DEVELOPING & MAINTAINING A HIGH REGISTER

There is a distinction that must be made between developing a good high register, maintaining it and then bringing it into the world of "reality". It is so true that playing demands for a professional brass player entail many requirements. One of them surely is loud middle and low register playing.

At the level of beginners up and through high school, where range begins to develop, the speed of this development would be so much quicker if these early times did not consist of loud middle and low register playing, resulting in such a wide aperture. As in my previous post, playing the middle and low registers "with maximum lip aperture" will ensure that the high register is either non-existent or achieved by "smashing the lips" with too much mouthpiece pressure to increase "compression" (the aperture control category)OR using the antiquated approach of "smiling" to ascend.

In the world of "reality" for the beginners in Middle School and on into High School, the music itself is mostly in the low mid-range of the instrument, especially trumpet, and one is caught in between this development stage and performance where there seems be a contradiction.i.e. "How do I develop a range when the low and middle registers require so much energy and air at such a loud volume?" Remember, the upper register requires far less air then the low and middle registers, but more air "force", so where will the energy go if you had the choice?

First of all, a compromise must me made in these early days of embouchure development that the teacher must realize. Dynamics must be stressed! Using the "rule" of CRESCENDO TO ASCEND, DECRESCENDO TO DESCEND, make sure that the brass players don't "blow it all" on the low register. Do not insist that this register be the student's biggest sound or his/her biggest volume of playing. The music may calls for this, but make all registers and volumes(dynamics)RELATIVE.

It has been said that "Anyone can play loud!" and I concur. If we keep the volume of the Middle and Low registers "relative" to any crescendo to ascend, the student's range will increase rapidly and logically, allowing the lip aperture to open and close with purpose and not "struggle" randomly and unconsciously by illogical and foolish use of the middle and low register.

Professonal players take heed: if you are struggling to DEVELOP a good high register or simply trying to MAINTAIN what you have without certain playing demands "cutting into" your present high register, everything said here also applies to you. The category of LIP COMPRESSION is so closely related to LIP APERTURE that further Posts concerning RANGE will have a plethora of information regarding these two "brothers/sisters"...possibly "twins". Stay tuned!

Dave

POST OF A COMMENT RE: LIP APERTURE

Thomas said:

1. What doesn't make sense is what one must do if the music demands fortissimo in the middle/lower register and then slurs up to the upper register.

2. How is it possible to maintain a small aperture in the lower register if the music asks for fortissimo?

3. Lastly, if a middle C at mezzo-piano is the same aperture size as a forté top C, what size aperture does a fortissimo high C+ require? I have no problems whatsoever playing softly and performing "squeakers" in the high register. I can do this endlessly. But when the music demands loud, fortissimo playing in that register I am forced to mash, presumably because the louder dynamic demands more air, which in turn demands a wider aperture.

My comment:

Thomas,

Thanks for your questions. In developing a high register what I posted on "How to play the low register correctly" is in the area of DEVELOPING a high register. And of course, a performance or etude requirement will invariably require a loud middle and even a loud low register. So musical demands must be met...however, consistently playing with this wide open aperture to accomplish this is detrimental to going high again out of this. So many loud rock trumpet players have a hard time with the upper register as a result. Their daily practice MUST consist of soft middle register playing "bring the lips closer".

So PRACTICE with this aperture principle in mind, but by all means "let the punishment fit the crime" when the loud middle and registers are called for.

An accomplished player CAN play loud with a "controlled" aperture and that is quite an art. I will certainly have more to say in my next post regarding this and also about the detrismental "dropping the jaw to descend"s habit.

One more answer to Thomas as to the aperture control above high C (C+)...this is controlled by using "lip compsression" which will be addressed fully in later posts.

Dave

Summary so far to develop RANGE

While preparing the next post, this "summary" of the previous post will emphasize and re-iterate specific points that will assist range development.


Never play the middle and low registers with maximum lip aperture.
Never "tongue" between the lips and teeth at any time in any range (what range?)
Start the beginner on a middle Bb if possible from the HOW TO BUZZ guide (see earlier posting) and for the more advanced player, make this note his/her "pivotal point" in range to ascend and descend from there.