I intended posting a very long list of issues on Thursday but when I pressed submit lost the lot because of an internet problem. This was one of my issues. I am also finding I am playing on the red of the lips and working toward a bigger mouthpiece. I sometimes do the early exercises on trombone. This way I really feel the lips vibrate. I find when doing the MtoM exercises on trumpet I finish off a note by pulling down the lower lip to make the aperture more open to maintain the sound. This happens in normal playing and sometimes in process. When I have this lower lip position early in my normal practise high notes are much easier but it tires rapidly. Having discovered the Ultimate level I have gone back to square one(again) to try to solve this problem before moving on. I have made hand written notes on every video ensuring I am not missing anything. Having watched the videos to the point of quoting verbatim I still missed things. I am being absolutely thorough as I still feel I am not eradicating tension above the stave. Using the visualiser I know I am getting a good aperture corner setting. Years of tucking on the lower lip is hard to eradicate. I am playing better than ever and beyond up to G, and now Ab has the same freedom (but not daily in the Singing C exercise), but after that the tension suddenly kicks in and either I clamp or the chops go to this weird open position and playing high and very high is easy for a short time. The problem then becomes one of manipulation to get the open position and pivoting and pushing the jaw forward to produce false positions and it collapses. Staying calm and backing off is helping but the instinct is to go for it. I still use a lot of pressure. A more consistent normal high note position is developing. However, this is when I find the crescendo exercise in the singing C sometimes causes the sound to collapse. Is that a common problem?
These issues have led to a fresh mouthpiece safari. Bigger gets the right chop position and the best sound but other problems come into play. I have a friend who has always played on, or the equivalent of, a Schilke 24. His range is beyond triple c. He annoyingly proves each time we meet to play duets. Other friends are going smaller. Greater choice is greater confusion but as I have a scar on the playing spot comfort is important and I have one mouthpiece which is not the best but is the most comfortable. My favourite mouthpiece irritates the scar area sometimes and that undermines confidence. Pressure on the lower lip, as in the position with the red of the lower lip pulled down, seems to take some pressure off the top lip, which helps.
I feel the whole thing is an embouchure change. Is that the target?
There are moments when amazing things happen proving something different is happening and it is good. Really enjoying the challenge.