See The Trumpet’s Upper Resistel thod fo SMR GUL ogee fing by Jay D. ZornABOUT THE AUTHOR ey ZORN was born and raised in New York City and is well known throughout both the performance and Yducntion f10lds 1n nusic. He appeared ss trumpet soloist with the Darmstadt Orchestra and the Orchestra in Germany, and in the United States he performed with the ‘Anerican Opera hestra, the Bolshoi Ballet-Orehestra, the Hartford Syaphony, the New Briton Symphony, the + Symphony, and the New York City Symphony. For several years Dr. (Zorn was in charge of mble activities at the Riverside Church in New York with Virgil Fox as organist. versi gorn vas active in Air Force music as @ cornet soloist and later as Assistant BandLender-Con~ che taned United States Air Forces in Europe Band in Wiesbaden, Gefmany. | Ho also organs veces, and played Lruapet WIth tie USAFE Brass Enseable which won ‘the Europoan erittes! ee sree senting outstanding concerts in famous castles, ealhedtals, and Eoncert halla through= wet Borope and the United Kingdon. Ta u br. Yorn holds degrees £rom the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (O.M-H.), Colunbia University QA.) ana University Sehool of Music (D.M.E.), lis trumpet teachers included William Vacchtano, fur willdans, and Carl Ruggerto, He has directed bands and orchestras at the’ high lege level and 1s presently Professor of Music Education at the University of Southern nool of Music in Los Angeles: PyPART 1 Background Information Wi co up? Gvaposers and arrangers are making ever increasing demands for the modern truapet slayer to pla Digher and higher. These desande are put upon every area of trumpet playing: ble band Jaze, rock ensemble, symphony orchestra, television ahow orchestra, congert band, brass chaaber misic ensenbe, tnd even solo recital, The stage band or lab band movement in the Anorican high schools and eol- leges, lately, has added a new lepotvs for trumpet players to acquire upper register proficiency st ‘n increasingly earlier stage of development, Seventh grade stage bands comprised of 12 year olds are mot at all rare in good public school systems, THE HIGH "C" SOUND BARRIER High "e" (C5 written--sounding BbS-932 eps) has been the sound barrier until the 20th century. There is one exception, during the short period of the late Baroque (1720-50) when upper register playing flourished. Several compositions of Bach, Torelli, Molter, etc. of this period were written for specific high register artists in mind, These rare artists, incidentally, had to perform consis- tently above high C6, often as high as G6 concert pitch. This type of scoring, however, even in that period was rare. ‘The great Crumpet study method of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Arban Method, contains no notes higher than the written high C6. THE JAZZ INFLUENCE In the earlier 1920's, jazz artists began improvising higher and higher and began to break the “nigh C barrier". The jazz influence probably did more to usher in a new era of upper register playing than any other influence, ‘The big band jazz movenent of the 1930's and 1940’ 5 continued this trend and made ney demands for the trumpet player to play higher and louder. Twentieth century symphonic composers, partly influenced by jazz and partly by the perfection of the modern trumpet, began to score trumpet parts above the high CO. PSYCHOLOGICAL READINESS FOR THE UPPER REGISTER Playing in the upper register requires a great deal of confidence. The player must skillfully co- ordinate many sets of muscles during the formation of breath support; throat arch, sir stream, embouchure, lip aperture, and mouthpiece pressure. ‘The achievement of these tasks is similar to the coordination involved in those of a test pilot, race driver, high wire artist, pro-golfer, or even a surgeon. were confidence will not suffice. The confidence must be backed up with knowledge, an understanding ve the mechanics involved, a great deal of patient practice, and honest personal assessment. These all add up to produce confidence--a trust in one’s ability. fe way to success, doubt "iJ! ereep in and out, mingled with confidence. 