Trumpet tip, an approach to range development 

I'm one of my top players at my high school. They gave me 1st part on all my music because of this lesson. Thank you very much

Hi Jon, we miss you very much! What a wonderful teacher you were! I'm sure a lot of us think of you when they play… And : « Remember this is supposed to be fun » was always your motto... Thank you, thank you so much for everything! Rest In Peace...

58 years old, started playing 3 weeks ago due to a dream. Couldn't get hi C. But dang, that spitting seeds thing at the end worked like a charm! Not sure what I was playing, but it sure was high. Thanks!!!

I'm an 8th grade trumpet player (5th chair) a I've been playing trumpet since mid 2011. This has greatly improved my range and it has taken me a long time to find a video that explains it well. I have a 1978 olds ambassador Fullerton calif that belonged to my father, and it can take a beating! And I've found that it is very easy to play high on. Thank you for the lesson

I’ve seen this video before, but had to go back after an Embouchure change, and the popping the note helps because it engages the core for when you to the “top” note

I appreciate how your instructional videos are based in relevance to each player, and the clear way you communicate each concept and step. The other thing very cool about your presentation is, ya got personality. But don't think we're gonna be swapping mouthpieces or anything.

Great video! People always are asking me how to play high and I just tell them to play high. There's no other way to find what works for you. I only practice range when I'm alone in the house. Well, the cat runs and hides!

What a great video on technique over equipment. FWIW, your Olds Ambassador cornet is from the late 1950's or earlier. Either an early Fullerton or a Los Angeles horn. I can tell by the pinky ring and the brace on the third valve slide.

I typically make 3 attempts at the, “next highest note”. Each attempt I concentrate on support, form and hearing what I am playing before I play it. Always get a good sound and do not play so hard or so much you hurt yourself. Be smart. After you find your terminal range then warm down a bit and put the horn away for a couple of hours.

Great session on range studies. Thanks for sharing. Love your very sensible approach

I see this is a very old post but I have just stumbled on it for the first time. I am 62 years old and have been playing trumpet since I was 11. Much of what was discussed here is exactly how I always practice. Even at my advanced age, I still can easily go to double high C and on good days even higher. I totally agree about practicing lip slurs and doing scales chromatically higher, always pushing to go that one more note. I think lip flexibility is extremely important to aid in range and therefore lip slurs should be practiced daily. Something not mentioned here, but I assume it was just a given, that proper warm-up is essential before attempting to play in the upper range. It's analogous to an athlete warming up his body and muscles before a major event. We as musicians have to warm up our lip, diaphragm and other muscles. To warm up, I believe in low, slow and soft. I play long sustained notes softly in the bottom register of the instrument. Then I will start doing some chromatic runs in the low register and then working up to middle C. I throw in some etudes by Clarke. This also warms up your fingers. I then start playing scales working up a half step at a time up to high C. softly at first and then increasing in volume as I feel the lip becoming flexible. Just as in exercising, when warming up, rest is also just as important. I will take a break between each scale or arpeggio run. Breath control is extremely important. I always want to have a reserve in my lungs. Even when I play low and soft, I fill my lungs up fully with all of that potential energy. When I am done playing something, I stop, remove my mouth from the mouthpiece, and then slowly release all of the extra air in my lungs. I then will start playing with full volume and power, again playing scales, lips slurs and arpeggios going up to double high C, resting briefly between each one. I also agree that it is crucially important that you learn every scale and every key and every chord. You cannot become a really serious and excellent player without this knowledge. You can't be afraid to play in any key. Six sharps? No problem! Seven flats? Piece of cake! I think the Clarke Etudes book is one of the best to assist in this and also for finger and tongue agility. So much more, but I've said enough here. LOL

I have that very same cornet with a Blessing 3C MP - it cost me a whopping $100 with a nice Bach case and the MP was about $26. I'm working through a book called Embouchure Builder was is tons of lip slurs, I highly recommend it.

Best range advice I've ever heard.

I think your videos are the best videos on RU-vid for range studies and the explanation of jaw position, tongue, air, etc. I appreciate these a lot. Most guys would offer a teaser and then sell the rest. Thank you!

Diego, Swelling is caused by several things. Lack of practice is one. How much pressure you are using is another. Propper air suport or the lack of proper air support can be another. You also may be playing too loud in the attempt to play high. So if you are using a good approach you will last longer and have less swelling. Practice is the key to learning a good approach.

great playing and fabulous teaching great package well done sir

Hey John! Im a fellow highschooler with big dreams on becoming a professional trumpet player. Currently taking Advanced Placement music theory and Part of my high school Jazz band. I love your videos! you are one of my few inspirations along with eric miyashiro and arturo Sandoval. What i like about you is that having the skill you have with the horn, still manage to give your best advice to the "young player". I would really love for you to make a video on choosing the Right mouthpiece. Ive currently been playing the horn for 3 years and my range is about a D#/Eb above the staff. But i never really thought about mouthpieces and which one works best for me. I take all of your advices very seriously and would appreciate it if you made such a video.

