Air and Vibrations

Breathing is something that is coherently easy to everyone, and yet so many brass players make it over complicated. While it may be true that a very good player may have a larger air capacity and have ‘very strong lungs’ the important thing to note is, that if they were to play with incorrect technique, i.e. aimlessly blow into the instrument, they would be no better than a raw beginner. By the same token if a raw beginner applies correct technique straight away, then they will be better than many experienced players who play with bad technique. What then is correct technique?

Let’s start with how the trumpet actually makes a sound. This will then help us to create a sound that is both the easiest way to play and also the most efficient. Air is inhaled into the lungs and is then blown out through the vibrating lips (creating that buzzing feeling) and into the mouthpiece through the trumpet, which amplifies the vibrating lip sound. The trumpet does not create the sound, but merely amplifies it. (This is what makes the brass family unique to all other orchestral instruments.) It is important that the deepest breath possible is always taken. This is also because naturally, air under pressure (the air in your lungs) always wants to equalise with the lower pressure outside (your trumpet!). The sound we hear on the trumpet correlates with the speed of air which vibrates the lips. If we create low airspeed then we hear a low note. Faster air creates a higher note. What is the most efficient and easy way of changing the airstream?

Playing the trumpet can be compared to swimming. No matter how fit and strong you maybe, someone with correct technique will always find it easier and use much less energy and, more to the point, will go much faster.

There are three main ways employed to change the airspeed in order to create different vibrating lip speeds, but there is only one efficient and comparatively easy way (once properly understood).

1. Many people tighten their lips so that the space between the lips is smaller therefore funnelling the air which is thereby sped up.

This method is probably the most common way the average trumpeter changes the pitch of the note. Unfortunately it is also the most exhausting and also makes the sound ‘thinner’ the higher you go. Tightening the lips impedes lip vibration. Lower notes invariably will sound very resonant and are very much easier to play. As the lips are tightened, the lips lose their elasticity and the vibrating quality of achieved at a ‘bottom c’ changes, and is thinner towards the higher register. This demands that the player ‘push harder’ with the air and the result will be an ‘airy’ thin sound. It may also result in added pressure from pulling the instrument into their lips. The feeling of numbness where the mouthpiece is placed, and tired lips comes soon after. All register and stamina normally goes within 30min's or less of playing.

2. Blow harder.

Whilst merely blowing harder is not very tiring, it is a very inefficient way of changing the airspeed. Furthermore the note will get violently louder and then slightly sharper and it may jump up to the next harmonic.

3. The desired technique is by arching the back of the tongue with the syllable ‘ee’ so that the air is channelled into a much smaller space and is thereby considerably sped up. The point to note is that this faster air is created before it reaches the lips, therefore it is not the lip tension creating the note but the increased speed of air.

This technique is normally unnatural to most people, as it is something that people hardly ever do in everyday life. It is also made hard to understand as it is impossible to see what happens inside the mouth. Whistling is the closest thing to it. This technique once understood makes playing the trumpet much easier and will create a rich and vibrant sound throughout all registers. The best way to get started is play ‘bottom c’ and create a large space, using the syllable ‘aah’ in your mouth. Then  change the position of your tongue (especially the back) by then reducing the space  in your mouth  using the syllable ‘ee’. Do not to change the amount of air from the lungs and do not tighten your lips. The feeling will always be in your throat when you do it correctly. This is because the pressure has increased as the air is channelled into a smaller space by the change in shape of the tongue. This effect is similar to pinching the end of a hosepipe, as you squeeze the end the water spurts out faster and the pipe will swell slightly. A way to help you develop this technique is to ‘huff attack’ a note, that is, do not start the note with the tongue. Create the pitch of the note with the airspeed (very similar to whistling), then allow the lips to vibrate. Do not tongue the note. The pressure should no longer be on the lips, but rather on the lungs pushing the column of air up to support the higher pressure created by the reduce space in the mouth from  the arched tongue. Once this is mastered, change the speed of the air (using the tongue level ‘ee’ and aah’) up and down continuously,in the nature of a lip flexibility exercise. Make sure that your lips are not tightening, but that the note is changed by the airflow. You should feel the pressure in your lungs not your head! Rather than tightening the lips, allow the air to flow out fast through your lips. A good way to test if you support the note correctly with your airspeed will be to play a higher note loudly at first, then get quieter and quieter, listening carefully to the pitch of the note. If it starts to go flat then you are not supporting it correctly.

Playing with good air and vibrations (supporting the airspeed correctly by reducing the space in the mouth by arching the tongue on higher notes and relaxing the lips so that they vibrate well) will need to be practised: It is the beginning of improvement and is the fundamental basis that should then be applied to exercises, studies and pieces.