Mystery to Mastery

Welcome to Lesson 3.

If you have any queries, feel free to contact us – info@mysterytomastery.com

STEP 3 - Mouthpiece

Exercise 3. Place the mouthpiece EXACTLY where the visualiser sat. This may feel foreign and the thoughts "I do not play like this" or "I cannot play like this" may come rushing into your mind. Again this is your belief system being challenged. Just observe your thoughts but do not alter the mouthpiece placement in any way. Suck air past the mouthpiece just as you did your fingers or visualiser in exercises 1 and 2. Blow through the mouthpiece by either breath attacking or lightly tonguing to start the airflow. Do not create a buzz!! If the mouthpiece buzzes, the vibrating part of your lip tissue is too firm. Allow the lips to blow open. It may feel like you are really rolling out or playing from the inside of your lower lip. There is still plenty of lip tissue in the mouthpiece, you are just not familiar with this sensation.

Your body must remain relaxed like exercise 1 and 2, the only difference being that you will feel the resistance of the throat of the mouthpiece. Blow into the resistance but not against it causing the air to back up in the throat and chest. Let the power of your passive exhalation flow through the mouthpiece and be sure the body remains calm like in exercises 1 and 2.

TIP: You should not feel like you are blowing. You are letting the air eqaulise from your expanded lungs much like air escaping from a balloon when undone. Notice when doing exercises 1 and 2 that the air is effortlessly expelled. That is the sensation you are looking for when blowing the mouthpiece.

If steps 1 and 2 are not done correctly, you will not get the best results from this lesson. If your belief system is fighting against what you are trying to achieve, go back to steps 1 and 2 and continually feed the brain the message that playing should feel free like the passive exhalation.

A common belief is that the upper and lower lips touch and vibrate together making a buzzing sound that is amplified by the instrument. Slowly this misconception is being eradicated but unfortunately it is still the most common method of teaching beginners. If you buzz your lips tightly together and place the instrument on on the lips, you get a harsh, scratchy sound. The tone only develops as the aperture opens up, allowing the resonance created by the body to speak.

Lip buzzing places massive tension on the aperture and is not what happens when playing. Mouthpiece buzzing can be used for developing the corner muscles and used as an aural exercise for practising pitch control but again, can place unnecessary strain on the aperture. Many double high C players cannot make the mouthpiece speak above a high C or lip buzz above a middle C.

The acoustical properties of the pipe (the trumpet) and atmospheric pressure, provide a reflection or feedback of the air that you have blown to your lips, which then sets the lip tissue into vibration. The upper and lower lips vibrate independantly and when balanced with the correct amount of air, create a pressure sound wave that is amplified by the bell of the instrument. The frequency that resonates is determined by the tension in the aperture corners.

When you add this concept with the feeling of exercises 1 and 2, you will create a vibrant, resonant and centred sound with far less effort than your regular forced blow. It is then merely a matter of directing the air correctly (explained later) and supporting your airflow without overblowing that will make any note speak.

Lesson 3
Welcome to Lesson 3. If you have any queries, feel free to contact us – info@mysterytomastery.com STEP 3 - Mouthpiece Exercise 3. Place the mouthpiece EXACTLY where the visualiser sat. This may feel foreign and the thoughts "I do not play like this" or "I cannot play like this" may come rushing into your mind. Again this is your belief system being challenged. Just observe your thoughts but do not alter the mouthpiece placement in any way. Suck air past the mouthpiece just as you did your fingers or visualiser in exercises 1 and 2. Blow through the mouthpiece by either breath attacking or lightly tonguing to start the airflow. Do not create a buzz!! If the mouthpiece buzzes, the vibrating part of your lip tissue is too firm. Allow the lips to blow open. It may feel like you are really rolling out or playing from the inside of your lower lip. There is still plenty of lip tissue in the mouthpiece, you are just not familiar with this sensation. Your body must remain relaxed like exercise 1 and 2, the only difference being that you will feel the resistance of the throat of the mouthpiece. Blow into the resistance but not against it causing the air to back up in the throat and chest. Let the power of your passive exhalation flow through the mouthpiece and be sure the body remains calm like in exercises 1 and 2. TIP: You should not feel like you are blowing. You are letting the air eqaulise from your expanded lungs much like air escaping from a balloon when undone. Notice when doing exercises 1 and 2 that the air is effortlessly expelled. That is the sensation you are looking for when blowing the mouthpiece. If steps 1 and 2 are not done correctly, you will not get the best results from this lesson. If your belief system is fighting against what you are trying to achieve, go back to steps 1 and 2 and continually feed the brain the message that playing should feel free like the passive exhalation. A common belief is that the upper and lower lips touch and vibrate together making a buzzing sound that is amplified by the instrument. Slowly this misconception is being eradicated but unfortunately it is still the most common method of teaching beginners. If you buzz your lips tightly together and place the instrument on on the lips, you get a harsh, scratchy sound. The tone only develops as the aperture opens up, allowing the resonance created by the body to speak. Lip buzzing places massive tension on the aperture and is not what happens when playing. Mouthpiece buzzing can be used for developing the corner muscles and used as an aural exercise for practising pitch control but again, can place unnecessary strain on the aperture. Many double high C players cannot make the mouthpiece speak above a high C or lip buzz above a middle C. The acoustical properties of the pipe (the trumpet) and atmospheric pressure, provide a reflection or feedback of the air that you have blown to your lips, which then sets the lip tissue into vibration. The upper and lower lips vibrate independantly and when balanced with the correct amount of air, create a pressure sound wave that is amplified by the bell of the instrument. The frequency that resonates is determined by the tension in the aperture corners. When you add this concept with the feeling of exercises 1 and 2, you will create a vibrant, resonant and centred sound with far less effort than your regular forced blow. It is then merely a matter of directing the air correctly (explained later) and supporting your airflow without overblowing that will make any note speak.
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