Hi Ronald,

Thanks for engaging in the post.
I am actually in no rush at all, in fact for the past few days I have even abandoned my normal practice routine (I want to forget about all my old bad habits). I have realized that the benefit of being a comeback player is I have absolutely no obligations. Which means I have plenty of time to invest now on efficient playing without being worried about gigs! It is also great the fact that ego has no role in my case, I have absolutely no need to impress anyone. My air pockets are actually almost non-existent, and I am almost 100% sure they are not the result of overblowing as I have used only the air release approach and have engaged in no abdominal pressure at all. I have just noticed them because in my old way of playing I never had any. My typical embouchure consists of very closed corners and immediate lip pinching as I ascend, so I have a very tense embouchure which blocks any chance of forming air pockets. Fortunately abdominal pressure is something I have never had significant issues with. I remember my teacher back in the days always telling me I had to engage my abdominal muscles to play the trumpet as this stimulates the diaphragm… fortunately I always ignored this advice!! I always felt so uncomfortable every time I tried it. On the other hand, involuntarily I ended up developing the lip pinching since the beginning. This will be my biggest challenge ahead. It is such an ingrained habit! In notes as low as a g above low c I am already doing it. Anyway I am confident this will change now, following Greg’s method very patiently! I will have a more in depth look at the threads you suggest, thanks for that!

Best,
Miguel