Trumpet tip, forming and developing your embouchure

[@christopherbarker181]

That’s exactly what I had corrected. When I placed my mouthpiece on my bottom teeth it would go in one direction and if I did it on the top it would go in the opposite direction; now they are lined up perfectly! Thanks to a great orthodontist and the Lord!🙏

[@Peter-ii4xq]

You and me are playing for about 80% the same. I teach this all my students. Placing the tongue at the inside of the upperlip, creates the wright position of the shin. That is necessary because of the overbite of the human being. It puts the lips exacty towards each other. So the buzz is made in a natural way. You also fix the under cheek in position. Keep your face in the way you are. No tricks, that costs energy. The result is a great sound with a wide range off harmonics. I am often asked by conductors not to play so loud. But I don't play loud, it's the colour of sound. It has surpised me that even famous musician don't have all this kind op knowledge. Now I stop because it's not my You Tube Channel, but there is even more. Kind regards, Wil

[@pebblebeach8517]

I cannot tell you how much this has changed my approach to my set...my set was for low C because that’s how I always warmed up. I never even thought about other set options. This one tip has changed so much in a short time period. I am setting for middle C and learning how to go get the lower register from this new set...I can now climb the ladder up the staff not having to adjust my set. The other bonus is keeping the horn in place much like a Caruso study. Thx a million.

[@Rufftips]

Pebble Beach A nice exercise to help solidify this is by practicing scales by starting in the middle of two octaves go up to the top octave come down to the starting point and then go down an octave and back.

[@pebblebeach8517]

Rufftips trumpet stuff: Ruff I’ve been doing a pretty intensive 30 minute long tone study early AM followed by an hour and half of music playing ( 15 minutes breaks spread out) what I’ve noticed is the 30 minutes long tone study takes a small toll on my chops leaving me with slightly less than zippy chops to play my personal music. What I’d like to do is play my music on fresh chops in the AM and do my long tone workout at night, my concern is in the evenings my chops will not be operating in top form for the long study work. So, is it more important for me to execute the long tones when I’m at full capacity during AM or can I get the same benefit doing long tones at night on slightly fatigued chops? Thx 🙏

[@Rufftips]

Pebble Beach You might try doing this: abbreviate your long tone study in the morning. Don’t necessarily rush it but shorten it; there are two ways to do this. The first way is to play long tones shorter. I know that sounds odd. If you play very relaxed playing dotted quarter notes at 60 bpm that should be sufficiently long. I think when people think of long tones they think of them as being something that lasts for an entire breath. To me this is overkill unless it is a drill on breath control and tone production. aA long tone warm-up, as you found yourself when done for 30 minutes of Long tones takes it’s toll on your chops. The other way to shorten the long tone warm up would be to abbreviate the number of exercises. So I would look at reducing my warm-up time to no longer than 15 minutes. As you do this you should be resting micro rests in between the notes you are playing. So if you abbreviate your warm-up and find a way to relax and warm up smoothly and quickly you’ll be able to enter into your playing portion of your day with fresh chops. Do you realize the point of a warm-up is to get you ready to play not necessarily playing beyond that point. Then the second part of this is you can do a secondary long-term study later in the day and once again take a great deal of time with it by resting more between the notes. This should help you realize a much better practice session when it comes to benefit from the long times themselves. Best, Jon

[@pebblebeach8517]

Rufftips trumpet stuff: thx Ruff, I am going to precisely put your advice into action ( shorter long tones) ...later in the day I can manage an addition long tone routine. Thx 🙏 for your professional advice.

[@kyledozier2738]

You should upload more if you can. I really enjoy watching your videos and they are very helpful. So please, if you can, upload more videos

[@CharliePorter]

Great info! Spot on.

[@Someone-ig8ct]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I've been having a lot of trouble with my sound and I keep watching how to form an embouchure, but it turns out all the same. Except this! My sound drastically improved with just moving the mouthpiece slightly to where my natural airstream is! Thanks again!!

[@gruntpalm]

Excellent and informative video John -Thank you !

[@brassplyer]

I think the reason you personally place your mp where you do is because of the shape of your lips. You're similar to Maynard in that you have the mp on a part of your lip that's very straight and the vermillion on the top lip is thinner. At some point you instinctively found that the lip vibrates more cooperatively there. You don't have your final set until you actually start to play. You can't form your embouchure the way you actually play until the mp is in place deforming the lips a certain way against the teeth and also have the resistance and physics of the mp and instrument in place.

[@trainguy85]

Very informative as always! I enjoy your videos!

