5 Not-So-Obvious Factors Limiting Your ENDURANCE
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- Опубліковано 8 лип 2024
- In this video, I discuss 5 blindspot areas that can unknowingly derail our quest to improve our endurance on the trumpet, and I offer suggestions for overcoming each of these obstacles. Do you struggle with one or more of these? If so, please share in the comments section. Also, please like and subscribe if you'd like to see more content like this! Wishing you love and music - Tito
Link to The Three F's For A Fabulous Embouchure: • The Three F's For A Fa...
Tito Carrillo is professor of jazz trumpet at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: music.illinois.edu/faculty/ti...
My God, thanks Tito !!!
I would have to say Number 5 for me right now.
Hey man, really been digging on your channel as of late.
I've been playing professionally for years...cruise ships, function/wedding bands, bar gigs, yada yada yada.
I have decent usable range (G-G# on most days) but by the third set, I'm playing on my fricken teeth, and that's when the dude making the set list throws the Earth, Wind and Fire medley in!
I get the concepts of keeping your corners firm, not overblowing, playing on sensible equipment (I ain't playing Let's Groove Tonight on a 1C!), air support...all that.
But you nailed down what I've been doing wrong for ages...over relaxing my chops.
Feels totally counter intuitive, but that bit of into, for me, helped metric rectal tons!!
Thanks so much, and I really appreciate what you have to say, and also how you say it.
Peace bro.
Thank you Brad, I’m glad the videos are helping in some way! 🙏🏽
Awesome video Tito! For me I would add a number six.
6. Staying hydrated throughout the gig.
It has made the world of difference for me to get to the end of a show playing the trumpet in a big band.
Thank you Tito! This is like therapy for me. Super useful and helpful!
Great stuff!
Pure gold your info.
Brilliant, what a wake-up call! Thanks Tito!
Just in a right time!
Maestro, I don’t know how I missed this video when you initially posted it, but relaxing the embouchure in the middle and lower registers REALLY resonated with me! Up high I can feel my set embouchure providing more cushion between my mouthpiece and teeth, but down low my lips are pinned against my teeth because my loose embouchure doesn’t push my lips away from my teeth. When the embouchure is right and tight, I can whistle softly with the horn off my face and I’m going to have to incorporate that set in all registers. Thank you for pointing that out!! 🎺
Ludicrous speed air! Love it!
#4 thanks Tito!
Great stuff, Tito! Man you are so spot on with all of this. I’m going to go practice now 😊.
Yeah right on Tito these are all good observations & tips!
Great video Tito. Thank you.
Wow. A few things for me to examine from this vid. Thanks!
Wow! #5 hit home. Great advice. Love the channel. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
The first tip is one life-changer for me!! Thank you so much sir!
Thank you so much for do this videos, please continue! 🙏🏼
You know it! Thank you 🙏🏽
A lot of times i get that drowning feeling. now i know why. Thank you.
Numbers one and five hit home the most for me. Particularly five. I usually play 3rd in a big band but sometimes fill in on lead. I find myself getting just as tired playing 3rd as lead and have suspected it's because I take 3rd for granted, thinking it should be easier, and don't support myself with strong corners and air. I played a gig last night trying to focus on these things and it helped.
Love, love, love the concept of descending scales, or by extension reversing the common pattern of ascending then descending. So many people start on the instrument and spend their formative time for their embouchure in the middle G - low C range and then try to develop that setting into the upper register and end up struggling. Bravo Mr Tito!
Number 5 really making me think! Gigging all the time and just can’t last, you’re right, keys is much easier. I ended up playing keys on a cruise ship band and not playing trumpet so much due to endurance issues.
Really great advice. I've pretty much had to figure all that out for myself (I wish I'd seen this video years ago). One of the biggest ones for me was setting my embouchure too loose in the middle and lower registers. This was compounded by the fact that all of the "warm up exercises" in books start off below the stave. Consequently I used to find that by the time I'd "warmed up" I was actually just tired. Now I warm up by playing middle to high register very quietly then descending while checking everything is working how it should.
Also taking the horn off my face whenever I get the chance has helped my endurance. As well as jazz I play in a traditional brass band in the 1st cornet section. While I can generally cope with the range on individual pieces or sections, I struggle to keep it together through sustained sections with no rests then play above the stave at the end of a set (each set is about 45 mins). I have noticed that when I double up on a part with someone better than me, they move their horn forward by maybe 5mm very time the score provides that opportunity (even when there are no rests you can manufacture a tiny space by cutting a note slightly short). I found myself making these small movements in sync with the player next to me and it resulted in much better endurance.
