How I Got My High Range - an Exercise and a Philosophy

[@isaiasduarte7385]

It's amazing how our bodies can adapt to do something. As you said, it's just a matter of time for the body to understand the air flow for each note

[@jojomark4946]

ahahaha me after 10 years with 3 years still stuck on the same note:

[@PeterSteinerOfficial]

Awesome, great video and approach! Thanks for sharing 😊

[@WilliamLang]

Thanks so much Peter! I hope you and Constanze have a good US tour!

[@jslide01]

Great exercise- the two Octave arpeggios! I double on bass trombone, but lately have needed to play lead tenor and first trombone is a festival ensemble. This entire video was very helpful, and has really helped my higher register!

[@jg2977]

I find that when playing high for a prolonged period of time, I have trouble playing in the low range again. So I really need to work on connecting the high register to the low register. Going from low to high is easier for me.

[@WilliamLang]

I found it felt much the same for me! doing really slow interval work based on the Bach first cello suite prelude helped me sort a few of those issues in the middle range - from there it was easier to expand outwards.

[@jg2977]

I have that Bach Cello Suite book, so I will start working out of that.

[@RonRova]

At around 6:05 is what took me a long time (too long) to learn. When I start to lose my high range is when I'm trying to muscle it up there. When I think of using a "falsetto voice" things get better. Good stuff!

[@jamieharris8075]

First time I've seen a video of yours. I really like your thoughtful (and seems heartfelt) philosophy of why you seek such extremem high note capability.

[@WilliamLang]

Thank you so much for watching! ❤️

[@brassedoff2437]

Thanks for this. I've been trying to get an easier way of gaining high notes with less stress over the last few months and having seen this video, I am going to be on it with renewed belief and enthusiasm. It's an inspiration to see what can be achieved if your mindset is right and if you approach it in the right way.

[@WilliamLang]

I'm so glad this has helped! If you ever want to chat about any of it, please feel free to reach out

[@yeo.j.j]

Wonderful video! Thanks for the great insights!

[@dfishpool7052]

Thank you for this presentation - as an amateur trombonist of 81 years I've been trying to extend my range - have managed a few extra high notes but they aren't always available!! Your insights and explanations have inspired me to continue with the quest to be a better player. Best wishes.

[@WilliamLang]

I'm so glad it was helpful, and thank you so much for watching!

[@josephbarbera9220]

I can hit the high notes up to fortissimo F when playing chord intervals but have trouble playing fast applications. I can play Bolero but only slowly. Your notes sounds sweet btw. I will focus on your approach.

[@mikescudder4621]

Great lesson thanks William. Reminds me of some calisthenics exercises i came across... but with some important details. Cheers! Nice horn...

[@WilliamLang]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed

[@peterdehoop622]

Thanks!

[@hanslehmann7275]

Great! Thank you

[@NxNW1959]

Wow, fantastic video! Thank you for posting it and being so frank about your approach and the results. There are so many great nuggets (things don't have to be perfect, it's a process, we have to be gentle with ourselves, high notes aren't an end in and of themselves) my favorite being "The thing that we hold doesn't define us". Amen! A couple practical questions: 1) Do you use any alternate positions for the extremely high notes? It looked like you were playing things in the same positions you would down one or two octaves? 2) Where do you like playing Eb 5 specifically? It looked like you played it in 3rd. Some people advocate playing it in a super sharp 2nd/flat 1st. Thoughts?

[@WilliamLang]

thanks so much for watching and the kind comments! 1) I try to use the same position for C6 and above notes that i use for the lower C5 and above register - i just have an easier time with muscle memory and association of the sound with those positions - in a way i looks at those top notes not as "high notes" but as different colors of the same pitch 2) Eb5 i try to play in sharp 2 - i'd have to go back and watch to see if i switched it up for some reason (every once awhile at those extremes i forget which octave i'm actually in!)

[@Avstinato]

Opened this looking for new vocabulary thinking my current range was fine and immediately got humbled with those arpeggios

[@WilliamLang]

when I started I had trouble with the first high Bb (think opening note of Bolero!) over time more and more notes were added through adaptation and patience. Also, fwiw, most of these notes are pretty unnecessary for 99.99% of music. I happen to specialize in playing the 0.01% though

[@Avstinato]

@@WilliamLang Sure it's never going to be useful for me, but above a D4 (Also Sprach) is where all the fun is

[@BillinMich57]

“The process is more important than the result.” Words to live by. This is a great video, William. I love the principles. I do have a question (maybe I missed this). You mentioned free buzzing at the beginning. How much of this do you do and how do you use it if you use it?

[@WilliamLang]

Free buzzing is more of a concept to me than a tool - if you can free buzz a middle C on piano - you can play that same note into any brass instrument, for example. But I don't train that specifically, or even work on it at all. Occasionally I will use mouthpiece buzzing as a diagnostic or teaching tool though.

[@BillinMich57]

@@WilliamLang Thanks, William. Again, thanks for all of the good information.

[@mikescudder4621]

Your head buzzing on the super Bb just means you hit your heads resonant frequency! ;-)

[@johndowson7929]

Every register has its challenges . I gave up after losing top front teeth , that was nearly 30 years ago 5 yrs ago i started again , like starting from scratch. The low register , the pedals ect were very dificult . Not so now , the higher range now that has been a massive challenge at one point id struggle to play anything after trying to hit that Bb C . Its only in the last mnth or so that ive started playing the upper range with more ease . I do find if i spend too much time up there my lower range suffers.

[@WilliamLang]

Way to go with starting again!

