High note hangovers, the ultimate kiss-off, and playing in the stratosphere are part of the dreams of many trumpet players; however, there is more to playing high notes if you want to be a lead player.
The year was 1988, and I was but a young lad of 18. I was enrolled in 18 credit hours at Indiana State University as a music major and had completed my first collegiate band camp. It was a great experience. I had never played in a group that had so many trumpet players before, and it was a blast.
The trumpet section was a group of people who had great attitudes and didn’t mind a freshman coming in and playing the lead parts. Especially since I didn’t enter the group with the stereotypical lead trumpet player’s attitude. One of the other lead players, Eric Thornbury (Director of Bands at Noblesville High School in Noblesville, Indiana. Be sure to check out the Noblesville High School Music Program. They are rocking it!), gathered the trumpet section together after a rehearsal and said that we needed to come up with a design for a trumpet section shirt. That evening, I sat in my dorm room, on the 12th floor with no air conditioning, and drew up a couple of ideas.
If I remember correctly, I may have been the only person who submitted designs. It didn’t matter to me because my “Scream Team” design was chosen to represent the ISU Trumpet line that year!
My freshman year in college was a phenomenal learning experience as an academic student and a lifelong student of music. I had the opportunity to play in every musical ensemble I desired. I played lead trumpet in the jazz band as well as the basketball band. I learned very quickly about the importance of warming down. It was a valuable life-long nugget of information I learned after having a disastrous lesson with Dr. Boone. He showed me grace, but he corrected me, and I would go as far as saying he reprimanded me firmly, when my lips were swollen and I was unable to produce a good sound during my lessons. I vowed to myself that I would never put myself in that position again. I felt like I had let Dr. Boone down and had yet learned to respect my position as one of the leaders of the trumpet section and in the band program. I underestimated the importance of being an example of proper embouchure care.
Another lesson I learned was that, although I was playing the lead parts, I wasn’t actually a lead player.
Being a lead player means a lot more than being able to hit high notes or scream on the horn.
I will be discussing a couple of techniques I have and still use to maintain and increase my upper register.
But first, I want to discuss being a lead.
We have all heard the phrase, “Lead by example.”
I would like to change that up a little and encourage everyone to “Be an example by leading.”
Some are intimidated by the thought of being seen as a leader. The thought of making a mistake in front of everyone scares them, or they anticipate potential ridicule by their section members. Although a bit of chop busting, good humor banter, and exaggerated one-upmanship is expected, harsh treatment should never be tolerated.
I have seen people be an example by leading in many ways. It doesn’t matter if you clean toilets or pick up trash at a theme park, ride back step in a rig on the fire department, or play pick-up gigs on your instrument; you can still be an example by leading.
What does it mean to be an example by leading?
Showing up on time or early, fulfilling your work obligations to the best of your ability, and being prepared. By doing those simple things, you are being a leader. By being that person, the boss, teammates, and band members can count on minimizing the need for the saying, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” If everyone is an example by leading, we will be walking and encouraging one another, side by side, and there is no need to figure out who is leading, following, or getting out of the way.
I know this isn’t a perfect world, and there are things called egos, feelings, and laziness. But, I like to keep this blog on the positive side and will not worry about those few that are “Paycheckers”.
Before I moved to St. Cloud, Florida, I worked with band students at DeSoto High School, DeSoto Middle School, Canterbury School, and Oak Hammock Middle School. I asked the students, “Is the most important part about being a lead player, playing high notes?” I was a little surprised and yet very happy with their answers. Once I began working with the St. Cloud High School band in St. Cloud, Florida, I asked them the same question. Their answers echoed the answers the students gave me from the other schools.
“It helps to play the higher notes, but playing in the right style and with the right sound is just as important, if not more important at times.”
That is not an exact quote; however, it is a synoptic quote of their answers. If a synoptic quote is a real thing.
I had worked with the trumpet players from St. Cloud High School for a couple of weeks, and they hadn’t been with me long enough to hear my ranting and raving about how each player is a leader and high notes do not necessarily make a lead player. So, kudos to their middle school teachers and their high school music teachers, Mindy Curtis and Cameron Ivie, for creating musicians and leaders. I have mentioned and given tons of kudos to Fernando Frank at DeSoto High School, and would be remiss if I didn’t extend another accolade to him. I need to give shout-outs to Matt Murrell at Canterbury School and Talia Stasiowski from Oak Hammock Middle School, too! They brought me in to work with their trumpets and their other brass players and trusted me to teach them the correct way to be a brass player. Yes, we can be loud and “brassy”, but brass players can be musicians too!
