Double High C on Trumpet: Let’s Understand

Before we get into the technique, let’s understand what the double high C on trumpet means. Two octaves above middle C this note requires fine muscle control and precise air support. Unlike lower notes which rely more on lip flexibility, higher notes like the double high C require you to refine your Embouchure, Lip Setpoint, Anchor Tonguing, Breath Support, and airflow much more.

Step-by-Step Guide to Playing Double High C on Trumpet

1. Master Your Fundamentals

To play double high C on trumpet you need to get the basics of playing in the upper register down first. If you struggle with notes like high F, G or  A you need to focus on those first before you can attempt a double high C. It is like the basics of movement. We learn to crawl, walk and then run.

• Embouchure: Your embouchure should be firm but flexible. The muscles around your lips need to support the note without getting too tight. Start with notes in the high range and work your way up.
• Breathing: High notes need strong support but not a lot of air.  Practice learning how to take a half a breath. We do this on high notes because a really full breath makes it almost impossible to create good breath support. A full breath stretches the muscles that we need to use for support and hinders real breath support.  Without proper air support, you can’t reach double high C.
• Posture: Keep good posture so you can use good breath support. If my posture is bad then the 1st thing that happens when I pull my stomach is is that it lifts my chest and fixes my posture. Bad posture wastes our breath support on just fixing our posture.. Standing up or sitting up straight helps you get the most form your breath support.

2. Get Lip Flexibility

Flexibility is a key to playing high notes. One of the best ways to get flexibility is to practice lip slurs. Lip slurs are when you move between partials without using your valves and have to rely only on embouchure adjustments.

• Exercise: Start with low notes like G or C and work your way up the harmonic series (G, C, E, G, etc.). As you go up, focus on keeping your embouchure steady while adjusting airspeed and lip tension.
• Buzzing: Buzzing on the mouthpiece alone helps build the muscles for higher notes. Try buzzing the pitches of higher notes (starting with high C and working up to double high C) to build your embouchure.

3. Increase Air Support and Speed

When you play double high C the air needs to be more focused than when playing lower notes. Many players try to “squeeze” the note out but this results in a thin, strained sound.

• Support with Your Stomach: Make sure your breath support comes from your stomach. Pull your stomach in and up from the area around your navel.  Practice long tones in the high register starting with high C and working your way up to double high C. This will help you focus on the airflow.

4. Maintain a Small, Controlled Aperture

For some high notes, the aperture (the small opening between your lips) needs to be smaller than for lower notes. But don’t squeeze your lips too tightly together as this can kill the vibration needed to produce the sound. However; for our highest notes we also should create another aperture inside the mouth. Anchor tonguing we tongue these high notes with a tiss syllable creating a sound like a cobra hissing. This creates a good airstream focus that helps in playing strong high notes.

• Firm but Relaxed: Keep your lips firm enough to resist the air but relaxed enough to vibrate. 
• Embouchure: As you go up the corners of your mouth stay firm and the center of your lips vibrate. The higher you go the more you should focus on the center of your lips being soft and vibrating.

5. Gradual Practice with High Notes

You won’t get to double high C overnight. It takes time for your muscles and air control to develop to that level.

• High C: Start with playing high C consistently and strongly. Once you’re comfortable with high C, move up incrementally—high D, E, and so on.
• Rest and Recovery: High notes put a lot of strain on your embouchure so make sure to include rest periods in your practice routine to avoid injury and to allow your muscles to recover.

6. Use a Tuner to Check Intonation

Playing double high C on trumpet with good intonation is more important than getting to the note itself. Use a tuner to check your pitch as you practice. High notes can go sharp or flat if your embouchure or air support isn’t solid.

7. Mental Focus and Visualization

Playing high notes, including the double high C, is as much a mental challenge as a physical one. Visualize yourself nailing the note. A positive mindset will help you overcome the fear of going up high.

