Starting over after a year

Curlydoc

Had a few falls over the last year. Broke 5 ribs. Today is the first time I have tried to play in a year. Started with long quiet notes then moved to playing songs. Had no trouble playing G above the staff, but could not play D below the staff or anything lower. Was able to play for an hour before the chops gave out. Any suggestions for reclaiming the low notes?

administrator

Sorry to hear about that! Are you still playing the same mouthpiece you were playing, the Jaeger 3M?

J. Jericho

@curlydoc said in Starting over after a year:
Any suggestions for reclaiming the low notes?

Yeah; patience and time. Glad you're getting back into playing!

barliman2001

@curlydoc In my experience, the best training for the low notes is just brabbling away on your lips, like you would when relaxing your embouchure. And I've found that some fun with a much bigger instrument and mouthpiece is good for the low range, too. Why not get a Peuphonium?
https://www.thomann.de/gb/startone_pep_20_bb_euphonium_blue.htm?shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoiZ2IiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6NCwibGFuZ3VhZ2UiOjJ9&reload=1

GeorgeB

@curlydoc
The older I get the more difficult it is to play good clean low notes below the staff. What helps me, beside moving to a larger mp .650 to .664, is to start at C on the staff and blow long notes down to #F, then back up and down again a few times a day. Also intervals from on the staff to below are helpful.
Good to hear you are back at it,
George

Curlydoc

@barliman2001 I have trouble holding up a trumpet!,!

barliman2001

@curlydoc ergobrass, then.

SSmith1226

@j-jericho said in Starting over after a year:

@curlydoc said in Starting over after a year:
Any suggestions for reclaiming the low notes?

Yeah; patience and time. Glad you're getting back into playing!

I agree with J Jericho. Practice and time will get you there. This video might help illustrate this point.

Curlydoc

Did better today. Practiced Rowuk’s Circle of Breath and Little’s lower range lip slurs.

GeorgeB

@curlydoc
Those are great exercises. You'll get there.
George

Richard III

Had a few falls, broke ribs, having trouble holding the trumpet, difficulty with low notes and looking for answers. Sounds like a general conditioning program is in order. What kind of rehab are you doing and what is the physical fitness regime going forward?

Kehaulani

curlydoc, I'm a little late to the game but I'm so sorry for your falls and broken ribs. Must've been very painful and restricted.
I've just got two comments:
Continue to better health.
Long Tones.

ROWUK

Playing any given tone is the process of our air pressure being able to "blow apart" the lips. If we can't play low notes, the usual situation is that the lips are pressed too tightly together. We can not just intellectually tell our facial muscles to "relax". Playing the trumpet is fine motor activity that needs many low impact repetitions to create muscle memory.

In my "circle of breath" (which is only a collection of things from others with my individual visualisation), I mention exhaling into the note. That is what is needed here. Tonguing the note adds a burst of air pressure to kick start the tone and that is NOT A GOOD THING at this stage. We should only use the tongue to "shape" the beginning of a tone (articulate). We can only start to shape when we have "tone in the first place".

Exhale into the long tones.

fels

I start my warm up with low note buzzing by removing the tuning slide and blowing low notes using breath attacks. Using a larger mp during this initial exercise can also be helpful. Replace tuning slide and play Clark #1 very slowly - equivalent to long tones.