Trying to get all of these to come together and still read score or improvise is an enormous challenge. Thanks for the reminders!
I wish I had seen a video like this when I was younger as well! 🤣. Like you, it was born out of years of taking the opposite approach many times and having to figure this stuff out slowly. I hope I can save people some time by shedding light on these issues. Thanks for watching! 🙏🏽
Not taking the mouthpiece off your face enough is a big problem! I've struggled with this and it does exhaust the chops overall!
very interesting
#4 is great advice. After watching this I watched Freddie Hubbard on Canteloupe Island and he does this after every phrase
I just find that urs videos change my trumpet playing in better ! Thanks a lot 🙏
Thank you Shadrac! 🙏🏽
Great topic :)
I started to comment but as I progressed through the video you covered what I thought I was going to add. Go figure!
Always beautiful material, Tito!
Thanks Jeff, I appreciate you watching! 🙏
It's great when an entire big-band is blowing hard in hopes of maybe hearing themselves just a little.
Or maybe even one tight plug and one loose one.
Marches are great for suffocation.
What a fantastic video Tito. Watched as been playing 40 years and recently been suffering from ‘sore’ lips after gigs/rehearsals more than usual. Definitely number 5 for me - I’m mainly a jazz/2nd chair player but do go up high on occasion and realised I do exactly what you say.
Have nice firm corners/Chin above the stave but ‘relax’ way too much when I’m back down. I guess it’s that feeling of hard blowing up top and then thinking you can rest when descending. Will definitely do the descending scales work for this - didn’t really think about it until I watched this!
Great Ian, glad you got something from the video! 🙏🏽. You may go through a couple of weeks getting tired quicker as a result of this new approach, but don’t worry because in a month you’ll feel stronger than ever. We build up our chop muscles with every practice session IF we’re practicing correctly.
Definitely have struggled with One and Five! Five for me has always been a struggle because it's so easy to not engage the muscles because you think it's supposed to be easy,lol. Anyway a ppp G at the beginning of my practice while being very AWARE to have everything firm (embouchure not lips) has been helping greatly! Great Video!
Thank you Ryan! You’ve always been such a musical player. Love the ppp G idea! 🙏🏽
Tito, I love the tip about using one earplug. I've been using variations of it for years in choral singing, where it can be a lifesaver.
Can you expand on the variations? I’ve only got one ear, and wondering if those variations might help.
This is like going back to 1995-6 NIU practice rooms but with much cooler editing!! Thanks Tito!! I am tuned in!!
🤣🤣🤣 Thanks my brother, I appreciate it! We had some good times back then, huh?
Yes we did. Great job Tito
Oh snap, look who crashed the party! Ramces, my brother, hope you’re well my guy! Un abrazote
I’m a sax player with a new channel as well. I really dig your presentation!! Best of luck!!
Thanks! 🙏🏽
Hi Tito please further describe 'Flat Chin' - thanks for a great depth of knowledge.
Wow you are on point with this video Brother. Thank you. I am on stage at some point after you today in Bloomington. I hope to have a chance to talk to you there.
Oh snap, hope to see you over there, Jason!
Excellent advice on many topics maestro!. I am subscribed to your channel About hearing yourself. I am a trumpet player (symphony orchestra and pop) and also a sound man for the last 3 decades. My solution for hearing myself better is this. Buy a clip on mic (I use an AT pro35 instrument clip on mic) plus a very affordable and very small console with FX (about 80$) and wear headphones or earbuds . Ask the soundman to feed channel 1 of your mixer with a mix of the band, plug your mic. on channel 2. Adjust the volume of each channel to taste. That´s it! Moreover , you can even send a feed of your trumpet sound back to the house mixer with your personal signature sound. Hope this helps others like it helped me. Thanks for your very high quality information!
This is amazing advice! Which console do you use, if you don’t mind me asking?
Hey Tito,
I enjoy your lessons immensely. Please add some lessons concerning pro players coming back, after not playing for decades. Even though I know my horn, having myself for a teacher isn't a good idea.
Thank, Sir.