Trumpet Embouchure and Double High C

Double high C requires a strong embouchure. If your embouchure isn’t right, you won’t be able to hit the high notes. Focus on:

• Consistency: Buzz, long tones, lip slurs. Build strength and endurance and double high C will be easier.
• Embouchure Adjustments: As you work towards double high C, make small adjustments in your embouchure and air support. Everyone is different so find the balance between firm and flexible.

Conclusion: Trumpet Double High C

Playing double high C is a big deal and takes dedication, patience, and proper technique. It requires strong fundamentals, lip flexibility, more air support but less air mass or volume, and a disciplined practice routine. By working on small increments and having your embouchure and air in tune you can build the range and control to play double high C with confidence and clarity.

Remember progress is gradual and the journey to double high C is as important as the note itself. With consistent practice, you’ll get there and also improve your overall trumpet playing in the process.

The post How to play Double High C on Trumpet. appeared first on BBTrumpet.

Reaching the high note is a goal, more like a benchmark, for any trumpet player. It’s technique, control, and understanding of how your body works with the instrument. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, this guide will help you refine your approach to playing high notes and make it natural and effective.

1. The High-Pressure Air Tank: Building and Controlling Air

One foundation of playing high notes on the trumpet is your breath support. Your lungs work like a high-pressure air tank – you just need to use it like that. The air you blow through the trumpet must be controlled and powerful not in volume,  but in how you use it.

How to get the right amount of air pressure?

• Breathe naturally and from the diaphragm: Shallow breathing won’t cut it.   
• Maintain steady control: Release this air in a steady stream. Imagine filling a balloon without letting the air escape too quickly. You want a consistent strong airflow that doesn’t waver as you go up into the higher notes.
• Practice breath control exercises: Do long tones and breathing exercises on the trumpet. These will build up your stamina and control for high-pressure air support.

2. Tongue Position: The Secret to Pitch

Your tongue is the director of the airflow and the shape of the pitch. As your tongue goes forward and up, the tongue naturally constricts the space through which the air travels. This tiny movement speeds up the airflow and focuses the stream which is necessary for high notes.

• Think “Tiss”: When playing high notes, think of saying Tiss as this is the start of the high note anchor tongue position. This tiny movement directs the air in a way that helps produce high pitches.
• Don’t overdo it: The tongue should move smoothly and subtly. Exaggeration can cause tension and instability in your playing.
• Practice articulation exercises: Tongue position is also key to articulation. Practice scales and arpeggios with a focus on keeping your tongue light and agile, especially in the higher registers.

3. Lip Position: The Sweet Spot for Vibration

The vibration of your lips, also known as the embouchure, is where the sound is born. Your lips need to vibrate faster for higher notes but not tense up or thin out.

• Find the balance: Your lips should be gently firm but not rigid. Think of them as the reed in a woodwind instrument, needing just the right amount of tension to vibrate freely. Too much pressure will choke the sound; too little will make you miss the note.
• Utilize the corners of your mouth: Fortifying the muscles around the corners of your mouth makes a difference to keep the embouchure steady as you go up in pitch. This also reduces the temptation to press the mouthpiece too hard on your lips, which can cause fatigue and limit your range.
• Practice lip buzzing: Try buzzing exercises with just your lips. This helps you find the right amount of tension needed to produce higher pitches.

4. Small, Fast Air Stream: The Power Behind the Pitch

Once you have the right air pressure, tongue position, and lip tension you need to make sure your air stream is fast enough to reach those high notes. It is easier to hit the high register when the air blows fast. Also of even more importance, the air stream needs to be narrow. You need to use anchor tonguing to focus the air to vibrate a smaller amount of lip tissue.

• Air control is key: As you go up in pitch your air stream must be smaller and faster. That’s why your tongue position is so important – it helps to both focus and accelerate the air as it exits your mouth.
• Imagine a laser beam: Your air stream should be focused like a laser beam, going directly through your embouchure and into the trumpet.
• Train with speed drills: Practice exercises that encourage fast air, such as playing high notes at different dynamics, starting soft, and increasing volume while keeping the pitch.
• Practice whistling. Many high note players spend time whistling every day to train the tongue for higher notes.

