Revisiting my tips about playing tight! ACB Mini-Lesson #64

Why would you want to play tight? Well, I'll show you! In this video, I re-visit some of these concepts and how to use this approach to help shrink the perceived distance between the registers of the trumpet!

I'm building on my previous mini-lesson #26:    • Trent Austin Mini-Lesson  #26:  Playi...  

1:24 When you first start playing trumpet it can take a lot of effort to change partials. This can lead to using too much motion and shifting to make the different notes come out.

3:06 Try to eliminate the "chewing gum" motion. We may not be able to eliminate all motion, but we can minimize it. I consciously use some aspects of the Reinhardt pivot concept to minimize stress on my embouchure, but moving too much is inefficient.

4:25 Instead of doing fast lip slurs, do a slow bend and wait for the next note to snap into place. Try to get that to the point of almost zero motion.

5:28 Check out one of the only books we sell at ACB for this exercise: https://www.austincustombrass.biz/spe... I always add a large leap at the end to remind myself that the "low range" and the "high range" aren't that far apart. Think of the amount of effort it takes to play a note at either end of the piano keyboard, it's the same.

6:24 It can actually take less effort to play high notes on trumpet than low notes. We have to focus on the smallest of motions to make it happen. Really try to shrink the motion.

7:24 Check out this example of playing Clarke 3 incorrectly and correctly. I'm thinking of a flat, linear plane, not a lot of big shifts. Of course there's movement, but keep it minimal.

8:00 Another good book to check out is "Flexus" by John McNeil and Laurie Frink. But you can also apply this concept to the exercises in the Arban's book.

It's easy to slip into inefficient habits, so it's important to get familiar with playing efficiently. I still have to check myself on this from time to time. Happy practicing!

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