11 aone, the wey iocoread aore thon snnwcenrseul-aies, cont idence wit) begin to o theugh doubt will always remain Lo sone extent, hore are fow arkints who dy aot I greatest of then have fears, doubts, and are just plain scared a grout dl deeret is that they have learned to control their instrument so well thet not interfere with their performance, UNIVERSID4 doubts are subjective interpretations of feelings within the individual,’ Try to control Sehavior or performance and the fears will diminish. Plan ahead prior to a performaice. The real ork is alvays dose in the practice room, This is‘ the place where doubts aro best dealt with and dismissed, In developing the upper register, reinforce only successful experiences. bo sot pracy tice with a poor tone: Stop and find out why 1t is poor. Do not practice on a) tired! eabouchure oa eRe tally tired. There are times when nothing goes |well--don’ t attempt men you are physically oF mentally psleells te Gite? oper register practice at these times. Other tines (every performer 1s familiar Ching seens to work perfectly. This is the {deal time to work into the upper Fegister. FEAR OF THE UPPER REGISTER | Xe 1s sad to admit, but many players have developed a strong fear of playing in the upper register. The source of this fear may possibly bo focused on teachers or fellow trumpet players who have perpetuated the myth that playing in the upper register is extremely difficult and should only’ be attempted by a few professionals. Many teachers have delayed for too long the introduction of the oper range. Public school music {s also to blame. Upper register playing |is a rarity for the Second and third chair player. | | Overcoming the fear of playing in the upper register for advanced players {s| often difficult, as they are conditioned to become tense and give up as soon as leger Lines appear jin their parts. The Printed high mote usually siguals that old fear. One help would be upper register practicing with- out music. Study No. 11, for example, requires only valves 1-3 to play up a major 6th. ‘The player Peed not know to which noteshe is actually climbing. This is a successful technique used by Singers. Young players are a different matter. Thoy should not have developed any previous fears of the wher register. They should be encouraged to systematically explore the upper range as soon as pos- Sible. Beginning students can play # high C6 practically froa the start, although they can’t sustain it at first. ' “Even first year players can perform Nos. 1-4 of this book. Second year players should try playing up to No. 6. Remember,’ they don't have to read the notes to play the sounds! A WORD OF CAUTION TO ALL PLAYERS! tofore attempting the upper register, be sure to WAR UP PROPERLY. Perhaps the best tine to prac- Hee in the upper register 4s just after the first warm up of the day when the enbouchure 1s fresh. Do not attempt practicing these upper register exercises after a rehearsal or practice session when the embouchure is tired, since straining and excessive mouthpiece pressure is bound to occur. Practice {£ the lip or throat 45 included with these studies (page ‘eister exercises or wheneyer the lip id in relaxing the embouchure after REST OFTEN between upper register studies and be ready to suspend muscles feel too tight or tensed. A short “RELANER” exere is 11). The RELAXER should be played after every set of upper rej begins to tense. Any other low register playing will also a! upper register practice. wepaarefat NOT 70 oVERiD practiog tn the upper reglater. The ssount of time spent practising in the tee abeee oe dec aearte: depends on each player’ stage of development. Pot playern in the fisee Fre caren ot Getelomment, 3 to 8 minutes a dey will suffice. Intermediate players should ere for Minutes 2 aasee a day. ‘Advanced and professional players probably should not apend nore then an Tactater reg emacticing in the upper register. Reneaber, the develomment of a consistent upper register requires years to build. | Fi BREATH SUPPORT ' | Adequate breath support is of great importance tn Decoses even more important during upper register p register, greater resistance is met due ti ouchout all phases of trumpet playing, but tt erformance. As the player moves to the upper © the combination of many factors: air velocity speeds up, oral cavity becomes smaller as the throat is arched, lip aperture gets smaller, lips vibrate fe 1, sir stream 1s smaller, and the nodes producing the partials becuse shorter and more nume Unless the breath support is increased when moving to the upper register, the {oa will got and more pinched and finally cease,practicing for the upper register, each inhalation should be long and slow. sari ave ahould contract dommmard, expanding the +10 eugs_outvard and ward, tnerperienced trompet players 1s that thelr intalation te-aueh too seal aed cretion player to experience the fll oxtent of hls inhalation