How to generate more power to reach a higher register?

Combine all these into one smooth process without over-blowing or straining. Strengthen your diaphragm with breathing exercises, and sit-ups, practice your tongue and lip coordination, and focus on fast controlled air.

How can you make it look natural without putting more pressure on it?

Relaxation and confidence are the key to making high notes look effortless. Don’t tense up your face, neck, and shoulders. Keep your body loose and breathe deep. Visualize the note before you play it and trust your practice.

What do professionals do to generate high notes on the trumpet?

Professional trumpet players spend years honing their high-note technique. They practice consistently and do exercises that target breath control, tongue placement, and embouchure stability. They also stress the importance of mental preparation and use visualization techniques to “see” the notes before they play them.

Conclusion – Professional advice by Pops

Clint, a professional trumpet teacher, sums it up: “High notes are as much mental as they are physical. Trust your practice and don’t let fear of missing a note cause tension. Consistent thoughtful practice will get you there – so take it one note at a time.”

Playing high notes on the trumpet musically is the goal. With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to easily playing those high notes.

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I have given lessons by web cam and phone to trumpet players all over the world. These weekly lessons give you the chance to transform your playing. We will work on new ways to play that can unlock your sound, endurance and range.

How to arrange your lesson:

Purchase the lesson and then we can arrange a time that is suitable via email or phone.

I prefer to use Zoom for lessons. So create a free Zoom account and then test your settings (video and audio) before the lesson.

Pay 150 for 1 hour lesson

Some accomplishments that set me apart from others:

I am world famous for teaching and have been mentioned in magazines and books written by other teachers.

I have helped players to become full-time Professional Players.

I am the first person to ever write about The Aperture Tunnel (TM).

I am the first to both explain and give musical exercises to learn about Lip Setpoint (TM).

I am the first to write about different embouchure systems as a 3-D model (Farkas, Maggio, Overlap, Stevens, Superchops, TCE.)

I am the first to write about the 4 Trumpet Octave Keys (TM) relaxing enough so that mouthpiece seal raises pitch an octave, Air stream Focus (TM), Air Kicks (support), and correct lip compression; which are used by pro players but almost no hobby players use them.

I have written about which facial muscles to use and which ones hinder playing. This enables you to play and be relaxed, when you stop the facial tug of war.

I wrote about and connected the SS or hiss to tongue arch and wrote about how arch relates to anchor tonguing.

I created a new way to hold the trumpet that helps to reduce mouthpiece pressure.

I developed a new way to reduce facial tension in ONE day.

I did the 1st rewrite of music to The Arban Book in 150 years and brought the techniques into the 21st Century.

I am the 1st person to do a Thermal Imaging study of people while they were playing trumpet.

I am the 1st to do a study on resonance and spectral analysis of the entire Trumpet Family, Flugel, cornet, Bb, C, Eb, Picc and on how embouchure tension relates to resonance.

People can improve all of their life. Keith Fiala has toured with Maynard Ferguson and Arturo Sandoval and yet he was here again as learning never stops.

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Range and How We Use the Air in the most important thing to think about when we are playing high notes on the trumpet. Here are some tips to help us master the high notes.

1. Too muscle based. How We Use The Air For Range is the # 1 tool of a brass player.

2. Compression + compression + mouthpiece pressure = NO aperture for the air to go through. Basically the tight muscular chops create such a small lip aperture that any other help closes and seals them. The pressure needed for a seal between the lips and the mouthpiece is not a lot but it WILL have some affect on the lips. Added to that the air column needed to play high is trying to blow the chops open. This actually blows them forward and that puts some of the embouchure inside the cup of the mouthpiece. This also closes the lip aperture. Lastly there is feedback added to your lips from the pressure wave inside the horn returning to your lips. This feedback from the horn stops at around a high g. The reflecting boundary is pushed out farther and farther as you ascend. And this causes a lot of players to have a break in range. When you add all of this together you have sealed them shut.

