5. Whistle while you play
After blowing a tone twenty times into the trumpet, Alexander was very pleased with himself.
“Very good, Alexander,” Papa said. “I want you to do this 20 times every day for seven days. Remember not to press the trumpet into your lips. Blow your lips into the trumpet, softly.”
“OK,” said Alexander. And he buzzed into the trumpet 10 more times.
“So, what’s next Papa?”
“Now you need to learn how to use your tongue to play different notes.”
“How do I do that?”
“Whistle a song for me.”
Alexander wasn’t good at whistling, but he could get a little sound.
“Do you notice how you change the pitch of the notes, up and down, with your tongue?”
Alexander whistled again, and then said, “Yes.”
“Well, that’s how you play different notes on the trumpet. Just move your tongue up and down like you do when you whistle. Try playing a simple song on your mouthpiece without the trumpet and notice what you tongue is doing.”
Alexander blew into the mouthpiece and noticed the funny buzz. It almost sounded like a duck. He blew into the mouthpiece and buzzed a simple song. His tongue was moving like it did when he whistled.
“Ok, good. Now I want you to buzz ‘Mary had a little lamb.’”
Alexander tried, but it was hard.
“Relax, just like you did during practice. Don’t press your lips together too tight. Remember to narrow the aperture until you get a sound, then play the song. By raising your tongue as you narrow the aperture, you will raise the pitch just like whistling.”
As Alexander relaxed and lowered his tongue in his mouth, his jaw lowered too.
“Good, Alexander. When you lower your tongue, your jaw lowers too.”
“Why is that?”
“Because your tongue is tied to your jawbone. As you move your tongue up and down, your jaw will follow your tongue.”
“But when I raise my tongue, the air stops.”
“That’s because you are raising your tongue too much and stopping the air flow. Try to raise the middle of your tongue as you buzz, but leave room for the air to flow out of your mouth just like you do when you whistle. You will get the feel of the middle of your tongue doing this when you imagine making a sound like ‘juu’ as you blow air out through your air.”
Alexander tried over and over again until he felt it.
“Ah ha! I think I have it. But the buzzing still stops when I try higher notes.”
“Ok, you’re almost there. Don’t try to play high pitches yet, and don’t touch the roof of your mouth with your tongue. For the moment, you need to learn how to move your tongue while keeping your throat relaxed and open and narrowing your aperture.” Papa continued, “While buzzing, lower your jaw slightly like you would to open your mouth.”
“But my lips pull apart.”
“That’s because you’re opening your mouth too much. It doesn’t take much to change a note.
“Oh, I did it.”
“Good, now notice how your lips tighten and narrow the center hole between your lips as you drop your jaw and keep your tongue up in your mouth.”
“I’m trying, but its hard to feel what I’m doing.”
“That’s ok. Practicing every day will help you feel it and understand what you are doing. The change is so small, few people realize they are actually moving their lips. You are doing very good. Now blow into your mouthpiece softly and concentrate on what you feel your lips, stomach, and tongue do while you change the pitch.
Lesson 5. Controlling pitch with your tongue.
- Blow softly into the mouthpiece without the trumpet, and raise and lower the pitch of notes with your tongue like when whistling as you narrow and open the aperture.
- Keep your lips relaxed, and avoid pinching them together.
- Notice how raising your tongue helps you narrow the aperture of your lips.
- Also, notice how your jaw raises and lowers slightly as your tongue moves.
- Practice everyday.
