and enjoinig all your videos, and I'll be practicing so hart too...📯📯

[@wendellrider1212]

Yep. You don’t center the notes when you lip trill. It is a controlled instability.

[@sfbirdclub]

Sorry. Almost all horn players(Damn you Dennis!) playing trills sound like continually split notes to me. I avoid writing ANY trills for horn. But--I do this because I love the horn!!

[@lawconic1]

Do you have any tips on improving your endurance? I feel like I get chopped out pretty quick. I’m a Junior in highschool if that helps to understand the type of music I’m playing.

[@lawconic1]

Kuwunda BVHS2022 Shamambo Thank you, I will definitely try that out

[@alyssawidener8669]

There's a lot of things you can do to improve endurance! The thing that has helped me out the most over my years has been finding a sort of "sweet spot" for certain registers with a good balance of air and embouchure action. You don't want to over-muscle anything (which is very easy to do, especially in the high register), but rather find the correct way to set your embouchure and use your air effectively from there. There's no real magic trick to suddenly find this balance either, but it just comes from playing more often and becoming familiar with what that feels like. Good starting points are firm corners and a flattened chin, and always remember to use a lot of air when experimenting with this. How often and how long you practice make a difference too. Just like with running, your body will slowly adjust and improve depending on how you train. If you only ever play/practice in 20 minute increments, suddenly playing 1 hour non-stop will wear you out faster. I normally do 45 minutes on face, then a 15 minute chop break, then back on. This is just what I prefer though, and everyone's got to find what works for them. I have a video on high range exercises that may also help with endurance in general. Hope this all helps, and good luck!

[@reylis.8916]

In a music peace"tex mex" i have go from a flat to a high a flat its hard

[@ohio3rd]

Great stuff! Here's the sheet music for the exercises: lilybin.com/6dxzmx/2

[@TawneeLynnMusicServices]

Are you a member of the IHS?! You must be a part of IHS 53. Please get in touch with me 👍📯🙌🏼

[@DanielSmith_19]

English Breakfast Tea. Immediate sub and like

[@davemiller7633]

Alyssa, thanks. Excellent video, and you are a beautiful young woman by the way! However, I have found limited success personally on lip trills. I've come to understand some people just "can't" do them. So, can you offer alternatives, such as adding valves? Thanks