Wonderful vid. I'm in 8th grade and my range is Eb above the staff so hopefully this will help a lot.

Very good presentation and wonderful lesson. I learned a lot. Thanks!

Tongue arch is just one of many techniques to gain range. Used as part of a more comprehensive system, it can be very effective. However, it is not necessary to move your tongue to play higher. Yes, there are some videos of x-rays showing tongue arch, while others show none or very little. Ask a great orchestral player who understands tongue arch this question, "Do you arch the tongue higher as you ascend?" Most great players will answer, "That depends on the music I'm performing and the tone I intend to create." Great players use tongue arch when they want to change the tone more so than an aid to play higher. So how do they play higher then? And higher with a huge Mahler sound? There are answers to these questions.

You're lesions are terrific. Thanks.

As a tuba player trying to get a solid Eb(two bars above the staff), this is extremely helpful! Most brass tips apply to all brass in my opinion.

I have an audition for my major change in a few weeks, and I havebt played in months. These lessons are extremely helpful, thank you!!

Very good question. I have a set that is slightly off center because of the way my teeth are shaped. I also had a catastrophic injury to my lip in 2006. I needed 4 stiches and had to eventually get plastic surgery. I needed to learn to play over again twice. I will do my best to figure out a way to discuss this topic.

I’m 13 and I’m doing my grade 7 and really need to work on my upper range and this will help a lot because I can only just about do a D above the stave on my trumpet thank you

Exceptionally good and informative video - thanks a lot.

I watched this video, went away and played higher notes - just like that! Many thanks for this

Thank you for this long awaited video!

this help to improve my range a lot, maybe now im at a good enough rage to work on joining Drum Corps

My banjo is out every day and after watching a 90 minute best of Bix, this came on and forced me to take out my trumpet case ... empty, my Olds Ambassador trumpet was over on the stand I made under a plastic bag. Had to go over and try to learn something (although playing something was another thing entirely) I've been resisting my wind instruments, one of my clarinets etc. (asthma neb treatments), ditto for the Didg (yidaki et al) Thanks for the insights and re-connection.

Cool sound on your Ambassador Cornet, you should use it again!

Sound Great! great sense of humor too!!!

Hi John . Great to see you again .

Hey man! Loved the video. Funny enough i have the same trumpet and i loveit but i have a 60s ambassador cornet instead of the 70s you have. Sound killin man! Keep it up.

Brilliant advice I’m going to randomly push out any note as I slur up and down with my gut!. 👏👏🎺🎺

This could be due to several things combined or a single event. It could be too much pressure or you are taking the study too far. I recommend doing your study at the end of the day. it should not knock you out of commission 4 hours later. Do not take a day off but do start the next day slow and easy. You might alternate days with studies and intensity. Not every day should be a beating. Range can be appoachecd on several different levels. Alternate intensity from day to day. Good luck. Jon

Awesome presentation. I just love all the insight it's amazing.

Great presentation btw, got some very good advice from your video.

UltimateTechX, Can you play a chromatic scale from your lowest note to your highest without changing your chops? If the answer is no then you will always have problems changing registers.Without seeing what you are doing it is difficult to say it is bad. I think it is important to be able to change registers without excessive shifting or moving things around. This is not an absolute and needs to be carefully approached. You might get with a good upper register payer and have them take a look.

Jung Kim, I have known a few players that play with a completely dry embrasure. They have commented that this allows them to play in all conditions and do not have issues if they go dry. I play wet but don’t think about it. I am sorry that I cannot give you any real information that will help. The only thing I can say is if you play with a wet embrasure it should or normally will remain the same from top to bottom. If you are going dry as you ascend you might have other issues. I wish I had more.

hey kids ! Why is it harder to play high on a flugel? This video is great by the way i've learned to play higher by backing off on the way up

Niklas The fingerings for notes above high C are the same as the fingerings you use for those notes an octave down above 3rd space C in the staff. This is the same on any trumpet. The piccolo is sounding the octave up so fingerings will be the ones for notes in the staff. Check on line for a, “trumpet fingering chart”, if you have any doubts.

The olds ambassador cornet was my first horn also....crazy right?! I have a Kanstul 1503c now

I've used this advice to improve my range and found that using a silent brass mute helped me to preserve my marriage while doing so :-)

Sounds logical to challenge your focus and muscles :)

Your videos are GREAT. Thank! You. Are. The. Man.

thank u very much sir for sharing these knowledge :)

Played concert c scale 2 octave in 6th grade, hit a double C today in 9th grade after watching this, thanks!

This video motivated the fuck outta me man, thanks!

Thanks so much! I have to play first in HS jazz band next year and a high E really isn’t gonna cut it.

Great video

Check out Eric Bolvin he has so very cool improv information.

Hey John I mainly play trumpet and has gotten a shallow mouthpiece as oppose to my regular 7c, is it okay to to use this gear as opposed to a regular mouthpiece and building your range on that. This has been in the back of my mind for a long time and just want to ease my mind a bit since right now I want range like many other trumpet players but feel like I'm cheating a little bit with my mouthpiece. Have a great day sir.