[@shazibIsMySon]

Great video. Keep doing what you're doing, your channel is constantly growing and I know it will be big one day!

[@briantaylor5676]

Thank you John.Very informative. Can you make a video on how to develop your higher range with tongue arch. Thanks

[@Kennygrooms]

Great common sense approach! No wonder I never thought of it!lol Plus, my teeth are crooked too! Now I know why the air comes out slightly off-center! Thanks!

[@chorizofree]

Thank you so much! This helped a lot.

[@da11king]

Great video! I am distracted by your neck 😉😂🎺... I can't get thru my registers in one set yet. Looks easy for you. I am a new trumpet player .I am gonna keep on trying to get the right set

[@MattyJames]

thanks this was a great help to me

[@aswaggyferret4280]

all about energized air blowing through your embouchure

[@harrelsontrumpets]

The tongue is primarily assisting increased air pressure when raised in the mouth.

[@CedsBritishBrass34]

Thank you so much! All your tips made me play a high c sometimes a high e if i’m lucky. In just 2 months of having the instrument! I play the Tenorsax too. But damnn i love my trumpet. Thank you so much! 😁

[@Rufftips]

TopRacer 15317 wow that is fantastic, congratulations and have fun.

[@ivansanz8232]

Exelente profesor me gusta como explica,soy venezolano me gustaria oirla en castellano para entender bien el msj

[@TheGentleUncle]

Wow! A video where you are not wearing the "Aloha" shirt (the middle one). Impressive!

[@Rufftips]

+TheGentleUncle An on site section of the video, there are 2 or 3 such videos. They are rare but they do exist. This particular segment was just prior to a performance at Stanford University if I remember correctly.

[@jerrywatts5185]

When you set your embouchure, is your bottom lip slightly behind your top lip?

[@abartz96]

Hi John, I am an 18 year old trumpet player and am resetting my embouchure after high school. I found some success in my old setup(first chair, lead etc.) but found that I was manipulating my set too much for high register and the problem got worse. I've taken some time away from the horn but am ready to start up again. I have watched your video about recovering after a chop related injury and found many things to take from that. Any additional tips you have for me as I start rebuilding my new embouchure? Thanks, Aaron

[@Rufftips]

Some how I missed this I hope you are doing well. Best, Jon

[@abartz96]

Hey Jon, that's interesting...I don't see an earlier reply either, however I remember getting one at the time. I am doing well, roughly 3 years after changing my embouchure I am still enjoying trumpet playing in university ensembles, and the people I have met through being involved with music. My old issue of tone has long been fixed, but now I find my main weak point is endurance. I've watched some of your videos on efficiency and playing smart.

[@Rufftips]

Challenging our chops each day is how we figure out efficiency both in discovering range and creating endurance. We have to figure out how both of these things work and challenging ourselves is the key to this discovery.

[@jppirr1031]

Hi Thanks for the Video have you ever seen Bahb Civelitti spit embouchure seems similar to TCE i noticed a lot of compression you use in your throat to tongue arch to mouth ?

[@Rufftips]

Jp Pirr I believe tongue position changes and is extremely important in tone production pitch production and our ability to play in the upper register. Best Jon

[@jppirr1031]

Thanks Jon I like what your teaching seems similar to what i have been learning i started playing with Tongue Controlled Embouchure about 2yrs into it have gained whole new way of playing still developing and Playing to G above high C but much more than that im still progressing in many areas like centered pitch ,tone and upper register still trying to figure out some things but its coming along like air to upper register sometimes it feels airy ? so im thinking less air more compression your compression is out of this world is there exercises to help develop this? my email is :[e-mail] Thanks

[@Rufftips]

Your questions along with some other conversations have spurred me to a deeper investigation than I ever thought I would do on the topic LOL. So I think the Jaw is very important and if you play a low C and don’t move the jaw you will find no amount of air will help you get up into the upper register. The jaw must come up and possibly slightly forward. That being said the support of the air is created from the torso. Cough like you breathed some spit into your air way. this is a violent motion similar to throwing up. These muscles engage and create a lot of energy. You should be able to take a gut punch as you play a G above High C. I have these muscles flexed the entire time I am playing in the upper register. This feeling is hard to describe. It is like a sustained cough. Best, Jon

[@jppirr1031]

Thanks for the Help i will try and develop this !!

