How To Increase Trumpet Range Answers
Why improve trumpet range? Range is personal, it is a constant work in progress, indicator of our playing health, and for good reason can really enhance or disrupt our performance. In our last post we explored the “why” of range in order to understand what we need to improve. This week we look at three strategies to increase our range in the way that will uniquely work best for you.
High Range Practice
There are a continually growing number of method books for high range. One book will not answer all your questions. There are a multitude of ways you can approach practicing range – buying all the books won’t necessarily help either. Denis Wick advised students to start working with what they are successful with. Do you find quick success with articulation studies and technique? Then start with a book that works on range through technique studies. Good at lip slurs? Find a quality method that uses lip slurs to build range and strength, like Colin Lip Flexibilities. Starting with what you naturally do well and efficiently is your best path to approaching range with success and balance.
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Trumpet Range Products
A good mouthpiece will support your range through efficient design and good sound production. With this additional support you may find your ability to increase your range by a note or 2. Mouthpieces promising to boost your range are most likely a waste of your time.
Do I need a shallow mouthpiece for better range? No. First you need to understand how a trumpet mouthpiece supports your embouchure. The rim of the mouthpiece holds your embouchure in place, so the wider the diameter of the rim the more lip is left free to vibrate. The more vibration you get, the more sound. A smaller diameter leaves less lip free to vibrate. While this leaves less embouchure for you to support, it also diminishes the amount of vibrating lip area and can stifle your sound. You need to find a good “home base”, all-use trumpet mouthpiece on which you can play your complete range. A shallow mouthpiece is a tool that you must learn how to use.
- Find your Home Base. You need a mouthpiece that allows you to play easily in all ranges and all styles. The Denis Wick American Classic 3C and 1.5C are a popular “home base” for many players and worth trying if you have not found your home base yet.
- Shallow Mouthpieces are a tool to assist the range you own on your home base. The Denis Wick Classic 4X, and Heritage 4X are top sellers for shallow, range supporting, mouthpieces because they provide support while encouraging big sound. Beware of mouthpieces that diminish the mouthpiece diameter and throat too much as this produces backpressure and squeezed sounds. Your high range will have a more projecting sound, but it must still be a sound that people want to hear.
Trumpet Range Resources
There are a lot of fantastic resources out there. Sign up for Denis Wick Tips for Trumpet players and receive our newest advice and insights from our trumpet community. Trumpet Herald is a great place to find answers to all your trumpet questions from a large community of trumpet players.
As you search resources on Google, YouTube, Forums, etc., make sure you look for quality sources. We are a big fan of Estela Aragon’s Trumpet Headquarters site and the advice she offers on range and performance. Just like any other music you are learning, listening to quality performer playing in the range you are trying to attain is key.
Don’t forget your ear needs to direct your muscles so it needs to know what your tone should sound like in the higher range. I would argue that 50% of range problems are caused by players relying on air and muscles alone, and only using their ear to determine if they hit the note. Always let your tone and ear lead. Range is built with slow, intention-filled steps and promises of any other vehicle to your goal should be avoided.
