The following ideas and concepts are playing and practice suggestions from many different teachers. They are not intended to provide a complete system or philosophy of playing. Print them out, put them in your folder. Refer to them when you practice.

Practice - Build upward from tone production, adding other techniques and skills to the foundation. All must become habit or "reflex" - automatic and stemming from the subconscious. Then performance can be dedicated 100% to communicating the music, rather than focusing on overcoming technical demands and physical obstacles.

1. AIR is the most important physical aspect of playing. It is of ultimate importance in establishing all aspects of performance. Breath correctly - deep, full, relaxed - using an "OH" sound on the inhale, before every attempt.

2. AIRFLOW = "WIND"! The necessary element for sound, control, dynamics, register, ease and comfort, phrasing, etc. Trumpet is a "WIND" instrument - WIND is "AIR IN MOTION."

3. Allow the air to flow freely through the horn - not "into" the horn. Let resistance and airflow balance into an harmonious and symbiotic relationship.

4. Do not blow "hard" - blow "freely, like a flute.

5. Allow the air to "blow the embouchure into place".

6. LET THE AIR DO THE WORK! NOT the lips!

7. After inhaling, immediately turn the air around to begin playing. Do not indiscriminately set abdominal tension prior to the start of the note. Concentrate on the pitch and the airspeed necessary for that pitch. The speed of the airstream will tighten the muscles "just enough".

8. THE QUALITY OF YOUR SOUND DEPENDS ON THE QUALITY OF YOUR AIRSTREAM!

9. Maintain total relaxation in muscles that aren't being used:
   AIR + RELAXATION = SOUND! Big and pure!

10. Use less air pressure but more airflow.

11. Freedom of tone and relaxation are maintained by using copious amounts of air!

12. Moving air is the source of power and endurance.

13. "Breath to expand" - not "expand to breath." Body expansion is the result, not the cause, of moving wind.

14. Visualize the air as WIND: move wind in and out - it's always in motion!

15. Imagine using "thick, fast air" to get more air moving with less effort.

16. Inhale at the corners of your mouth. "Sniffing" is for dogs. (There are applications for "nose" breathing, but don't use it unless you know "why" and "how" to use it.)

    EMBOUCHURE:

17. Again, allow the air to "blow the embouchure into place." That is, the embouchure should respond to the air, NOT the mouthpiece.

18. Your embouchure should be "natural." Do not "manufacture" an embouchure.

19. The only job of the lips is to vibrate! Fully, freely and relaxed.

20. The strength of the embouchure is in the corners, which also focuses the aperture. The middle stays loose as possible to respond easily to the airstream.

21. Get the feeling of playing away from your teeth to minimize pressure and maximize vibration.

22. Lips stay formed but relaxed until activated by the airstream. Do not pre-set tension, let the embouchure respond to the speed of the air.

23. Let go of the embouchure as a controlling force - trust your air and your ears!

24. Rather than controlling with the chops and pressure, allow a balance of efforts of airstream, corners and "vocalization" (tongue arch and oral cavity) to provide security.

25. "SING" with the lips as your vocal cords sing. Air is the tool to make it happen.

    SOUND:

26. Focus your sound to a point away from you....where the audience is.

27. Always aim for the "core" of the sound, where airspeed , lip tension, wavelength and resonating chambers are matched perfectly. When this is achieved, the sound will "jump" out of the horn with maximum resonance.

28. Imitate the sound of a great artist. What do you want to sound like? Take examples from the great players and work to attain that sound.

29. Work to produce different tonal colors at varying dynamic levels.

30. How you want to sound is the chief control point for all you do.
    

    TONGUING:

31. The tongue is used to articulate music just as it does in speech - to make clear the meanings of words and phrases. Let the tongue shape attacks to clarify meaning.

32. Use the tip of the tongue, striking approximately where the upper teeth meet the gumline. The tongue will attack lower on the upper teeth for lower pitches, and higher up for higher notes.

33. Concentrate on using the front part of the tongue for articulation. Minimize motion to allow for faster tempos and more precise attacks.

