That actually sounds more like what I was doing before WindWorks when I was clamping my lips in the middle as I ascended.

I remember rolling my lip in and feeling like I ran out of lip as I ascended and tilting my head back/bell down, etc.

Now, when I tighten the aperture corners as I ascend, I try to use as little movement / tension /…[Read more]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4ONDJWoaAEThis is the best explanation I’ve ever seen. Hope it helps you.

Sorry you’re frustrated, I was there and may wind up there again but have gone from having a range of G above the staff to now working towards double G; high C is pretty easy and I can control it better than I expected. This is in large part to MTM and the aperture corners.

Don’t overthink things, there probably aren’t absolutes with what you…[Read more]

My pleasure, Peter. I’m glad if what I shared was helpful to you. And thanks Greg, glad if my response was helpful.

I’m about to do another round through WindWorks–I think I’m ready and doing so will help me get up another level.

I believe he means playing with the red part of the lips. Many players believe that we must roll our lips forward or in so that the red is hidden, at least when setting the embouchure. That works for some, although I believe what those players (who play well that way) are actually doing is letting the red part of their lips move forward in the cup…[Read more]

I ran across the same video and it made me think as well as some of Charlie’s videos are what got me on the comeback trail. And he’s clearly a very accomplished trumpet player.

There’s also a video from Paul Mayes “Trumpet Professor”, who is also obviously a very accomplished player and teacher and who’s posted some helpful videos; one of the…[Read more]

You’re welcome, fmaziers. I’m no authority–I’m on this journey as well but hopefully my sharing my experiences with you was helpful.

At the end of the day, I think specifically what we need to do to play as efficently and as well as possible depends upon our personal physical characteristics (i.e. lips, teeth, etc.), gear (trumpet, mouthpiece)…[Read more]

Hard to say, other than if you are having difficulty tonguing freely / naturally in all registers (generally) then you must be doing something that is unnatural–that is to say against the most efficient way of playing.

I recall early on having difficulty tonguing a bit myself. I don’t recall having a tongue-in-cheek feeling, but I recall…[Read more]

The aah-ooh is critical for me in remembering to tighten the aperture corners from the corners while relaxing the top and bottom lip, letting the top lip vibrate freely in the air column. When I do that, everything is golden and I get good sensations and an open easy feeling and resonant sound and increased flexibility / speed.

I often catch…[Read more]

I’ve been struggling again after having switched to a shallow mouthpiece.

Things were going brilliantly and I was feeling very confident when all of a sudden, little by little my range began going backwards to where I had little flexibility and high C, which had became a given–a note I could control almost as good as any other, was no longer a…[Read more]

I think I’m experiencing this a bit right now and understood part of it earlier on in the course.

I’ve been playing on a shallower mouthpiece for the past week or so, a Bach 3E.

It seems to me that playing on the shallower mouthpiece might be forcing and/or helping me to learn more about sympathetic buzz vs synthetic buzz–it seems like a…[Read more]

I don’t mean to hijack this thread (anymore than I already have) but had an interesting experience today… I think it may have been one of those”coffee moments”…

Things were going well on the 10 1/2C but it did feel small at times, almost restricting.

And I noticed that Greg and other world class players can play just about any mp, from 1…[Read more]

I’m loving this journey I’m on…played this morning before work. Lips felt supple / good, sounded good / felt good. Getting a better feel for the new mouthpiece, realizing I need to relax a little more, back off the air more, which makes sense on a smaller mp…

Made me think of mountain biking or anything involving tire traction, when you…[Read more]

Thanks Rod. I’m not familiar with the wedge 64; is the 620 more or less shallow?

Didn’t have a lot of time to practice this morning / tonight. Seemed like a mixed bag–I knew I would pay for the irrational exuberance last night, etc. and I did… But there were glimpses of brilliance on the 10 1/2C (didn’t play the 7C at all today), but my…[Read more]

One thing I did notice a few weeks ago / month ago that seemed to really help was my tongue–I can’t quite explain it and will probably just confuse things if I try too hard (best just to listen to what Greg explains), but basically to me I feel like as I get up to about high C I start kind of pushing the front of my tongue down behind my lower…[Read more]

Update: I’ve been feeling / sounding good on my 7C and am feeling more and more like playing correctly is becoming second nature now–the more time that passes without me backsliding, the more confident I become in that. I started thinking again about mouthpieces, not because my 7C wasn’t providing good sound or I wasn’t happy with my range, but…[Read more]

Wow, Luis, I am so glad my post helped you!! I have been there, I know how you were feeling. I believe you will experience what I did if you stay at it and don’t give up–it will eventually click. When I played the other day, I didn’t even have to focus on not tensing up my throat, etc. as I ascended up to high C and beyond–I knew the notes…[Read more]

Wow, amazing video. I liked what he said about breath control as well–that mirrored what you say in WindWorks, that playing trumpet takes no more breath than what’s needed in conversation and his demonstrations were amazing.

Yes, that was partially why the whole Singing C approach was developed! Killer video by a legend of our craft.

Ouch and Yikes, sorry to hear Greg. Wishing you a full and fast recovery.

Thanks to you, I continue to have amazing sensations and success in playing–it has been feeling almost effortless ascending up to high C and beyond at any dynamic with minimal movement by tightening from the corners and leaving the middle of my lips/embouchre relaxed.…[Read more]

I’m an amateur comeback player on this journey as well, so I don’t consider myself an authority, but FWIW, my understanding is that the top lip is most important. I have been having success the past couple months with “hiding the red” when setting the mouthpiece on my lips then moving my lips apart (top up and bottom down) as I get the lips and…[Read more]