3. I was where you are now. You have all of the tools but you need to relax the chops so that the sound can be released. It is possible that you could accomplish that in a short time. It is possible that it also takes forever. This is now about overcoming the severe handicap of thought.

You know the facts. High notes need compression……. How We Use The Air For Range is important so you make an effort to add compression. Along with this some extra air support, a little more mouthpiece pressure. These things are what keep 95% of all high f and g players from being triple high c players.

At some point you have to not only stop adding pressure but actually take some away. That’s why Stevens and Mendez both told people of the ability to play a “No pressure note”. For the sake of a good sound you don’t want to go that far. You do want to pull the mouthpiece away and allow the lips to respond to the air. I use less mouthpiece pressure to play a double c than I do to play a g on top of the staff. If I use the same as I do for high c the note will NOT sound. Make an effort to pull the horn away from your top lip as you play higher.

1st lesson for range

Well the real key (To Think About) is to move the air faster and farther. Thinking and reality often differ. But thinking about actions or outcomes really helps to play. So I think about How We Use The Air For Range.

To keep abdominal reserve strength work on a natural approach below 4th space e. If you place your hand on your stomach and sing a g or c you will find that you do not tense your muscles. Check to see if you are using this same relaxed approach to playing. It only takes a day or two to learn this and you have more strength to speed up the air in the high c area.

For the mental part there are several points. Low notes are more non-directional than high ones. All you want to do is let them roll out of the bell onto the floor. Nice and relaxed using warm breath (haaa). The higher notes are directional and you want to shoot them through the horn to the back of the room. Use cold air like cooling soup. Music is an expressive art not an athletic event. Don’t go for records work on painting a picture.

As for the chops always set them for a g on top of the staff. This can prevent dozens of problems. Plus it is only an octave to high g over high c and an octave and a half to low c. Most problems come about because the set was on a low note like second line g. Now you have to muscle two octaves to get to g over high c. This is really a big deal. It is easier to set for the upper register and relax for the low notes than to set for the low ones and fight the high ones.

Make sure that you have a close (lips touching) embouchure then let the high notes out. To get a feel for what the lip needs to do in order to play higher try this. Put your teeth together and place a pencil between your lips. Let the eraser touch the front of the teeth. The other end (unsharpened please) will stick straight out in front. Raise and lower the end of the pencil using only the lip muscles. Raising the pencil takes lip compression (lip against lip) as do higher notes. This is also used by some as an exercise to strengthen the lips.

95% of the people that ask about endurance and range exert too much overall pressure (chops, abdominal, mouthpiece) and the notes can not escape into the horn. Relax the chops and pull the mouthpiece away from your lips as you ascend. The extra compression and force of the air column are already trying to blow the lips toward the mouthpiece. Pull away and give them some room to buzz. It may sound strange but I’ve seen it work hundreds of times.

Pops

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I heard that you have to play pedal tones to get the chops to play high.

Playing pedals CORRECTLY can teach you to relax the center of your mouth while the corners remain firm. It can aid in learning to control the airflow. And a couple of other things as well. In and of itself pedals do NOT increase your range.

Playing pedal tones teaches you to make BIG embouchure movements. But high notes NEED small adjustments.

Let’s say that moving from double pedal c to pedal c is a movement of 1.
Going from pedal c to low c is a movement of 1/2.
Going from low c to middle c is a movement of 1/4.
Going from middle c to high c is a movement of 1/8.
Going from high c to double high c is a movement of 1/16.
Going from double high c to triple high c is a movement of 1/32.

Pedals are NOT helping here.

Take the book systematic approach to daily practice. It has tons of pedals and arpeggios written up through the roof. It has been in print for 25+ years. If playing pedals was ALL it took there would be 10 million trumpet players all screaming triple C’s. There are several of these types of books out there and they rely on a PHYSICAL approach to playing.

There are easier ways to approach this. They involve effective efficient use of the air stream rather than lip muscles the size of your arms.