34. When playing rapid tongued passages, try the "d" syllable rather than "t" for faster, more relaxed motion.

35. When multiple tonguing, keep the "k" (or "g") and "t" (or "d") as far forward in the mouth as possible.

36. When tonguing the motion of the tip is "up and down", not "back and forth."

37. The tongue arch is useful for playing intervals, for flexibility, intonation, range and tone color. It is a necessity for fluency.

38. In any articulation, the tone is carried by the vowel sound AFTER the attack.

    RANGE:

39. The upper register is an extension of the middle register. Development depends on a strong foundation of basic physical skills and gradual, systematic development. You must have a long-range plan for development, and use it consistently and intelligently!

40. As you go higher, think of blowing each note farther away from you. This will help you speed up the airspeed, keep your corners together and keep excess pressure off your lip.

41. "Train" the upper register. Brute force won't make it happen.

42. When ascending, think of bringing your lips forward toward the mouthpiece, NOT stretched back into a smile! BE HAPPY! But do not smile when playing trumpet!

43. Again, the upper register depends on airspeed and the embouchure resisting the air. The embouchure's job is NOT to resist the mouthpiece.

    PRACTICE:

44. Always keep perfect time to synchronize muscle movements.

45. PLAY AGGRESSIVELY, with abandon and courage!! Never wimpy or apologetically.

46. Allow the music to determine your mental state and your physical actions. When a change is required, let the music provide your direction. Do not employ a predetermined degree of muscular movement.

47. Apply "Effortless Effort" - Use only the amount of energy necessary for a specific task, thus reserving energy for interpretation, endurance, volume, etc.

48. The feeling of playing should always be one of a constant outflow of energy, focused forward, through the horn, to the audience.

49. Practice for "ease" of playing. No matter how much raw energy we must expend, we must be as relaxed as possible and waste no energy on isometric tension.

50. Observe your playing for what it is. Don't make value judgements. Analyze objectively.

51. Eliminate your ego from the playing process, thus eliminating much fear and frustration, false pride AND false humility which can blind you to your true abilities.

52. Maintain TOTAL concentration - or go do something else! Then come back to the horn when you can dedicate yourself 100%.

53. Aim for tangible results in each session. Have goals in mind, and a plan to meet them.

54. Isolate to solve problems, but put the resolved problem back into its original context!

55. To "fix" a problem, concentrate on the desired result as a new, added dimension of your playing. Do NOT think about "the problem."

56. The trumpet is an extension of the performer. All that happens in you is reflected in your playing.

57. REST AS MUCH AS YOU PLAY WHEN PRACTICING! Don't play when your face is fatigued! Compensation will cause the formation of incorrect habits.

58. Stop playing when comfortably tired and still playing well.

59. Practice until each task is MASTERED - completely under control and "easy".

60. Mastery builds confidence. You can't really play a piece (exercise, excerpt, etc.) until you reach this point.

61. Trumpet Playing is a highly refined physical skill, as well as a musical art. Train physically as an athlete, but play from the heart as an artist.

62. Just "going through" exercises or studies will not develop your abilities. You must have a clear mental picture of what you are trying to achieve and how you are going to achieve it.

63. Have both short and long range goals for achieving your objective.

64. Perfoming on any instrument is a matter of physical, mental and artistic growth, NOT push-button technology. Build and mature gradually and consistently.

    MUSICALITY:

65. Always play $500 notes, not 50 cent ones.

66. Each note and phrase, whether in a drill, exercise, etude, solo, orch. work, etc...is a part of a larger idea. Play in context.

67. ALL MUSICAL CONCEPTS MUST BE CONCEIVED MENTALLY BEFORE THEY CAN BE BORN SONICALLY!

68. Move artistic goals to the foreground of your playing. Play "songs", not notes.

69. Make up a story or words for whatever you are working on. Be a "storyteller".

70. Music is always "on the move", going somewhere. Keep your sound and phrases moving forward to the logical melodic and/or harmonic conclusion.

71. Find the "target note" every phrase, the one that seems to be most important. Slightly crescendo toward that note (or greatly if called for!) and decrescendo away from it.

72. Plan your breathing so that you do not interrupt a musical sentences.
    
    Visit The International Trumpet Guild Website.
    
    More Links at The R. Jones Page!
    
    Legend Brass Quintet and even MORE brass links!
    
    
    Phil Smith, trumpet: 'It's a blessing'
    
    
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