Position:Home>Performing Arts> How do I get my sound on trumpet to be more clear and less airy? ?

Loud wont solve your problem, it sounds to me like you are forcing the air!.!.!. heres what you need to do!.

1: Practice your trumpet as quietly as humanly possible b/c it takes more air to play soft!. (also try to play soft with a pretty sound)

2: You need to not slow down the air, but relax your throut!. you need to open up, try yawning but keep your lips closed and thats how you should play!.

3: LONG TONES!!!!!! Pick a scale, and play each note as beautifully as possible, (not neccessarily loud) for 8 counts(play) and then 4 counts (rest) do that for every note in the scale!.

4: Break up your concert/sheet music into chunks!. (You cant have a shot a section leader if you dont know your music)

5:Slow EVERYTHING down, pushing tempo will cause you to tighten up causing an airy sound, so practice EVERYTHING at a cumffy tempo, and try speeding it up 4 beats per minute on the metranome( if you dont have one, i would buy one)

6: PRACTICE!!!! You cant improve you sound overnight, this could be a long and grueling process, so id get to it!.

WARNING! THE GOLDEN WISDOM OF BAND IS LISTED BELOW! SOME EYES CANNOT COMPREHEND ITS AWESOMENESS!










*ASK FOR HELP! you director will not look down on you for trying to improve, if anything it will show him/her that you are serious about band and that will help you in your relationship if u make section leader or not*

hope this helps :)



*I m not sure if youve noticed, but PRACTICE has been the main topic of my answer so if you could sum it all up, then it would be that!.*Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Well, the good news is you're already playing loud!. Learning to play loud is a lot harder than learning to play soft!.

It is challenging to diagnose a playing problem without hearing your sound to begin with!. But from what it sounds like, you probably are not using your air properly!.

Before you play next time, take a deep breath and play a long tone G in the staff!. But not just a deep breath, yawn!. Just yawn and relax your body!. Get very loose!. While playing the G, imagine a space in your mouth is big enough to have an egg in it!. I want you to seriously focus on that egg in your mouth!. Hopefully everything will clear up instantly!. However, this still requires practice!. Every day, careful, methodical practice!.

Www@QuestionHome@Com

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I agree that you should practice softly!. I don't mean to be mean to my section, but If I weren't trumpet section leader we'd be in trouble!. Almost everyone plays raspy and airy, overblows to the point of losing tune!. If there's two things that will dramatically improve your playing sound, it's these:
1!. Build more lung capacity!.!.!. if it means playing lots of long boring notes in one breath, (safely) breathe as little as possible while supporting the pitch to the fullest!. This will later help you, because your tone sound better!.
2!. Play relaxed!.!.!. don't force the air through your mouth, let it flow from your abdomen to your throat and gently through your horn!. If your mouth hurts after practice, you played too hard!. You should only feel exertion in your diaphragm as you keep your air flow constant!. This will later help you play higher and lower notes without blowing your chops!.

And as a kind of given, you must Practice!. You have to love what you do!. Musical proficiency comes from long hours of practice, pain and determination!. Of course, the better you get, the less 'pain' practice should be and you'll sound greater!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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