Ever see the movie The Karate Kid? He learned without doing specific exercises for each action. He also thought he was wasting his time. Arpeggio books are for people who like to think they are working on their range. But if you asked your high note heroes; you would have been told that they didn’t learn that way.

I’ve had people take a 1-2 hour lesson and add a 5th to their range. Not a temporary increase; a real increase of useable range. All from AIR. The only catch is that they have to try to do it the way I suggest. Really try.

To really play the pedals you need to maintain 1 Lip Setpoint (TM). That is the 1 note that you always set for no matter what note you want to play. We do that for a consistent sound throughout the full range of the trumpet. We also do it to help with our accuracy. If we only set for 1 note then it is easy to memorize how every note feels.

So for me to play pedals (which I do) I play my Lip Setpoint (TM) which is G on top of the staff. I keep that set and play a pedal exercise and at the end of the exercise I then Play my setpoint note and then a G above high C to prove to myself that I kept my set.

Pops

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There are some teachers and books that advocate the use of pedal tones to help extend your trumpet range with pedal tones.

Here are some problems with playing the pedals on an altered embouchure.

1. 90% of the people who play pedal tones allow their lips to roll out or protrude into the cup of the mouthpiece. Both of these are contrary to the action needed to play high. Pedals are fine if you maintain a correct embouchure however someone needs to watch you play or you must use a mirror to avoid embouchure shifts.

2. Pedals will not build the muscle needed to play high. Even when played properly pedals are played with much less tension than high notes. Only playing high will build the muscles needed to play high.

3. If you play until you are tired you should rest. However many people will play pedals are then continue to work their chops. Some of them have injured themselves by doing this. The lips are still fatigued and weakened however by playing pedals you have increased the blood flow to the lips and removed some of the lactic acid. Lactic acid is produced by all muscles when worked and the build-up signals your brain that the muscle is tired by making it sore. When you speed up the blood flow and remove the lactic acid then you fool your brain. You no longer feel all of the muscle damage until the next day. Most trumpet players have experienced this. To do this on purpose is inviting disaster. Yes, some range books advise this, but I can show you how to improve safely.

I do play pedals but I do them from 1 Lip Setpoint (TM). I do this to extend your trumpet range with pedal tones.

You play every note EVEN your pedals from a lip setpoint of 3rd space C, 4th space E, or G on top of the staff. That way your pedals worked your REAL playing embouchure and muscles and not some stunt embouchure. Your notes and sound stay connected.

I play my setpoint note first then keeping that set I play the pedal exercise. At the end of the pedal exercise, I then play my Lip Setpoint (TM) and then a scale up to G above high C or higher to make sure That I kept my set.

Pops

The post Extend Your Trumpet Range with Pedal Tones appeared first on BBTrumpet.

I prefer the use of lip slurs and trills combined with playing simple melodies as opposed to arpeggios. Using Lip Slurs to Develop Range is great because I can really think about my anchor tongue and how my whistle helps me access the high notes. I can concentrate on the tongue moving toward the teeth and then up as I whistle the lip slurs.

I like to do a lot of music about a third under my highest notes. Playing a lot of note a third to a fifth under your highest notes allows you to play more music and not strain and get so many bad sounding squeaks. 

I do some arpeggios but not a lot because arpeggios are like flagpoles no more than 1 of each note played. I like to do exercises and melodies so that I get to play accessible notes more than once and work on owning those notes.

Another thing I like is lip trills which is just a small fast lip slur.

The reason is that lip trills help to keep your lips flexible while arpeggios tend to make them stiff. Also by playing simple melodies one or two octaves up you work on musicianship and ear training not just making awful squeals and squeaks.

Any melody will work Mary had a little lamb or any melody I have included Blue Bells of Scotland as an example. When you can play it up 1 octave then work on playing it up 2 octaves.

You will notice that it is more difficult to play a melody than to do arpeggios but it is much more beneficial as well.