This was interesting for me Tito. My own thoughts have been on this topic for the last couple of months and more specifically the last week, when an abdominal strain sustained as a result of illness severely limited my playing. One the latter, I decided that the best way to treat this was by exercise, after resting a few days. I was limited to an hour or so's playing a day, which isn't very helpful when you rely on playing for your income. I found some exercises online to deal with the issue and the problem dramatically improved within 24 hours of my starting them. This lead me to the thought that regular abdominal exercising will a) help with avoiding a repeat incident and b) strengthen the body core, thus improving endurance and (hopefully) range.
Prior to this, I'd been wondering how it was that at times our lips feel great and at others not so great. I've used the Stamp warm-up for several years now and really feel that buzzing before playing is a big help to me. I thought back to my studies with you at U of I and remembered that Clark Terry talked at length about the benefits of mouthpiece and free buzzing prior to playing. I've also read that Dizzy and Clifford Brown would often buzz for an hour before starting to play.
One thing that I've found to be really helpful prior to even mouthpiece buzzing is to free buzz pitches down from a G in the lower staff to a pedal C - free buzzing forces us to use our abdominal muscle to produce the air flow. A little of this goes a long way (free buzzing is quite tiring) but I've found it to be a big help in getting my lips to feel good before playing. Too often in the past, I went straight to warming up on the horn without considering the condition of my chops. I've found there's a definite correlation between getting my chops to feel good before starting to play and keeping them feeling good for the duration of my playing time. The other huge benefit of free and mouthpiece buzzing to me is that I'm forced to set my abdominal muscles to work right at the beginning of my playing time and that helps me to keep them working for the rest of the day, thus minimising facial strain.
All that being said, these are things that work for me, there's no guarantee that they will work for anyone else. There again, if you don't try it, you won't find out!
Excellent comments, thanks for sharing Simon. Because our lips can feel so different from day to day, we need to “retrain” them to vibrate everyday. That’s why Hakan Hardenberger has stated that he considers himself a beginner every morning. He doesn’t assume that what he could do yesterday will automatically be there today, and this is a wise approach for each new day. As for engaging the abdominals, just as you prepare your lips by free buzzing and buzzing the mouthpiece, preparing to engage abdominals by doing breathing exercises while placing your hand on your abdominal region to make sure that you’re breathing apparatus is connected and working as it should would be a great benefit before playing.
Utube m pm.. most of the day.
Great ideas. When you plug one ear do you use something that totally blocks or allows some sound through like the eargasm plugs?
The opening music is brilliant
Thank you Samba C! It is a clip from my original tune Urbanessence, the title track to my upcoming album release which I’ll be announcing shortly!
Great!!!
Hi Tito, just got on to your channel. I had shingles on my face just over a year ago, with the result that the right side of my face is still a little numb from my eye down to my chops like when you've been to the dentist. It's coming back somewhat now but endurance is through the floor. Will try your methods & let you know. Respect!
Sorry to hear that, I wish you a speedy recovery. Take your time, try to sound as good as you can using good embouchure form for as long as you can, followed by rest. Take it at your own pace, I wish you well.
Great video, your tight lip face after the descending scale made me laugh out loud
Ummm by Thor Ragnarok you are referring to Brad Goode, right? Also the last three minutes cracked me up. I’ve made that same high g to low g demonstration to my students at least 2 thousand times in the last 12 years. Yea, Tito! Great videos, brotha!
Dang #1 is on the money! I wear firearm ear protection & my pitch locks into place!
RE: Breathing -- One thing I've had to relearn is to AVOID huge breaths. "Breathe for the phrase" > Wayne Bergeron. The size of the breath should be tailored to the phrase that is to come afterwards. That involves considering 1) Range involved 2) Volume required 3) Length of playing until next breath. The stale air syndrome results more often from over-breathing, which happens too often if players buy into the "always take a huge breath" mentality.
Im in total agreement with your comment, great point
Has is one Tito. I got a trumpet as a gift from a friend. How do I know if a got a crappy trumpet?
Can you do one on how to connect guide tones and how to make a melody from chord tones?
I got you bro
Hi Tito, I recently subscribed to your channel, I really like it. I'm currently playing on a mouthpiece from GR Northern Brass (3-66 ****), but I want to try to buy Marcincievich B. Shew 1. E14 to increase my range .Should I do this? What do you recommend? Please
Thanks for your question Vyaheslav! My answer is this: there are two primary things I look for in mouthpieces and gear - the sound I’m looking for and the ease of playing. I have the same range on pretty much all of my mouthpieces, but some feel easier than others, and the sound varies as well. I don’t look for mouthpieces to “increase” my range. The best way I know to increase range is outlined in my other video Upper Register Breakthrough, and the techniques I discuss in that video apply to any mouthpiece and any instrument. But don’t let my advice discourage you from trying those other mouthpieces, I just think you should be working to improve your range even on the GR. Hope this helps!