[@russtrombone]

Hi William, this is Russ in the UK. Thanks for this video 👏 Think you mentionee in the intro that you have 3 exercises you use. Would you please video the other 2 for us or do you have any further tips? - That would be awesome of you. You're an amazing player (what a LOT of work you have done) btw! And what do you do when your lip just fails and won't hit the top note? Wait a bit try again? - is the session over after 3 or 4 failures on one top note? - Thanks Man! 😊

[@WilliamLang]

Hi! I've made a playlist for the videos I have about my high range series so far - 2 of the 3 exercises are currently there: kzbin.info/aero/PLFvVC9OifxgsnZJJxO9lz-2nuAlguAJUe&si=Z3cY6UhToSk2NiFQ As far as when a note isn't speaking, I'll try it maybe twice before moving on for the day. I typically get up to about the top of my range give or take a few notes (occasionally I'll get up to C#7, sometimes I'll top out at G6.) On days where I'm really tired or sick, I'll notice a difference a lot lower, and just accept it and move on. The idea is to grow overall ability over time stress and pain free, and not aim at hitting a specific note everyday. Hope that helps, and thanks for watching!

[@russtrombone]

@@WilliamLang Thanks for taking the time to reply and also for the playlist William you're a gent! 😁

[@georgetirebiter4343]

Pretty great. Maybe there isn't much written for trombone in the altissimo range, but do you use it in improvisation or folkloric tunes where you play by ear? Like, ferinstance, I often hear clarinetists jump an octave or two on the repeat of a melody in Balkan or Turkish tunes.

[@WilliamLang]

that would be a fun use of it - but at this point in my career i primarily use it for written compositions, and in the extreme high range many of them were written expressly for me

[@danadouglas2674]

No. 1 takeaway is that it takes YEARS of practice to develop that kind of range. Good job!

[@WilliamLang]

yep! no shortcuts to it, just work on top of fundamentals, while removing limitations that come from social conditioning

[@mikosy44447]

I’m a little late, but great video!

[@WilliamLang]

Thanks!

[@craigsproston7378]

Do you need to use more abdominal push as you go higher? What do you with tongue position as you go higher. Could you tell me what your body feels like along with air flow as you go higher.

[@WilliamLang]

I don't use any conscious abdominal push as I go higher. As far as tongue position it's somewhat analogous to whistling, but again it isn't a conscious manipulation. For my body - I tend to feel pretty relaxed when things are warmed up and feeling good

[@jojomark4946]

Hello, I'm getting a lot of double buzz when I get to the top of my register doing the exercise you suggested with the two octave arpeggios Do you think that will go away over time when I get more comfortable in that range or should that be addressed specifically?

[@WilliamLang]

in this case, my first recommendation would be to watch in a mirror and make sure that you're not over-pivoting to obtain a higher note. split tones generally happen when change the angle of the jaw to the mouthpiece. i hope that helps, and feel free to let me know if it doesn't

[@jojomark4946]

​@@WilliamLang I tried playing in front of a camera but I couldn't really notice any change in the angle as I got to the high range... my sound quality also gets worse the higher up I go if that helps, like it's more airy the higher I go

[@WilliamLang]

if you want send me an email and we can do a quick look

[@jojomark4946]

@@WilliamLang Really? Thanks so much! I'll send one later today! Edit: I forgot to ask, what mail should I send to? Edit 2: Sorry, I found it

[@joeshuwa6940]

when doing the first arpeggio exercise do you worry about the tuning at all or just doing mirror work?

[@WilliamLang]

I did mirror work for the first few years, and I listen for intonation in a general sense - sometimes I practice these with a drone but mostly I just try to pay attention

[@Running_injuries]

yeah so i got a question

[@WilliamLang]

shoot

[@BassboneNelson]

How much should I work on high range a day? Should I do it during my daily routine? I know high range as part of it is important but should I do this a bit more extended or just as it's own separate thing

[@WilliamLang]

I do all this work as part of my daily routine. I think 15-20 minutes daily is enough to make progress if done with intention

[@NovaFlare19]

I heard pushing your bottom lip into your teeth and covering it with your top lip can increase your range. Do you recommend doing this when hitting very high notes, and kinda intargating it slowly as you get higher and higher? I've hit a block around D5 and can only get above it using that technique.

[@WilliamLang]

I would honestly never recommend that. just please don't do that, and try these arpeggios for like... two weeks, and let me know what happens.

[@NovaFlare19]

@WilliamLang Okay. Also, I had a poor explanation of the technique. It's like pushing your botton lip against the back of your bottom teeth, push your top lip onto the bottom. I could see how problems could arise from this though.

[@WilliamLang]

i would still keep a normal embouchure and not try to find a short-cut. compromising the lips and teeth so much will 99.999% of the time have negative side effects in the future

[@jumptosky4768]

@@WilliamLangyour right! The lip is not the key of playing high notes

[@pastmike9073]

@@jumptosky4768 has your range increased?

[@picolsquadd8603]

Is that a glissando u did at the beginning?

[@WilliamLang]

it's more of a harmonic rip - up higher the partials are close enough together that it does sound like a gliss though!

[@AspartameBoy]

Squeak?

[@WilliamLang]

Squeak.

[@AspartameBoy]

Rathbone, of Denver Symphony circa 1965 put me on a Bach 3 for my Conn 6H. He said it would take time to develop the high range. He was proud of me, favorably comparing me to “squeak artists”. My high notes were BIG.

[@AspartameBoy]

Did you know the trombone is the loudest instrument in the orchestra? (Cannons excluded).

[@AspartameBoy]

@@WilliamLangBut some energy in those high notes!

[@drakenailling4276]

s h o w o f f.

[@WilliamLang]

Thanks for dropping by! Helped me remember to respond to some other comments