Mystery to Mastery

Welcome to Lesson 4.

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

STEP 4 - Leadpipe

Remove the tuning slide from your trumpet. With one hand, hold the mouthpiece to your lips and with the other hand practise placing the leadpipe over the mouthpiece. Don't worry about blowing yet, just get your co-ordination.Once you feel comfortable that you can line up the mouthpiece with the leadpipe, you are ready to begin.

Exercise 4. Suck air past the mouthpiece just as you did with your finger and visualiser in exercises 1,2 and 3. As you are blowing freely, place the leadpipe over the mouthpiece. The lips may start vibrating. If there is just the sound of air moving, the lips are too tight still. Go back to exercises 1 and 2. Once the lips are relaxed and the air is not forced, the vibration will start and the leadpipe will speak.

PROMISE: The leadpipe may speak first time or it might take 10 attempts or more. It will happen eventually. Smile to yourself and keep going. There is no pressure or timeline to learn this. It may be very different to the way you play at the moment, that is ok. You will reap the benefits of these exercises very soon.

DANGER!!! Because you know how to make sound, you might be tempted to draw your lips together to create a sound. Do this at your peril as you are missing the whole point of these exercises. Do not let ego force you to make a sound incorrectly. Only you will know if you are doing this exercise correctly, so for faster results, don't lie to yourself.

This is the secret to unlocking the entire range of the instrument. If you use lip/aperture tension here, it is only going to increase as you head into the upper register. You will discover that the best sounding notes in the upper register are the easiest to play. Bad sounding and strained notes are much more physically demanding.

Lesson 4
Welcome to Lesson 4. If you have any queries, feel free to contact us – info@mysterytomastery.com STEP 4 - Leadpipe Remove the tuning slide from your trumpet. With one hand, hold the mouthpiece to your lips and with the other hand practise placing the leadpipe over the mouthpiece. Don't worry about blowing yet, just get your co-ordination.Once you feel comfortable that you can line up the mouthpiece with the leadpipe, you are ready to begin. Exercise 4. Suck air past the mouthpiece just as you did with your finger and visualiser in exercises 1,2 and 3. As you are blowing freely, place the leadpipe over the mouthpiece. The lips may start vibrating. If there is just the sound of air moving, the lips are too tight still. Go back to exercises 1 and 2. Once the lips are relaxed and the air is not forced, the vibration will start and the leadpipe will speak. PROMISE: The leadpipe may speak first time or it might take 10 attempts or more. It will happen eventually. Smile to yourself and keep going. There is no pressure or timeline to learn this. It may be very different to the way you play at the moment, that is ok. You will reap the benefits of these exercises very soon. DANGER!!! Because you know how to make sound, you might be tempted to draw your lips together to create a sound. Do this at your peril as you are missing the whole point of these exercises. Do not let ego force you to make a sound incorrectly. Only you will know if you are doing this exercise correctly, so for faster results, don't lie to yourself. This is the secret to unlocking the entire range of the instrument. If you use lip/aperture tension here, it is only going to increase as you head into the upper register. You will discover that the best sounding notes in the upper register are the easiest to play. Bad sounding and strained notes are much more physically demanding.
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