[@BoazKimMusic]

Hi Jon. Your videos are so great and this one must be one of your best ones so far. The blowing resistance when changing octaves and the neck bulging, are they related for you? I had my mouthpiece placement moved directly center, when it was just ever-so off to the left. When blowing air and checking with my finger, it indeed goes to where my old placement was. I'll experiment with that later. Is blowing resistance when changing octaves and the neck bulging, are they related for you?

[@BoazKimMusic]

I was also wondering, do you use your tongue between the lips for each initial attack of a musical phrase? Thank you!

[@Rufftips]

+Drworm89 Drworm89,My tongue is stopping airflow or positioned behind the top teeth tip down. In other words the tip of my tongue is at the bottom of my top front teeth. This is not the classic position for tonguing. I have laryngocele this is discussed in this video: Hi Kids trumpet related injuries, conditions and recovery Short answer is the compression I generate for this register causes my neck to bulge. See a definition here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laryngocele

[@manzakinsantos5105]

u are the best ¡!

[@Rufftips]

Aaron, Take your time check out kzbin.info for another perspective and more information. Take it slow you will have much better results in the end. Do not play to the point you hurting yourself. Listen to your sound if you are getting a good sound you are probably doing things right. Never contort or manipulate your chops. Start with small sessions and expand your sessions by minutes and number of times a day. Good luck!

[@paulsanchez5629]

Hello John, i'm a young player who started playing the trumpet about 3 years ago. I had a kinda downward embouchure that allowed me to play very good in the downward and the upper register, but i had fragile endurance. My teachers told me that if i centered my embouchure, i could develop better endurance because i would play more relaxed. So, i did it but i completely lost the range i had and i felt i had to put 3 times more air. So now, i found a set which i am comfortable, but i only can play a sharp g anove the stand very difficultly compared to last year. Also, i cant play it forte. What should i do? I am very worried.

[@Rufftips]

+Paul Sanchez This is a very difficult question to answer without seeing your current embouchure. It is possible that your current set is not working properly. I recommend that you do not force anything when it comes to working on your upper register. If you feel that you might get better results by moving your set just a small amount towards your old set then split the difference. If you gain nothing from this then go back to the current approach. Trumpet players typically have a slight downward angle to their horn when they play. If you are being asked to hold your horn straight out or level to the ground this might be an issue. Good luck and keep me posted. Jon

[@paulsanchez5629]

+Rufftips Thanks a lot. I'll try it !

[@boxmaker20]

I realized, for me, that as I played, my jaw ended up receding. When I focused on keeping my chin out, my lips were able to align and allow the natural muscles to gain strength. My range and endurance have gotten much better.

[@pauldance7387]

My set looks like yours, that said does an anchor tongue player never let the tip of their tongue go between teeth like spitting seeds ? I perceive their tongue hanging out on the inside of the bottom teeth with a tongue never been allowed to pop between the teeth?

[@Rufftips]

Paul Dance As I ascend I find that my tongue sits or rests on top of my lower teeth. So this by definition would mean that it is between my teeth. I hesitate to prescribe an exact position of the tongue at any point in time in the mouth. I think that discovery works for the individual and this is going to provide the best results. I will present this as an interesting examination of where your tongue may rest. Play a low F sharp and tongue quarter notes. While doing this determine where your tongue is where the front of your tongue is. This might provide some information.

[@pauldance7387]

Rufftips #f low bottom of teeth near gum area, E&F closer to the top portion of the lower teeth. second line “G”finds fine tongue in a very neutral position floating without any support probably right in the middle of both lower and upper teeth. If I were to whiplash a B-flat Id have a very limber fast tongue, using the middle of both teeth as a stopgap function ready to release the B-flat retracting my tongue as quickly as possible. I have a no idea if I’m doing it correctly, or what’s the difference between “K” tongue modified or anchor tongue....

[@Rufftips]

Paul Dance I tend to keep the front of my tongue down low near my bottom teeth even as I ascend. To double tongue or triple I would make the t sound by closing off the air with the tongue just at the bottom of the top teeth and pull it down away from the top teeth Then the K sound is a softer attack in the roof of my mouth using a G or ga syllable. Basically th ga for double and tb, th, ga for triple. I will give you a video link to one of my videos talking about multiple tonguing and using alternate syllables to make it work for different types of players

[@Rufftips]

Paul Dance check out this video for alternative multiple tongue syllables kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKGrd2ioZtikfZI

[@Rufftips]

Drworm89,My tongue is stopping airflow or positioned behind the top teeth tip down. In other words the tip of my tongue is at the bottom of my top front teeth. This is not the classic position for tonguing. I have laryngocele this is discussed in this video: Hi Kids trumpet related injuries, conditions and recovery Short answer is the compression I generate for this register causes my neck to bulge. See a definition here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laryngocele