I have been enjoying your videos! I have recently finding I can play B flat, C and D about the staff in open position. Is that normal? I have encountered this was using your tongue/jaw, lower body support and horizontal air.
Yes very normal! Keep going to E, F/F#, and G using the same principles, though you’ll be relying even more on your lower abdominal region.
@@jazzmindwithtitocarrillo605 Thanks
@@jazzmindwithtitocarrillo605 @reyoung3 • 9d ago
Hi Tito, Since I bought Carmine Caruso's book "musical calisthenics for brass", I was wondering if you have an approach how to work through it. I typically can get an hour or a little longer a day. So since that is my daily practice time, I seem to keep starting at the beginning and work up to the breath control exercise. I normally buzz using my 17mm chrome box end wrench (same size as my Back 1C mouthpiece about a minute. Then I play a second line G until I run out of air. Then I spend 10 to 15 minutes playing Clarke technical studies. Then I go to Carmine Caruso's book "musical calisthenics for brass". I am able to hit F6 now. I am not playing a lot in that range, but would like to play in that range. Any suggestions. Richard
I’ve seen some trumpet players using a clear disc on the mic stand. I guess this helps bounce some of the sound back. Anyone got any experience of using one of these? any pros/cons?
Very practical and reaffirming. Thank you for sharing. Any thoughts on equipment?
Admittedly, I'm not an amazing resource for equipment related questions. My current setup is an Adams A4LT Bb trumpet with an enlarged 5.5" bell, and a standard Bach 3D mouthpiece. My flugelhorn is an older Conn Vintage One flugel designed by Fred Powell. My guiding principles in selecting any equipment are quality of sound and ease of playing, and both of these are equally important to me.
@@jazzmindwithtitocarrillo605 you’re hitting double C’s with a Bach 3D? 😳
@@brandonvazquez8979 I can. I think in my range video, I did also use a Yamaha 14A4A. Those are currently my two go-to mouthpieces! 😆
@@jazzmindwithtitocarrillo605 impressive! Appreciate your content. Looking forward to more!
Hmmmm. Too much stale air that i have to get rid of.
Tito, I see you play an Adams in this video, which model is it? A1V2?
It’s actually an A4LT, but with a customized big 5.5” bell that comes on the standard A4.
Tito, I do need to disagree with one thing you mentioned, I did the same thing for many year with playing with one ear in and one out and I found out that using that technique actually is very bad on your hearing. It tends to fool your brain into lowering its guard on your uncovered ear. Just like it is not good to have one eye covered with a tinted lens and one non-tinted. If you are going to use an in ear monitor on one ear, it is best to keep it loose so that sound gets in from the external sourses.
How do I increase my range? I’m 66 years old and have been playing 3rd part in church orchestras for 45 years but now I’m switching to more 2nd and 1st chair parts but I struggle with above the register notes
Check out my video Upper Register Breakthrough
I just finished it and it answered a lot of my questions! I took notes and can’t wait to get home tonight and try it out!!! Thank you!!!
I am really struggling with endurance level
Haha bar gigs with no monitor. Or there is one, but they shut off the trumpet mic. Lol. Everytime.
What trumpet do you use?
I play an Adams A4LT customized with a 5.5” bell. It’s quite a lightweight and versatile horn, I love playing it!
How often in 2 hour practice session should I break ?
2 hours is a long time to practice, but I think that answer might be different for everyone. The question you want to ask yourself is “how long can I play in a relaxed manner with a centered, tension-free sound?” Anytime you feel like you’re forcing or bad habits are creeping back in, you should take a break and come back to it later. There is also a mental side to this as well, because 2 hours is a long time to maintain proper concentration. Might be better to break this up over 2-3 sessions to keep both your chops and your mind fresh. Hope this helps!
@@jazzmindwithtitocarrillo605 yes thank you
Horn on face for too long is a real trap for brass band cornet players. They have to play all the time like a violin in an orchestra and nose breathing becomes a habit.