poanibilition, ne ahoslé tay tating © double breath. ‘Thin is asco] ished hy inhling long, dep breth-cholding it-ihen Ineling ton nore Sucking sn as sich breath ap poveible before playing, After the Dlayer bas teqired ¢fasling for lon carecity, the process should be ascelerted, tisine for one abi deep bret, In The diaphragn muscles ‘A common fault observed in For the Exhalation requires a great deal of control in the upper register to handle the greater volune and resistance of the air columa. In exhalation, the diaphragm misc) held firm} ' walation, the digphraga muscles are held firmly--never relaxed=- While the abdominal muscles around the diaphragm contract, pushing the coluan uprard. THROAT ARCH The function of the throat arch in the oral cavity is often overlooked by developing trumpet players. Moving to the upper register, the back of the tongue is arched upward similer to changing the vowel sounds from “‘ah" to fee". This action makes the volume of the oral cavity sanller, resulting in & more concentrated air strean that offers more resistance to the air column. Care should be taken not to tighten the throat, neck, or chest suscles when arching the back of the tongue. EMBOUCHURE AND LIP APERTURE In general, the enbouchure formation for playing in the upper register is essentially the sane as for the middle register. ‘The corners of the mouth remain firm. The lip aperture or buzzing area, however, becomes smaller es one moves to the upper register. Conversely, the Hip aperture or buzzing area becones larger when moving to the lower range. The lip aperture is affected by dynamic level. Playing softly modifies the lip aperture slaghtly by closing {t; playing loudly enlarges the ap- erture slightly. ‘the circular museles around the wouth (orbicularis oris) contrack when moving to the unper register re cerca en moving lover, The sein control points for this set of muscles are at the corners and roles wen Mdrofore, when woving to the upper register, the corners of the mouth contract and OF ee aoa on rmgr most players a stretching of Ue Ips, or anfling, for the uoper range becomes fons to this principle. ore im van contracting the corners. There are of course exceptions to this princip esa effectual then sontt‘ct ite hay comaradict statements In thie book; horever, the method by There are aaceye thelr goals may be Nighly individualized and can rarely be transferred to another player. i | ' MOUTHPLECE PRES SURE norease sn mouthpiece pressure 18 norasl when moving to the apper register. ost players, how: fn ancrenne in noutnt oe Tega nach preseure in the lor and middle regiaters. Tey find that when rer teat eelsppe refioter the added pressure becones intolerable, The serious trompet student aor eae ing Lees pressure in all rangeendaeving the nein pressure for the woer rexiaten, soutd work sf WM say to the botton 1p. For most enbouchures, the increase of pressure eed tn i arietfnly to the lover Lip and pot to both Lips equally. Added pressure on the Sscending 2 aa ae going th Lip apertare while alloring the upper io to keep on vibrating tower Lip tends ¢5 8 Maclnte the paver stouLd pu a tone without Ute noutapiece or instrunent, Te denonstre’* Tr with pressure firat on the top lip. Eheb on tne botton 119, The pressure siied placing one tinea! Ticend to atop the buzzing, the preasure added to the Botton Tip wilt tend to to the to stan higher while the busting continues freely. wxeess pressure, The lips are amazingly | in all registers. DEPARTAMENTI M USIGA FacutraD UNIVERSIOADTHE MOUTHPIECE AND THE UPPER REGISTER ster. Of sil the usually has a direct effect on the production of the upper registi ; embouchure, Lip aperture, mouthpiece pressure, mouthpiece ‘The search for the ultimate in careful Isiables, (oroath support, throet arch ce TRutningne) the woothpiecs's essiest to manipulate and change cerouenpicce usually continues throughout the entire career of most trunpet performers. : Tistening, an understanding of the mechanical functions of each of the parts of the mouthpiece, an fuillingness to intelligently experiment will enable the perforner to find the right combination ce wilt snabie im to play up to the sasinun of bis potential. The following discussion on mouth- pieces may provide sone useful working generalizations: INSIDE RAM DIAMETER In general, a larger than eedium inside rim diameter (for instance larger than a Bach IC) will aid most players in the upper register, The larger diameter enables the lips to ove more freely, to close in on the 1ip sperture. An inside ria