The Myth

No matter how high trumpet players can play, we always want to be able to play higher. When we hear a lead trumpet soaring above the big band, we think, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great to be able to do that.” Then we think that whoever it is doing the screeching around up there must be some kind of freak of nature, and that the upper register is a place reserved for a select few. Extended range is not something that is limited to a select few but is attainable by anyone who possesses the desire to achieve it.

The good news is that there is a way to develop your range. The bad news is that it takes time and work. While there are those that seem to come out of the womb with a double ‘C’ in their bag of tricks, most of us mere mortals have to put some time into working our way up there. I like the Zen concept of focussing on the journey and not the destination – it’s a lot less frustrating if you can think that way. It will take time to reach the double ‘C’ but, if you stop thinking about it, you will be there and beyond before you know it.

The first and foremost priority when even considering trying to extend one’s range is getting a good sound in the most comfortable range of the instrument. From here, we work up gradually over the course of several months.

The Concept

The most important step in learning anything new is getting the concept. The first thing anyone should do, toward that end, is listen to lots of recordings – that pretty much goes for anything you want to learn in music. Take recordings of that which you wish to accomplish and spend lots of time with them. However, we don’t want to just come screaming out of the gates and try to hit the high notes right off the bat. Here are a couple of very effective exercises that I have found help to reach that goal.

Exercise #1

The first exercise is very simple. Starting in the middle of your own comfortable range, play eighth notes, with the metronome beating quarter 60 per minute, alternating between the starting note and one whole tone above. Repeat this a few times and then raise your starting note one semi-tone and play the same figure again. While doing this, you must focus on making a big beautiful sound, and remember to support the air and keep it constant. Also, remember to take little breaks in this course of this exercise. I usually rest between the figures for as long as it took me to play the figure.

In doing this exercise, we must pay close attention to what is happening to the sound. A natural tendency for all of us when we play higher is to get tense. This is why this exercise is so effective – while concentrating on keeping the sound big and beautiful, we are also staying relaxed. As you get higher, you let the air do the work for you. Once you get into the upper register, you need to tell yourself, “well, self, if I could play that figure on those two notes, there’s no reason why I can’t do the same a mere semi-tone higher.” As you proceed, maintain your focus on having the notes float on the air instead of trying to squeeze them out of your lips – always maintain a big sound… constant air!

Soon you find yourself getting up to that region known as the high register. For many, this has remained unexplored territory for much of our trumpet-playing life, except for once in a while when we managed to surprise ourselves. This is where it is vital to keep your eye on the ball, as it were. Always focus on the quality of sound and never let it become forced. Also, we must be patient and trust that we are working up to it and not trying to attain it instantly. When you feel that the interval of a whole tone is starting to become a strain, leave the exercise for the next practice session. The next time you come back to it, you will find that it gets a little easier. Over time, you will find that your range has extended by a whole tone, a minor third, or more.

What ends up happening during the course of using this exercise is that your confidence will build along with your range. Your concept of what your range is will change as well. This is the key to extending your range: learning to not think of the notes as high notes. Also, in learning to use your air speed to play high instead of your lips, you will notice that your endurance is greater.

Exercise #2

The second exercise is one that I use for developing the extended upper register. This one uses a simple two octave major arpeggio.

Starting on low ‘G’, play the major triad – 1-3-5, the second octave triad – 1-3-5, and then the tonic at the beginning of the third octave. What is important is how you think of this as you do it. The following is a list of objectives to keep in mind while doing this exercise:

1. Think of the series of triads each as a musical phrase; 1-3-5 (play the 5 longer and with direction, leading to the next ‘1’), then 1-3-5 (again, the ‘5’ leads to the final ‘1’). The ‘1-3-5’ also has its own natural musical direction that must be played.

2. Think of that the second triad as if you are still in the first octave. In other words, although you are playing the second octave, in your mind, you want to be hearing the first octave. This helps to keep things nice and open.

3. Approach the tonic of the third octave (the last note) as if you want to continue. However, when you actually play it, it only needs to be a strong downbeat and doesn’t necessarily have to be very long.

4. Make sure that you rest after playing one set for as long as it took to play the set.

5. Having started with G major, by the time you get to C major, your ‘G’ at the top of the staff doesn’t seem as high as it did when you played it the first time. You’re probably playing it more open and relaxed than you did the first time.

6. I always stop this exercise when the second ‘5’ becomes “an issue” or doesn’t speak properly. I won’t tell you how high that is…

7. Always remain relaxed throughout this exercise. As soon as you tense up, you are working against yourself. Let the air do the work.

The following is an example starting on low ‘G’. The dotted line indicates the musical direction of tonic to 3^rd to 5^th:

One last thing to consider while doing these exercises is that, in order to develop our range, we must expand our concept of what the range is. If you think of your middle range as being the easiest register on the instrument, it becomes your “comfort zone”. In order to break away from this, it is necessary to adopt a moveable “comfort zone” so that no matter what register you are playing in, you always consider it to be “middle range”.

Taking Ownership of Your Pursuits

The most important step in learning anything is taking ownership of our pursuits. This is something that we must do before we even step into it. It is analogous to Jack Nichlaus’ concept that he teaches, of getting a mental picture in your mind of your shot even before you step up to the tee. In order to have a successful tee shot, first you must picture the ball travelling along the desired course. Then you picture the golf club following the proper arc and connecting with the ball in order to make it travel along that desired course. Next you picture yourself making the club follow that proper arc and, finally, picture in your mind which club would make the ball enable the shot. Then, after doing all this, you simply step up to the tee and do exactly as you pictured (if you have ever seen me golf, you would know that I find this to be much easier said than done…).

When setting out to learn something new, it is very common to feel as if the goal we want to achieve is beyond our reach. As long as we think that, it will remain so. What has to happen instead, is that we must get a strong mental picture of that which we aim to achieve and then imagine ourselves making it happen. When you set out to learn the trumpet, you must be a trumpet player from the start (and I’m not referring to all the beer drinking). The only way to picture yourself as a trumpet player is to listen to as many trumpet players that you admire and picture yourself doing what their doing. In time, the picture will resemble more of your than anyone else. In jazz, we do this with transcribing and learning the solos of great players so that we might gain some insight into what that person was thinking at the time of playing the solo. (Interestingly enough, someone once handed Kenny Wheeler a transcription of one of his own solos and, in his modesty, he said, “I can’t play that!!”).

In taking ownership of our pursuits, we immediately become that which we are striving for. Otherwise, it will always remain beyond our reach.

Your Best Teacher = Your Ears

In order to play high, we must appreciate why we do it. If it is a tool to be used when improvising, then it must be heard musically in your own heart and soul before doing it. If it used to play lead in a big band, then we must understand what that role is and do what we must to get into the heads of the great lead trumpet players. One of my favourite lead trumpeters of all time is Arnie Chycoski and I spent many an hour playing along with Boss Brass albums in order to try to understand his approach to phrasing and articulation. Playing lead is not just about the high notes but, if they are in your bag, you can use them to make the most exciting moments even more exciting. Remember, strive for tone and let your ears be your guide.