Wow, so I’ve never played in a brass band, I’ve heard some of those incredible bands, and I can totally see what you’re saying. For an extreme example of what I’m talking about, go watch video of Sergei Nakariakov. He does a quick reset after almost every phrase!
@@jazzmindwithtitocarrillo605 Good idea. We can end up "mouthpiece jammed on face". It's a very tough gig. 2-3 hour rehearsals, but it develops great chops if you don't get into bad habits.
9:40
Inhalation: Include the nose and you will not have to open the mouth so much that the embouchure is disturbed. I do NOT understand why players don't encourage this. The lowest resistance path for Inhalation, should a quick breath be required, is nose AND mouth. In most situations nose alone is sufficient and it doesn't disturb the embouchure.
You are describing air pressure, not air speed. Air speed is actually a liability to efficiency. Besides, we do not know, nor should we care what the air "speed " is. (It actually varies at any instant inside the system)
And no , the diaphragm is not involuntary when playing. We take conscious control of breathing mechanism when playing, this includes the diaphragm.
Lots of stuff here. Using lower body breath support is my key point, which for me includes my abdominal muscles, the muscles of my lower back, and my glutes. If I can control my diaphragm, then I guess I use that to, so be it.
As for air pressure vs air speed, can you explain the difference? Does using air pressure cause the air stream to stay at the same rate of speed? Maybe you’re assuming that air speed implies an increase in the volume of air, but it doesn’t, I can play softly in my upper register with a tiny amount of air, and I encourage my students to learn range this way.
And for your first point, I breathe through the nose for Caruso warm ups and often on piccolo trumpet which requires little air to play. But show me one video of a master trumpet player only breathing through their nose throughout their performance. I don’t believe in the concept of “disturbing the embouchure “, in fact, I’ve had many students over decades who struggle with the issues I speak of in this video *precisely* because of not wanting to disturb their embouchure. The biggest disturbance to one’s embouchure would be a lack of sufficient air, especially for playing long phrases or louder passages, due to the inevitable increase in mouthpiece pressure.
@@jazzmindwithtitocarrillo605 one can take a full breath using the nose when time is not critical. ( Which is often). When a player circular breathes it is 100 percent nose inhalation and even then can be done for relatively short duration.
Nose inhalation is superior in a number of ways and players employ it more than is generally recognized.
As for air "volume " as you refer. I think you mean flow. ( These are not quite the same thing)
How much "volume " of air you use depends on the air flow AND the length of the note, phrase, or passage.
Air flow feels less as we ascend due to acoustics of the instrument AND decreased aperture efficiency. Which requires more air pressure ( by exhalation effort). Obviously air flow also varies with dynamics .
For definition :
Air volume = length cubed or equivalently, liters, etc.
Air flow= volume/ time
Air flow velocity = distance/time ( what many refer to as air "speed". Often, exhalation effort, air pressure or flow is referred to, incorrectly, as air "speed")
Though there are appropriate uses for nose inhalation, it is NOT superior to mouth inhalation, and the amount of video evidence of master trumpet players’ breathing habits supporting my view is so overwhelming that it no longer warrants defending my position.
When I said volume, I meant the amount of air used. Aperture size greatly impacts volume, but I don’t see that reflected in your mathematical formula. Either way, I could give my students the info you just provided, but I don’t believe it would move the needle one bit in terms of improving their playing, and that is my main focus in my teaching approach and with this channel.
@@jazzmindwithtitocarrillo605 aperture size affects air flow ( you continue to refer to air volume) a smaller aperture is more resistive and therefore it reduces flow.
The nose primarily function is respiratory. It filers, warms and humidifies the air on inhalation. It gives a calming effect whereas mouth inhalation is related to a higher stress response. A player is not required to CHOOSE between nose and mouth if high inflow ( for short duration) is required. Nose + mouth provides the least inflow resistance.
Players, and good ones, do use the nose concurrently for inhalation during performance. One can also shift the inhalation path to be more nose- involved with good results.
Flat chin > Contentious issue. Doesn't hold true in a global sense. PILES of top players have a bunched chin. Look at James Morrison as classic example, as videos of him are EASY to find. NOT a flat chin. From what I've seen, Arturo also falls into this category. You can see it in the video clip that you show of him. Watch things bunch up under the lower rim in the video clip you used. I was taught flat chin and have always played that way myself, but I know others do not, and there are some schools of upper register development that specifically advocate for NOT trying to have a flat chin.