diaseter that 1s too small inhibits lip movesent and the player is left with the only option of mouthpiece pressure to close the 11D aperture. As previously mentioned, excessive mouthpiece pressure causes fatigue. Also, the larger liiside in dinactor usually aids dn the production of a bigeer tono, with more carrying power, It iso affords less vesisLuuee Chan the smaller dimoter. Of course, if the inside rim dianeter Le too large, the tone will spread, and the lips will get no aid from mouthpiece pressure in closing the Lip aperts ‘cuP_DE In general, the deoper the cup depth the warmer or darker the tone quality. Conversely, the shallower the cup depth the brighter the tone quality. A player who uses the upper register & great deal should experinent with a mouthpiece that is a Little more shallow|than medium. Honever, since depth is closely related to cup volume, the player should consider the dynamic level at which he needs to play. A aouthpiece that is too shallow will cut down on the dynamic intensity of his playing and his sound in the upper register will be thin. This type of playing, incidentally, may be what is noeded for the performance of chamber music and especially Baroque music. Nany professionals use screw rim mouthpieces to which they attach different underparts depending on the type of playing they are to do. For light chanber music they use a shallower cup depth. For Jarge ensemble performance with upper register parts, they use a slightly deeper cup. The rim, of course, renains the same | i SUP VOLUME The cup volume is dependent on the combination of the inside rim diaxeter and the cup depth. In general, the larger the cup volume the louder and fuller the tone; the smaller the cup volume te softer and thinner the tone. Cup volume also seems to affect the general control of the instrument. Extrenes of either too large or too small a cup volume for a particular player seem to sake clear articulation difficult, wake sure the mouthpiece you choose sounds good with various types of articulation and dynamic intensity before you kecept it. \ TE THROAT. The throat is the hole through the center of the cup and is made by @ standard drill Size. Every serious trumpet player should purchase a set of drill bits fron No. 25 to 28." With those drill bits he can acasure the throat size of almost any trumpet mouthpiece. In general, {¢ & throat {s too small, loud playing will he wore difficult, the resistance will be too grexe, tose quality will be thin, and the upper rex{ster will tend to block off. If the throat te too open then ‘ot enough resistance will be met and the tone will be too “spread”. Difficulty will be experienced 1n sustaining long phrases, endurance will be shortened and soft playing will be tore difficult, test professional mouthgtece mifactu‘or are using dit sizes of Ws 28 or 26 for the ans Splager Fade that ene sf bie favorite sothplecet fas «Uae tet seam eevee ema if dncine ie up nth "hand etme” watts at wot barges stan, tn matt EA TF Stoutacturer and have It opened to on F111 size atest. Most me produces asa cena nese posely produced with a saaler then average throat 40 that yous sievers oil tiny nonce Professionals can always open thea up. Vincent Bach, the famous manufacturer, used te sen ten Teaser and a fev drill bits around with bia. Yhen aeeting an advanced player with one of ble aqeen aise, he told manure the throat and usually reas tt open to ome sian access ane Segegeatth layine i apparent Angediately. ‘The upper register becomes tore powerful, ustlonlantie estas and often the intonation becones better. amet? i \ | ‘RIM CURVATURE The rim curvature | The degree of roundness of the bite does: matter of the player's comfort. teeth and amount of mouthpiece pressure he uses. of pressure (perhaps excessive) However, 8 the roundness, sharpness, oF bite of the inner and outer rim. n't seem to affect the quality of the sound, but 1s more @ How sharp n rim he player uses often dopends on the shape of his BACKBORE, ‘The backbore is the back end of the mouthpiece and the flare into the mouthpiece receiver Of the instrument. A more closed backbore, in gereral, offers more resistance and makes louder playing more difficult than a more open backbore. The amount of flare of the backbore seens slso to Affect the projection or carrying power of the tone, Astraighter, less flared backbore that is also medium wide seems to favor the upper register’ s resonance and projection. LENGTH OF MOUTHPIECE SUANK On every trumpet there is @ mouthpiece receiver, and on the