Steve,

I get it. You have had some success, but you came here because you knew you were not getting the results you wanted. Consistency, endurance is what you want along with the ability to play all over the horn’s register. This is the right place to be.

I am just playing for fun and the proving to myself I can learn to play better than my high school days. I bought a lot of books and got some good results by going through Claude Gordon’s stuff. I thought I should go from the bottom up as if I were a beginner. I faithfully played through his Physical Approach To Elementary Brass Playing book and Saint-Jacome’s exercises. Lip buzzing when away from the horn and after almost a year I could not play as well as I could in high school. I thought I needed to develop all facial muscles. The best thing I got was Gordon’s tongue level exercises, these seem to help, but playing wasn’t fun and it hurt. Somewhere I picked up the idea that you to roll your lips

Always looking for the best way to play trumpet I came found Greg Spence’s stuff. The first time I went through his first book, I was convinced that this was it. I improved, but I still was where I wanted to be. When Greg started WindWorks, I had free access to the first couple of stages having purchased his first two books. I thought I would go from the beginning. I finally discovered I need to be patient and do not rush through it. I put away all my other materials and stuck with WindWorks along with playing a little out my favorite method book, but not push myself much beyond the notes above the staff. It was until I started working on the allegro stage and trying to play E at the top of the staff without kicking, I found I was using the same embouchure as playing C below the staff without manipulation and a lot of extra tension. Playing a chromatic scale up to G I notice there where small changes in the aperture corners as I ascended with a little more tongue arch. I have played through the Presto stage. I not in that part of the course yet, but I have tested myself and playing High C and D is no big deal loud or soft. What I am amazed that I can play a high C softly and slowly crescendo and then decrescendo.

The biggest enemies are overblowing, over muscling the chops and tensing up the abdominals too much. It is not about building muscular chops and abs. Don’t buy into, no pain – no gain. That is even out with muscle building. Keeping the correct form is more important and much safer.

Be patient don’t obsess over the exercises, work on something using the practice charts, check off what you can do today and put Greg’s stuff away for tomorrow. Play some easy stuff later in the day such as pleasing melodies, stuff that will not reinforce poor habits.

Be patient with yourself.

This is wonderful Ronald, thanks for your input and enthusiasm. Greg