[@Lil_Johnson]

HEEEELLLPPPPP

[@joeblogs8204]

got to say this I have practiced and practiced and tried this :tried that ... bought this and that....lessons ..online lessons .after 20 years I cannot play...If I had played any other family of instruments I would be a pretty dam good player instead of a joke player on the trumpet. If you are struggling to get out of the stave for more than a few months , give up. You cannot physically do it.. These guys online have the greatest of intentions, but the bottom line is they have an anatomy that allows them to play to some sort of standard..If you are struggling to play out of the stave you just do not have a practical range of notes and an anatomy that allows you to easily play these notes... Play something else. Don't waste your time.

[@Rufftips]

I agree in part. If you have worked with several teachers and no one can fix the problem then yes why not find a path that works. I did not play above a high C until I was a senior in high school and above a high G until I turned 25 What you see is not some product of natural gifts it is a product of relentless study. Best Jon

[@joeblogs8204]

Rufftips Sorry this comment is not good enough and relevant. Nobody is just going to pick up a instrument and play. Any instrument requires a massive amount of practice and learning to achieve even a basic level of proficiency. A musical instrument is two basic parts : a resonator and an amplifier. In a brass instrument the resonator is YOU. If your anatomy does not let you reliably achieve the requirements to achieve good resonance: YOU will not play. No matter what method you try and what you do. I am not talking about playing like a virtuoso. I am talking about having a good sound and reliable range to high C so you can enjoy playing most music and interact with other musicians. All I have done for hours every day is try and learn how to play notes. On the internet there are hundreds of people offering advice on how to play. Yet with all that I cannot play ...THIS COULD HAPPEN TO ANYONE. You can be very musically motivated pick the trumpet and have all that effort and time and money wasted. This is my criticism of sites like this. You do not warn people you might not simply play. If it was a question of just finding the correct teacher in 20 years with all the knowledge on here I would be playing Roy Roman in his dvd on his method even comments on the same thing. That there are so many people who try and cannot play. At senior high school you was in a band playing music with people...not stuck in a room getting very frustrated. You were lucky... Most of the teachers on here profess that they in their early careers had a bad technique and refined a method. That means even with a bad technique you could play to an acceptable level ie your anatomy allows you to play Students of the trumpet should be made to learn another instrument in tandem as a fail safe because if you are some one like me who has put the time and money I have put in and loves music like I do, it is a very hurtful thing not to be able to play

[@Rufftips]

Sir, Most 1st year band books do not go out of the Staff. www.alfred.com/belwinconcertbandseries So my belief is that a young beginning student 6-9 should not give up after a few months but hang in there for a couple years. An adult possibly 1 year depending. I stated, "find a path that works", this means do, or play something else. I thought this was self evident. I shall not engage in an argument about anatomy, either you can play the instrument or you can't is a determination each should decide for themselves. I know players that have all the chops in the world and are horrible musicians therefor horrible trumpet players. Not everyone is meant to play trumpet and not every trumpet player was meant to be a musician. If the quest is engaging and offers some pleasure then continue. If the quest makes you angry and bitter then move on. A very dear friend discovered upper register in his 50s after playing for 30 some years. He had studied with many teachers but an, "on line guy" helped him figure it out. I witnessed a man in his 70s play a scale from low C to double C and back down in one breath. He learned to do this in his 70s from an, "on line guy"! Now as for this, "on line guy" I charge nothin and only offer tips. My, "good intentions" are as follows: if my tips have helped just 1 player achieve something or better themselves then all my hours of work and decades of experience have been worth the effort. I assure you sir more than one person has commented on gaining ground here, for this I am humbled and proud. I hope you find this comment to be, "good enough". Best, Jon

[@Rufftips]

Let me also state this, I have told a friend they should play another instrument. Their ideas were fantastic and harmonic knowledge expansive but they struggled to play trumpet. They were hurt and it left our friendship fractured. I will not do a video stating that you may not be able to play trumpet so you might want to have a backup plan. I am not here for that. I have learned that this is the individuals choice. I will not warn students or players that they could get killed in a night club shooting by a jealous lover. I will not tell them that they may get run over crossing the street. I will not tell them they could get focal dystonia at the peak of their career. This is not my place. No sir I do not think my channel needs disclaimers. You seem to have a great deal of energy why not pick up a different instrument now and turn this energy to a positive outcome. Best, Jon