inside. the start of the leadpipe. Apparently, the gap between the end of the mout start of the leadpipe 1s critical to fine performince anc a clear upper register. If the gap is too wide the tone will sound “stuffy” in both the high and low registers. According to Bob Reeves, mouthpiece manufacturer, the gap should not measure more than 3/16ths of an inch and should not be less than 1/32nd of an inch, The mouthpiece should not fit exactly against the leadpipe. If the gap is too small the upper register may sound fouey, but the middle and low registers will play well. If the gap is between 1/92nd of an Anh and preferably not wider than 1/Ath of an inch, the tone will sound clear in all registers. piece shank and the ‘The gap between mouthpiece shank and leadpipe can easily be measured, Place your mouthpiece all way into the receiver and put a pencil mark on the mouthpiece at the end of the receiver. Th gives you the penetration of your mouthpiece. To find out where the leadpine starts, place a thin object, such as a new pencil before it 4# sharpened, into the receiver until 1t stops at the lead- pipe obstruction. Then place a mark on this object to find its penetration, Transfer both measure- ments to a sheet of paper and measure the difference between the tro, since there is no standard receiver nor standard mouthptace Length, the gan between the aouthptece since en oe oe che leadpipe will vary between instruments ani between mouthpieces. (hr. Bob and the ser oe idgevood Pl., Hollywood, allfornis, manufactures a set of shanks to enable meevese se pitt ingtrosents and mouthpieces and obtain the correct gap.) In addition to shanks epeleane other nee to obtain the prover eam, T¢ our anutpiece sinks fone (ene sor! you could file the end of He Fovgoutiiece ahank 1s too short (Eap too wie), you could swell the with the proper ‘iver atightiy or again obtain a now mouthpiece with a Longer shank. ‘AVOID FADDISH MOUTHPIECES the serious player should svoid faddish mouthpieces that have extreme characteristics such as ex- Teome double cups, cushion rims, hyperbolic contour shapes, ete. If these really worked, they trent Ae used by most of the successful artists, but you will find thet their usage is Limited to a wouMiplayer with @ strange problem. Often these faddish devices seen to nid the uppor register in The firat few monents they are tried, usually Sn the music store, After a few days, however, other jroblest aleost alvays show up. The best advice in selecting a mouthniece is to purchase a reput~ vite brand, such 25 Reeves, Gush, Shi*kr or Bach, to name Just « few, DEPARTAMENTO « MUSICA FACULTAD DB AR} UNIVERSIDAD OE Ny,The Trumpet 1 the culprit, The evidence is en thines eo wfone most players will tend to blane the trumpet os renee see eeiee sal reason for the neattost problon. Look firat to the mouthpiece, then to ee ae are aoe reata Supooets (Garant wrch, rir strent, eniguabure, and Up eoareure)s if secant eee cesee of your problon, then you sre Justified in examining gour present inatri- nent. aracteristics of different trumpets, es- There are of course dramatic differences in the playing characteristics of pecially in the area of intonation, blit tone quality, endurance, etc., rarely are aided radically fh a change of instrument. Changing trumpets can be very costly compared to changing mouthpieces. ¢, make sure you understand exactly what you are seeking when you change lnstruments, Rex ost trumpet players are called upon to play in many types of groups, (symphony big band Jaz, small jazz conbo, chamber brass ensemble, that it isn’t so specialized that it can only be used e design. erefi mber too, thi orchestra, soloist with piano or organ, etc.), When choosing an instrument, make sure cecea With one type of trumpet style. In other words, don’t choose an instrument with an exts The following are a few generalizations that may he of some we in selecting an instrument: HORE The hore is the dianeter of the Lubing used throughout Lhe instrument and is usually measured AL the cylindrical section around the tuning slide. Most manufacturers make their instruments with several different size bores, from small to large. In general, the larger the bore, the less the resistance, the smaller the bore, the thinner the tone and the greater the resistance. For light, delicate playing, as in chamber groups, small jazz combos and solo work, the medium-small or medium bore is found to be well suited. For the large symphony orchestra or large jazz ensemble, the large bore might be best. However, since