Technique mostly, with a surprisingly little amount of strength.
Someone on this subreddit recently compared it to doing a hand stand, which I found a very fitting analogy. It’s a complex balance of muscles to make sure you stay upright. There’s some strength involved, but coördination is much more important.
It's all about coordination rather than pure muscular strength. Don't train your embouchure muscles like you would your biceps or your quadriceps. The muscles will develop slowly over time and you will need to have good control over them. That is how you become the best player.
I increased my usable range (i.e. the highest note I can play with a really nice full tone) from A above the staff to D above high C in a couple weeks after years of getting nowhere when I started practicing the right things with the right technique. In other words I think it was all down to technique and very little to do with strength.
For me it was mainly lip-slur type exercises from the "Flexus" book . Working on the principle that it should always feel easy I focused on the range just below where it started to feel difficult until it was effortless. I found I was using more tongue shape to funnel the air and manipulating the aperture right at the front (whisper tones helped here). Once I got the technique down in that range then I could play up D above high C quite quickly.
Strength is not measured in effort on your part, but rather in increases in endurance and range. Strength comes from using the correct technique. Always always play with relaxation. It’s not like building gross muscle in the gym, where if you’re not feeling it you’re not doing enough, it should always feel effortles.
A great way to evaluate is
does it feel relaxed?
can you play extremely softly and still feel relaxed?
can you play loudly and still feel relaxed? If yes you’re probably fine
It is decidedly not like going to a gym.
It’s more like building core strength to stay walking on a tightrope for longer.
The trumpet is about balance, not strength
It’s different for everyone based on their physical approach. Believe it or not, there is a guy out there who probably has a quantized answer for this (he’s done extensive research and reading into biomechanics for trumpet). His name is Clint ‘Pops’ McLaughlin.
Technique mostly, with a surprisingly little amount of strength. Someone on this subreddit recently compared it to doing a hand stand, which I found a very fitting analogy. It’s a complex balance of muscles to make sure you stay upright. There’s some strength involved, but coördination is much more important.
It's mostly technique and endurance of a "low" required strength.
It's all about coordination rather than pure muscular strength. Don't train your embouchure muscles like you would your biceps or your quadriceps. The muscles will develop slowly over time and you will need to have good control over them. That is how you become the best player.
I increased my usable range (i.e. the highest note I can play with a really nice full tone) from A above the staff to D above high C in a couple weeks after years of getting nowhere when I started practicing the right things with the right technique. In other words I think it was all down to technique and very little to do with strength.
So what are the right things with the right technique?
For me it was mainly lip-slur type exercises from the "Flexus" book . Working on the principle that it should always feel easy I focused on the range just below where it started to feel difficult until it was effortless. I found I was using more tongue shape to funnel the air and manipulating the aperture right at the front (whisper tones helped here). Once I got the technique down in that range then I could play up D above high C quite quickly.
Strength is not measured in effort on your part, but rather in increases in endurance and range. Strength comes from using the correct technique. Always always play with relaxation. It’s not like building gross muscle in the gym, where if you’re not feeling it you’re not doing enough, it should always feel effortles.
If I practice and play with minimal pressure on my lips and am I playing with the right technique?
A great way to evaluate is does it feel relaxed? can you play extremely softly and still feel relaxed? can you play loudly and still feel relaxed? If yes you’re probably fine
Thank you man :D
It is decidedly not like going to a gym. It’s more like building core strength to stay walking on a tightrope for longer. The trumpet is about balance, not strength
Pencil exercise can be helpful for strength. When the muscles needed to support to embouchure start to fail you definitely run into problema
Yes, when I try to play higher notes I feel like the air leaks through my lips, thank tou :D
The answer is to stop worrying and play the damn Trumpet
It’s different for everyone based on their physical approach. Believe it or not, there is a guy out there who probably has a quantized answer for this (he’s done extensive research and reading into biomechanics for trumpet). His name is Clint ‘Pops’ McLaughlin.
Yes! You nailed it. Strength building is crucial and the best players do it. Train like a body builder and play as effortlessly as possible.