Pops

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There is a huge difference between playing music and “WORKING on your range”. I worked on my range 30 years ago and forgot how to play. That’s one reason I ended up at Don Jake Jacoby’s house. I needed to learn How To Build Musical Range.

The weightlifting / marathon running concept applied to trumpet playing often leads to failure because they get too involved in it and forget real music.

Every aspect of playing that is important in the lower and middle register is also important above the staff. ie tone, phrasing, smooth slurs, clean tonguing, vibrato. We learn these by playing music like the Concone studies or the Charlier exercises.

Well, if you want those same skills in the upper register then play music in the upper register. A month of playing those same Concone studies an octave up will do more for your playing than a year of arpeggios, scales , pushups or anything else. Yes it is HARD to do. It is NOT fun and since you will not perfect it in a day or two then you don’t get that “feeling good about yourself as you hit your first squeeky high r.”

The arpeggio approach builds muscle but not control, not tone, no tonguing skills, it stiffens and causes a loss of flexibility . But it does make you “FEEL good” after all you can see that you moved a note. The arpeggio / scale exercises are all gross muscle building. These will help you to pound out a high note at the end of a chart but they will not help you to play musically up there. They were designed to take you to a certain point and no further. Even the names imply their goals Stevens costello triple high c.. double high c in minutes.. double high c in 37 weeks. They shoot for the student to be able to ————— hit —————- a certain note.

My goal is for you to play it.

Let’s look at how most people develop their range. From low c to g on the staff they played scales, etudes, SONGS, ect. From high c to super c they played arpeggios holding the top note. So the lower register was developed by making music and it IS musical. While the upper register was ‘developed’ by making noise and it is NOT musical. I hope that my point is clear. Arpeggios, scales and slurs are only for power. To make music you must play music.

Maynard Ferguson developed his range by playing the Arban book an octave up. Jacoby had me use the Williams book. It’s the same idea. To be reliable you have to play music. You have to work on tonguing, lip trills, vibrato, phrasing, you know total music. That’s what makes Maynard Ferguson, or Bill Chase different. They played musically.

How To Build Musical Range is also why I took the time to write a 985-page range extension exercise book. I used many exercises from each section of the Arban and added many of my own exercises.  Then going up a note at a time up to an octave. It is free on my Trumpet Foundation page. Trumpet Foundation Page

Let me expand on How To Build Musical Range by playing musically in the upper register. I’ve known players who developed range by arpeggios only. It works to a point. They worked on it as weight training. (Every other day. The problem was that they increased the stiffness in their lips to a point where they lost flexibility. This approach also easily leads to requiring an embouchure shift. Think about it as you play your 1 octave arpeggio or even a scale the starting note gets higher and higher. You take a breath and play the next series. You take another breath …. There is an almost overwhelming desire to make subtle changes on each breath.

Here is a test start on high c and play an arpeggio up then play it down to low c. Was it slow to respond or of a poor tone quality? Then you are playing with an embouchure shift. There are some ways to avoid this.

Always set your chops for a g on top of the staff. It is only an octave to high g and only an octave and a half to low c. When you do practice arpeggios or scales up for range always play them back down to low c or below on the same breath. This will help you to learn to play all registers with one embouchure.

The reason to play simple songs one or two octaves up is to learn to play musically. Even if it is Mary had a little lamb there IS phrasing. Take a group of melodies that you already have ie Concone (legato or the lyrical studies), Hering 32 etudes, old H.S or Jr. High solos, allregion music, Beethoven transcriptions. Play each exercise 2 times the first time as written and the second time 8va. I used all of these plus The Lazarus Method for Clarinet. Hey clarinet parts move around and if you practice this stuff no lead book will ever throw you.

So you say that you have tried all of this yet still the notes don’t come out. Then you are not letting the sound out. There are several ways that this can happen. Too much lip compression will roll the lips in so far that the air can NOT come out. Too much pressure on your top lip can pin it and again hold in the sound. Finally Too much lip curl will prevent the notes from coming out. The difference in embouchure set between low c and second line g is almost none. After all it is only a fifth. So why do people make faces and strain when going from high c to high g. It too is only a fifth. Very little difference in embouchure setup just more airspeed.