Being a lead, especially a lead trumpet player, goes beyond playing high notes, and the directors I mentioned have done a fantastic job in training the students to be musicians and leaders.
This next section can be used to help all instrumentalists, especially brass players, but it is geared more to the trumpet player.
“But if I am playing the first part, isn’t that the lead part, and doesn’t the first part have high notes?”
The answer to that question is yes. For the most part.
What a trumpet student needs to remember is, playing in the higher range can only be accomplished by being able to play musically in a lower range. That is, unless you have freak chops and you have natural stratospheric lips.
Most of us have had to work a lot on gaining the upper register on our horn, and I am going to share a couple of techniques that I have used in order to play above the staff consistently and with an acceptable sound.
When I started taking trumpet lessons in 7th grade, my lesson teacher introduced playing in the upper register as if it were the normal progression in trumpet playing. There was no pressure for me to play high notes because it was needed; it was taught that playing in the upper register was part of the progression, and it was expected that I learn that part of the horn, too. I was in my second year of playing, and he was teaching me out of the Arban’s book.
I remember during one particular lesson, he asked if I had any questions.
I said that I did and proceeded to turn to the section in the Arban’s book that had scales and arpeggios. The page I turned to had a flurry of notes with a lot of bar lines.
“What are these, and how fast am I supposed to play them?” I asked.
“Ah,” he said as he lifted his horn to his lips, “Those are 64th notes. You play them like this.”
He proceeded to play the written exercise at a slow to moderate pace.
“I thought they were supposed to be played really fast?” I asked.
“They can be,” he replied, “But you have to be able to play them slower first and then work your way to play them faster. Just like playing higher notes. Play them lower and make sure you can hear the notes in your head, and play them with a good tone first. Then, when you play them higher or up the octave, you will know what they should sound like while you play them.”
He turned to some of the melodic tunes and had me play them as they were in the book. Then he instructed me to play the same notes but higher.
“Make it sound the same as you did when you played it the way it is written, but you will be playing it up an octave.”
That was how I began my journey of high note playing.
I use the same technique with trumpet students I teach in lessons or when giving a clinic. I will have them play, “Mary had a little lamb.” “A-G-F-G-A-A-A-G-G-G-A-A-A (they can go to the C if they wish instead of repeating the last two A’s) …once they complete the tune, I have them play it up the octave.
“You know what the tune sounds like, you know how it flows, and you do not need to read the music. Therefore, nothing is keeping you from playing the tune up the octave.”
I reiterate my mantra of “Play the right note, at the right time, and in the right way,” and they begin their journey of playing in the upper register.
It takes work, and many times I have to help them make adjustments. Too many times, students will use the “cram the mouthpiece into the chops, and press so hard that your teeth exit the back of your neck,” technique. I quickly correct that bad habit and demonstrate the need to relax and how the sound will flow out of the horn instead of being squeezed. With this technique, the student soon realizes that they could play in the upper register but were too afraid to take the chance or had no idea what they needed to do in order to reach the notes.
Another technique I use to encourage playing in the upper register is to play along with recordings. Play-alongs are a great way to hear pros and try to match their sound. This technique is introduced once the student has lost their fear of playing in the upper register or has gained the confidence to try playing the higher notes and push through the self-imposed embarrassment of missing notes and creating many unpleasant sounds. It is an adventure, and each person's adventure has a different soundtrack.
The final technique that I will discuss in this blog is the “Scream Team” technique. I use this technique for myself. I know the notes, how they are to sound, and how they should feel while I am playing them. So, after warming up and doing a lot of flexibility exercises…many lip slurs, I will play in the upper register for my practice session. The entire session, until I warm down.
By doing this, I am increasing my endurance, working on playing the right note, at the right time, and in the right way, and pushing myself with each practice session to try and hit a higher note consistently.
I don’t encourage all players to use that final technique, especially those beginning their journey into the stratosphere, but it does help me to be a consistent high note player with accuracy.
A final suggestion about playing in the stratosphere.
When practicing the upper register, practice playing it softly. Playing at Piano or Mezzo Piano will help the player keep their embouchure comfortable and relaxed, as well as help the player not yank on the pinkie octave key. By practicing at a softer volume and then opening up once you are able to play the upper notes with comfort, you will be able to increase your volume without blasting.
Have fun with the high note attempts and remember, if it feels unnatural or you feel pain, stop, readjust, and you may need to return to the lower octave for a few run-throughs. You will wear your chops out and feel tired, but that is part of the gig. Do not give up too soon, and enjoy the feeling of hard work.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or would like to share your high note successes, feel free to let me know.