Trumpet, hard to hit G above staff?

Question

Well first off, Im an Intermediate level Trumpet player, and have been playing for about 10 months now. I was a Flute player

Half the time, Im having trouble hitting the G directly above the staff. Im trying to avoid putting mouthpeice pressure on my lips as much as possible..

Usually it doesn't sound very good either, and I would have to push a bit more pressure just to make it sound clearer(still bad tone). Sometimes my E(Within staff) or Tuning C would f**t, after playing a bit.

Im really worried because Marching season is going to start, and I feel that Im not developing fast enough.

Is my progression bad? Did I do something wrong as I was learning? Almost a year and I cant hit anything higher than a G above staff :(

Answer 1

In order to play the higher overtones it is necessary to learn to do a couple of very important things. The first is to develop a faster moving airstream faster. If you can whistle high notes, you already know how to do this. It is also necessary to learn to resist the faster moving airstream. In order to do this, we need to learn to grip the air column by moving our lips together. Finding the balance between how fast the airstream needs to move, and how much lip resistance is needed is what we need to be able to do consistently, in order to extend our range.

Here are a few exercises that you can do to try extend your range. Try playing an F major scale, very softly, using the technique from above. Go as high as you can easily play, up and down. Try playing a chromatic scale, very slowly, and very softly, going as high as you can go, and back down. Stop when you begin to fail, and try it one more time. Don't be discouraged, it will take time to develop this technique. You can use this as a warm-up before you begin playing your music.

Now, with regard to the mouthpiece that you are using. If you have thinner lips, but a large mouth/jaw, it might work for you. If you have thicker lips, the flat rim will inhibit lip movement. I would suggest using a good all-around mouthpiece such as the Schilke 9 or 11, since you seem to have access to Schilke mouthpieces. The 14a4 has a fairly large inner diameter, and it was developed specifically for a lead trumpet player in a big band. For someone with only 10 months experience playing trumpet, I would not suggest using the 14a4.

If you can take private lessons, a good teacher will be able to help guide your development much easier than trying to learn to do these things on your own. Your progress will be much quicker, if you put the the lessons to work with regular practice. If you can find a qualified mouthpiece consultant, to help you find a good mouthpiece for you, that would be something that I would suggest doing fairly soon.

Best of luck to you! Keep at it, and you will get to where you want to be!