Pops

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We all have a tendency to be a little stagnant with our practice and so our playing doesn’t improve like we wish it would. We often assume where our limits are and accept them too easily. So here are 5 Practice Routines To Improve Your Playing.

I want you to fully understand that with the right practice and the right mindset you have NO limit. I have used these ideas and others to help players who had trouble playing a G on top of the staff and turn them into players who could play into the doubles and beyond.

We do it by working actual techniques like in the Arban book and real songs. In doing this range, resonance, accuracy, endurance… all improve.

These 5 files should be done in order. The song should be played every day starting today. Get good on the first 2 interval files (Air Kicks, and Arban Intervals} then move to the other 2 Interval files.

Pops

Sextet From Lucia

Air Kicks

Arban Intervals

Arban Expanded Intervals

Expanded Interval Study

Andrea Tofanelli and Greg Kuehn do my Air Kicks

Me teaching them how to do my Air Kicks.

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It has been suggested by some that there is no chance of causing any lip damage by using pedal tones. Pedals are used to help loosen the lips. To play a double pedal C the lips vibrate freely and they are very relaxed. This is a good thing. Many people use Pedals And Systematic Approach.

Let’s look at the directions in THE building range through pedals book. “Systematic Approach to Daily Practice for Trumpet”

Part 1 is the main pedal exercise. The directions are.
1. Big Breath.
2. Do not hold back.
3. Hold the note as long as possible with a crescendo at the end. Hold the note until all air is gone and longer (until your stomach shakes).

One of the biggest problems with the book is people read it and play it so very different than Gordon had his students play them. Most people do lots of experimenting and fussing with their embouchure on the pedals. And when the exercise starts on pedals, they set their embouchure there. Then as the exercise goes higher, they actually reset and change their embouchure when they breathe. In person Gordon would not have allowed this to happen. Sadly though, he didn’t think about including any info about this problem. Doing this over and over actually teaches the player to use multiple embouchures. That is a truly horrible thing to do.  So, we have to do the book from our real embouchure and we should play everything that we play from 1 and only one Lip Setpoint (TM).

Relaxing the lips to their fullest extent then playing without holding back adding a crescendo. The day Jack posted the first Pedal post I read an email from a TPIN list member. He was writing to ask me how to rebuild his chops from damage did while playing part 1 of lesson 1 of this book. The damage happens folks. It usually occurs later than lesson one.

Starting in lesson 2 part 2 There are 1 octave arpeggios. That is fine.

Lesson 3 part 2.
This is where the real problem starts. 2 octave arpeggios.
The first is pedal C to 3rd space C. So far by the time high notes start we are out of the pedals.

By lesson 9 & 10 part 2 the book has us playing 5 pedal C’s an arpeggio then 5 low C’s an arpeggio followed by 5 middle C’s an arpeggio followed by 5 high C’s. The last high C is to be held. This is followed by a rest (as long as you played). The very next note played is a Pedal C# 5 times.
This increases the blood flow to the lips flushing out any lactic acid that may have built up from the first exercise. The series goes over and over. Always flushing out the lactic acid from the lips. This delays our FEELING of being tired but not the cause or actual tiredness.
By fooling our bodies and delaying the sensation of being tired many people blow out their chops on these exercises.

By lesson 11 part 2 the exercise is written from Pedal C to Double high C. Again, this exercise alternates the highest note in a phrase with a pedal tone.

Lesson 12 part 2 The first exercise is a double pedal C arpeggio to high C. The last written exercise is an arpeggio from pedal C to Double high C.

This is the most dangerous way possible to work on range. Mr. Gordon used a weightlifting approach BUT he neglected to take into account that pedals flushed out the lactic acid. This is the only warning system our lips have until actual damage occurs.

I’ve mentioned specifics and science fact.

Pops

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