“…If I do the singing C series, I will have to play my standard way which is not with a true Maaoohhh lip setting. This is kind of where I got confused before, thinking, well I’m just doing what I normally do so nothing will change…”

For me, the majority of the benefit of WindWorks has been the “Maaoohhh lip setting”.

That is, in my opinion, the cornerstone of this whole thing.

I am not a pro player, my livelihood is not dependent on my playing so I have the luxury of letting everything go and trying new thhinngs–I had nothing to lose and yet it still was hard to let go because of ego, history, etc.

I think you’re right, you’re not going to get much benefit from using your existing setup and just focusing on taking the BCH breath, not kicking air, etc.

In my humble opinion, for me, the BCH is all secondary to the concept of not clamping in the middle and not kicking air to go higher. Shape determines pitch, air determines volume. However, less is more–it seems I have the best sensations when I tighten only as much as necessary (which seems to be logical).

Greg has recommended to pro players to play their gigs on their current setup but try the Mmmmwwwwaaaaaahhhhhhooooooohhhhhh setup when doing WindWorks. Again, it’s easy for me to make a suggestion as I have nothing to lose. But it works. I’m still on this journey as well and am still learning, but I am using a much more “forward” lip position than I thought possible–I had always thinned out my lips, clamped them down and pivoted as I played; eventually running out of lip and I had no endurance and could never rely on my chops. I always seemed to have the least endurance even though I practiced more than the guys around me in high school.

I have limited time to practice and am just an amateur/hobby player doing this for personal satisfaction, but I feel like I finally get it and I don’t get too tired to play a note anymore. I do get tired toward the end of my practice sessions, but I usually go up to at least high C towards the end just to make sure it’s still there, and it always is.

I don’t have that old sensation of only being able to play the notes I want to (top of my range) for a limited time, then it going away; that doesn’t happen anymore.

The sensation I have now is that I’m playing much more efficiently and if I put more time in I would get more out of my practice than ever before and I am.

Other key things that helped me mentally was the fact that notes are MUCH closer the higher we ascend, that less air is required the higher we go and octaves–I realized that I had years of Clarke 1 in me in which I would tense up as I ascended chromatically.

Focusing on octaves and noticing how little effort difference there is between a G below the staff, a G on the staff and a G above the staff, helped me do octaves to notes I never could hit before simply by tightening the aperture and relaxing my throat / being willing to miss.

Then, once I gained confidence, I began doing Clarke chromatics again and feel like I know them for the first time now.

It’s easier than we think, the notes are there–we don’t have to do as much as we think, just a subtle tightening of the lips from the corners and not overblowing.

Also, harmonic slurs have been a big help–starting with F# (123) below the staff, I can ascend in control to C# above high C now and can do that until 1st or 2nd valve before I start realizing I’m overblowing/kicking. I’ve touched double G a number of times and even have hit double A accidentally but I’m trying not to push range too much right now I want to solidify the sensation / feeling I’m having and coordinating my air with my aperture/lip tension and focusing on my sound. I figure the range will come.

I’m also focused on growing my ability to do dynamics and my endurance/flexibility and trying to play more music–I caught myself doing the “Gladiator Trumpet” thing and just beating myself up and not having any fun, not enjoying the sound, etc.

And it seems that playing music gives me a better context for the techniques I’m trying to accomplish (i.e. articulation, slurring, having a resonant sound); playing musically seems to be a validation or test that what we’re doing is right, most efficient, etc.

Good luck / hope my experience is helpful, for what it’s worth.