most players rarely specialize in any one of these areas, a small compromise may enable a player to fit his instrument to a wider variety of styles. The medium and medium-large bores are the twa sizes preferred by the majority of top professionals for jazz work as well as for symphony work. In general, if one has to play high and loud, the medium-large bore will probably be best suited. If one has to play high, but not too loudly, the medium bore may be tiore comfortable. GLA SIZE Ag with bore. sizes) mumfas( arene” uatelig aye alenbese Uae oF Lasttoeenes wth oy ral bell size from/sesll to tereei the acces ear (hel tall vice pen qetiee aed Eee Gating Dinilar to bore size, Jao, 2atgs tells aste 1 casfer to play dark and loud; snail belie thie. and soft, In general, tho ball 9470 affects the volume of sound mora than the quality of tone. There- fore, one may vary the size of the pore with Lhe slzo of the bell. The trond among a great many sroreei uate/AH) toast wedi Grima ens iacgal tara th seis Ge eet) Wee een eye Ghanber sic performance s better combination sight be to use a aediun-laree tore with eanaen sioe'bel1. "Tite eonblusCied Will’ ¢tvaluthouerateiyianel Cares i eeuel tie aba vere: OMIER VARIADLES There are, of course, many other variables in designing a trumpet, such as the type of brass or other metal used, the length of conical versus cylindrical tubing, the placement of braces and water keys, the type of finish (silver, gold, lacquer, unfinished) the bell reinforcement, (ringing, or dead bell) and the type-of valves or pistons. All these Variables affect the char. acteristics of the trumpet to a lesser degree than bore size and bell size- U1GH PITCHED TRUNPETS The Bb trumpet {8 the most popular trumpet used throughout most of the western musical world, It is the one that has been most highly perfected, 1 ‘inly because of its sroat market with the school band musician. Thore are, however, trunpets! manufactured tn meng different pitches. Bvery trumpet player should make an effort to play these other instrumente, Wost of then are smaller and higher pitched than the traditional Bb trumpet! They are not neccer | sarily easier to play in the upper register. In fact, they are more difficult to play’ in the upper |” register with great voluse. They are easier to play in the upper register softly, however! and | * that is their main advantage, The shorter, high pitched trumpets, usually pitched in C, D, Eb, | F and high Bb, are excellent for chamber music ensemble performance or for'solo work. For large i snsenble, such as symphony orchestra or big Jazz ensemble, their tone quality is too thin and their | volume tv juny ie measure up Uo Une rent of Ue eimenble. For playing blah and Loud the Bt will be found Lo be the best all-around Instrument.PART 2 UPPER REGISTER FINGERING CHART® ‘oat oh & é i enweal amy °F ORY = > ( 0) i fee = = = TOO) IPH OTSA THIS 7 soo yf eR 2 TPG) OO 2G) rea 7) eed) a2) Yoest fingerings are indicated Cirst, Pingerings in parentheses are possible put are of dubious piteh and quelity--they ean be used in glissandi, trills, pasning tones or other ornaments. Other fingerings are available, but unnecessary to inelule here = 200° EXERCISESHote: De not start with a tone that 4s too large and spread--keem it centered!2 a 1 Rote: J, The back of the tongue moves from “ah” to “cel going uD. 2: Slightly more mouthpiece pressure 1s added to the bottoa lip going up. 43, Close lip aperture with muscles around the mouth going up. eee = * 13. 23 aei ti Hie tt b é Ca225 ee eae 2 oo ———SSSSe sy RELAKER (A1vaye play after high notes, then rest for several minutes.) ’ = = = 4] — VE TS oe Se Se Se SS —Pp onsen es RN ay == e Play RELAXER--then rest. DEPARTAMENT MUST aH *suugzag eeeit te tb te te F tte (ry Play RELAMER--then rest.14. Z eee feet £ et £ : 0 T 6 1 G2é 7 REPEAT EACH SECTION, LEGATO b c G7 c D> Aby tua, aie ae a Plny RELAXER--then rest. 3D>. Ssme 2 12) 2 o ae 0 100 T Try the previous exercises using surcato toneuins. Stee ere 2 ee eee = ie (X22) = 1 iG) 0 2 = REPEAT EACH LINE, stunneD > Ma, = DEPARTAMENTO 4 MUSIGAae ee zie F ba 2 eh b, B 0 3 2 23 Note: Lower register fingerings can always be used--they are usually in tune, ‘The upper register contains many options in fingering patterns. Learn alternatives, but when in doubt use lover register fingerings. fh le hee ye ee ee Bee ate =e a IE = 2 FS SS 3S ae ene sy, iv cbs ae aes 7s a i ay SF test, = lapel eee ae ig : i. oe an se —=—S mt —=—s nest, °F am ~ DEPARTAMENTO MUSICA FACULTAD DE AP UNIVIRSIOAG OF