The 7 Minute Trumpet Warm-Up

Eric explains and demonstrates a unique way to warm-up and improve your trumpet playing.

1. Ha-too breathing with corners engaged. You may want to bow through the mouthpiece first to get the feeling of corners engaged (not tight). Repeat at least 5x. Breath in- Haw-Too 2x blow easy- just let the air out. Sizzle the air. 3x- increase the blow as much as possible. Be conscious of firm corners, tongue arch and abdominal support. Sizzle the air.

Tongue should arched in front of mouth.
No buzzing!

1A. Blow 3 second notes. Breath on beat 4- Haw-Too. Breath in through corners and keep corners engaged. Relax! Air in, air out. Do not hold breath. One smooth motion. Try to not get “backed up”. 10x.

2. Blowing through the mouthpiece. No buzzing! Ha-too breath-chest up. Repeat at least 5x. 2x blow easy- just let the air out. 3x- increase the blow as much as possible. Be conscious of firm corners, tongue arch and abdominal support. 2A. Blow 3 second notes through mouthpiece. Breath in through corners and keep corners engaged.

Relax! Air in, air out.
Do not hold breath.
One smooth motion.
Try to not get “backed up”. 10x.

3. Leadpipe. Remove tuning slide from trumpet. Hold trumpet in right hand and mouthpiece in left hand. Begin an easy blow on the mouthpiece. While blowing, connect the trumpet to the mouthpiece. A sound will result. Focus the sound and the air. Retain that feeling and repeat. Repeat 5x. Sizzle and focus. 3A. Blow 3 second notes. Breath in through corners and keep corners engaged.

Relax! Air in, air out.
Do not hold breath.
One smooth motion.
Try to not get “backed up”. 10x.

4. Trumpet. Hold trumpet in right hand and mouthpiece in left hand. Blow for low C-easy. While blowing, connect the trumpet to the mouthpiece. Continue to hold and bring note into focus. Repeat until each note sounds centered. Retain the feeling. Repeat on G, C, E, G and high C if possible. No buzzing! Think that higher notes are further away:

Low C falls out of the bell G is 5 feet away
C is 10 feet away
E is 15 feet away
G is 20 feet away
High C is 25 feet away

4A. Blow 3 second notes. Breath in through corners and keep corners engaged. Relax! Air in, air out. Do not hold breath. One smooth motion. Try to not get “backed up”. 10x. Pick a different note each day. Things to remember:

Don’t buzz the mouthpiece.
Chest up! Big Breath!!
Corners engaged but not tight.
Keep the blow ON. Support from the abdominals. Air in, air out! One smooth motion.