4. The trumpet buzz
“Wow, a real trumpet!”
“It sure is Alexander. And it needs to be taken care of.”
“Oh, I’ll take very good care of it.”
“I’m sure you will. And we’ll talk about how to care for it after our lesson.”
“Show me your breathing exercise.”
Alexander blew relaxed breaths through the center of his lips.
“Is your throat relaxed?”
Alexander nodded yes then relaxed his throat more.
“OK Alexander. Very good. When you relaxed more, your throat opened more, your jaw muscles relaxed more, and your lips parted more.”
“And that’s good?”
“It shows that you can control your lip aperture with your throat.”
How does that work?”
“Well, it is really all about your tongue. Your tongue is a big muscle that goes all the way to the back of your throat. To relax and open your throat, you are really relaxing your tongue.”
“Gee, I never realized that.”
“Yes, it is very interesting. And knowing this will help you develop into a better trumpeter.”
Papa handed the trumpet to Alexander and said blow into it.
Alexander raised the trumpet to his lips and blew real hard. But it sounded like nothing more than rushing air through the horn.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, to begin with, the mouthpiece does not go inside your mouth. Remember your breathing and blowing exercise? Now, blow air through your lips.”
Alexander blew slowly through his lips as he had been practicing.
“Very good. Now, as you blow through your lips, bring the trumpet up to your lips.”
Alexander touched the trumpet to his lips while breathing out air, and it still sounded like air going through the horn. There was no nice trumpet sound. Alexander was puzzled by this.
But Papa said, “Very good, Alexander. That is how you place the trumpet on your lips.”
“But there is no sound! It is just air blowing through the horn.”
Alexander tried again and pressed the mouthpiece into his lips.
“No. You do not want to do that Alexander. By pressing the mouthpiece into your lips, you are preventing the buzz of your lips. Remember to relax, and don’t push hard into the mouthpiece.”
Alexander huffed and flapped his lips making a raspberry noise in frustration.
“That’s good Alexander. Flap your lips while blowing out air.”
“But I can’t flap my lips when the trumpet touches them.”
“That’s because a flapping buzz is too wide, and you really don’t flap your lips. The idea is to feel relaxed like flapping your lips. Flap your lips, and then narrow that buzz into a smaller hole at the center of your lips like you do for your breathing exercises.”
Alexander tried. It required puckering his lips together like he was spitting. He noticed it was easier to do this while lowering his jaw and continuing to buzz.
“Excellent Alexander! Now you’re buzzing. Don’t let your cheeks blow out. Pull them in while keeping your lips relaxed in the center and buzzing.”
Alexander raised the trumpet to his lips again while buzzing. But the sound was awful.
“Very good Alexander. Your buzz is inside the mouthpiece.”
“But it sounds terrible. What am I doing wrong?”
“Well, your lips are curled too much, but you are buzzing with relaxed lips.”
“What do I do to get a better sound?”
“Close your mouth and relax your lips like you would for your breathing exercise. Put the mouthpiece on your lips. Now blow a soft, relaxed buzz into the horn.”
Alexander blew, but there was just air.
Papa removed the mouthpiece from the trumpet and gave it to Alexander.
“Ok, now, while blowing into the mouthpiece, narrow the center of your lips into a smaller hole.”
There was an immediate sound. But Alexander’s lips were not puckered out as much as before.
“My lips are not pushing out as much with the mouthpiece.”
“Well, that’s because the mouthpiece is holding your lips in place as they are blown into the mouthpiece. This is good because your lips will not have to work as hard when you buzz. Can you feel the air pushing your lips into the mouthpiece?”
“Yes. The mouthpiece is holding my lips from pushing out.”
Papa put the mouthpiece into the trumpet.
“Now, don’t push the mouthpiece into your lips. Just relax, and blow a soft buzz through the horn. Let the air stream, blowing through your lips, do the work, and just let your lips buzz in the center. This little hole between your lips is called the aperture2.”
Alexander raised the trumpet to his lips, blew into the mouthpiece softly, narrowed the aperture, and a soft, buzzy tone was produced. It sounded alright but still did not sound good.
“Alexander, you have done very good today. Just relax. Touch the mouthpiece to your lips without pressing it into your lips. Relax, and blow your lips softly into the mouthpiece. Narrow the aperture until you hear the trumpet sound. Try to make it sound better each time you buzz.”
“But I am only playing one note.”
“That’s ok for now. You are practicing how to buzz, and one note is all you need right now. Just remember, your lips need to be relaxed so they can vibrate when you play the trumpet. This is why it is so important to practice your breathing technique before you begin playing the trumpet.”
Lesson 4. The trumpet buzz.
- Blow air through your lips several times as described in lesson 3.
- Touch the mouthpiece to your lips, without pressing it into your lips.
- Relax and blow your lips softly into the mouthpiece.
- Narrow the aperture until you hear the buzz sound. Don’t pinch the lips tightly because that requires you to work harder to force air out and your sound will not be as good. Instead, narrow the center of the aperture into a smaller circle. Lowering your jaw very slightly may help produce a buzz sound.
- Now try it with the trumpet.
- Blow a soft stream of air into the trumpet, relax, and narrow the aperture until you make a sound.
- Repeat this exercise 50 times.
- The goal is to produce sound instantly when you blow. Practice everyday.