You. Are. Da. Bomb. Great great videos.

It would be great if you could do an improvisation video. (How to improvise better)

Hi John, how often do you think if someone practices everyday (3-4 hours) should see range improvement? Currently my range is a high C, first C above the staff, I feel like I'm getting more comfortable above the staff but I can't seem to ever squeeze out a C#

I have that same exact cornet omg

man thanks this hepls a lot

out of curiosity, have you been a natural player or have you had to overcome embouchure problems?? do you have any clips on proper embouchure set up??

Kentaro M, I hope this helps. It is difficult to become extremely specific about how to approach range without working one on one. Focused air and good support is key.

What is general time frame from beginning to learn to hitting those really high notes, assuming consistent practice? 6 months? 1 year? 3 years?

Around the 5 minute mark I'm confused... when you say learn to back off and learn to control our air, are you saying to eventually NOT use any extra air? And if so, what's the substitute? Or do you mean not to physically push the trumpet to our lips?

You're playing a Bach 3D on that cornet? How is that not a shallow mouthpiece? Or did I get that wrong?

Hey Jon. Can you recommend a good chord/scale book for doing exercises like this?

Hi Jon! I have a question: When im going up obove the C (above the staff), how can I reach the D, E, F and so on? What do I have to press down? (On a piccolo, is it easier to hit them? I know I need to have the range, but is it something I have to push down on the piccolo to reach the notes above the C in the staff (piccolo)?

Hi I just want to thank you for the advice on both this and the technique video you made. I have a question about this. My highest comfortable high note is sadly an A above the staff. If I were to work on this everyday could I potentially have a comfortable high c after the second month. I have an audition in two months that I really want to have a comfortable high c for

Question, do you just stop as soon as you can't get a sound out of the horn?

When I am tired at night but still want to get a session in before bed ( huge difference between early am and late pm practice my chops are tired) ..shall work the chops anyway trying to push the embroucher to the max even tho my sound is suffering, do to a lazy tongue and fried lips with hopes of additional challenge to gain more endurance going forward?

Does dry lip affect playing higher notes like high E and up ?? It happens when I try to play with dry lips ..

Brilliant!

Do comprehensive search on the net and you should find what you need. Let me know if you are not able to find something.

How hard should I press the mouthpiece to my lips??? or does it vary???

After I`ve done my range exercises my chops are practically done for the day,even 4 hours later they are weak.Somebody told me " take a day off ", but tat does not seem to work. HELP!

This is GREAT in theory, but I run out of notes at hi C and when I go for the C# I get an airball or some other crazy shit. I keep trying but more often than not I just end up with mashed lips !! HELP.

Hi John, Excellent video!!! Just one thing I'd like to point out: Though I get what you're describing regarding the good idea of giving the top notes a kick of air (and Claude Gordon had me do that exact thing on various flexibilities), your use of the term "isometric surge" is misleading. Isometric muscle tension is caused when a muscle works against an immovable force, or when antagonistic groups of muscles work against each other causing no movement. In the case of breathing/blowing muscles, any isometric tension would be involving the inspiration muscles working against the expiration muscles. While this type of tension is useful if one is about to get punched in the gut, isometric tension in the breathing muscles inhibits air flow. Best wishes, John Mohan

Could you do a video on how to play chords?

It's basically like that: show your trumpet who's the Boss.

Thank you Chad and flugelman44

heh, I was gonna buy a Stomvi planet crusher trumpet, now I just gonna go through my closet an' look for my Olds cornet..... what's K.O.'s take on this?

Hello sir, I've been playing trumpet for nearly 10 years and I can't go higher than G on the staff, no high C yet. I did everything (slurs, bends, flows, you name it). I play with a centered nice embouchure, not jamming my MP into lips, using lots of air (I can play highest notes on clarinet no problem). For some reason my lips just don't respond for higher notes on trumpet. Is there a chance that my lips structure or facial muscles setup just won't support the higher range on trumpet? For instance you can take as an example 2 similarly built people, one will be a World champion in running, another will be useless in that area.

I believe i have found a RU-vid bug........ the channel name for this video shows all of the channels with videos that I have recently watched........ "LastStandGamersDream Assembly!Dream Assembly!TheXPGamersRufftipsRufftips"...... lol?

I like your tongueing 😄

but.. i want a bobby shew

A Bach 3D should be shallow. A 3 is big, but a D cup is shallow.

6 years and 60K views while the one with the squeaker stuck in #3 slide probably has millions. People don't want to work for it;)

"No, it's not pretty! It's a range study!"

A-motherf*cking-MEN!

🇩🇪🎺👍

If you can't play a middle C the first time you pick up a trumpet then the trumpet is not for you. Range and other brass playing attributes are things you are born with regarding their potential. Or, don't believe and waste a lot of time figuring this out for yourself.

Wow you did a great job !!!!!!!!!!

Great session on range studies. Thanks for sharing. Love your very sensible approach