Thread: How can I safely expand my range on the trumpet?

I've played for almost 3 years, and the highest note I can hit with a soild good sound is a high C. Now, that I'm in high school, I am a lead trumpet in the marching band, and I will be required to audition for jazz. Both roles here will expect me to hit a G above that. How can I expand my range without hurting myself, and how can I expand my endurance in the upper registers? I've talked to my teacher about this already, but I could use more methods.

At least you are not straining to hit them. THat is the worst thing you can do.

I had an instructor in high school who blew out one of his embouchure muscles trying to hit high notes.

First, if you do not have an Arban's trumpet book, I suggest you go out and get one. Any Brook Mays or other good sheet music store will have it.

Arban's is a comprehensive practice book ranging from scales, to endurance and range, to solo pieces. It costs about 30 bucks, but you will use it throughout your entire trumpeting career.

As far as specific exercises to increase your range, start out with playing an E whole note (at the top of the staff of course) nice and slow, and slur up to a G whole note. Repeat 6-8 times slowly. Be sure to use lots of air, and try to vision pointing the air slightly downwards.

IF at anytime, you feel like you are straining, take a five minute break, and practice something a little lower.

As you become more comfortable and more practiced with this, you should be able to switch to Half notes, then quarter, then eighths, and finally sixteenths. when you are practiced at doing this with sixteenth notes, essentially trilling from E to G it will give your lip a great workout that will help your higher range endurance and range in general.

As your range starts to progress, bump it up a whole step, and try to do it at F# to B. Just remember, slow and steady at first, and really center your pitches. Most players tend to go sharp when hitting anything higher than a G (above the staff), so try to do it with a tuner.

Other than that, try to spend a lot of time playing notes that are just below your cut off range. Play lots of G's, B's and some C's. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just practice on playing the notes you CAN hit until your lif gets a good workout.

In other words, treat high notes like weightlifting. Start out at a reasonable place where you feel comfortable playing, and after you build up your embouchure to be at ease playing around C & D, work on E, ect.


Finally, at quick ( and cheating) fix is to get a new mouthpiece. If you are like most trumpet players, you are either playing on a 7C or a 3C piece. A smaller cup size (B, A)in the mouthpiece will make playing higher notes easier. Be careful though, it is easy to use the shallower mouthpieces as a crutch.

Shilke makes great "Jazz" mouthpieces. In High School, I practiced my but off on range and got to around a Double G, but couldn't for the life of me get any higher without having an embolism.

I purchased a Shilke 6a4a mouthpiece, and got up an easy half octave with no strain. I was hitting Maynard Ferguson high!

A word to the wise for shallow mouthpieces--they will make you play Extremely Sharp!, so if you have to yank out that lead pipe about an extra 3/4 of an inch.
Content provided by Yahoo Answers.