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some of us have only learned how to play

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maybe a quarter or half or maybe a third

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of the notes on the instrument like

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really play

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them but I assure you if you do this

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bending exercise on every note of the

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instrument you will discover something

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you'll discover really where these notes

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all resonate on your instrument no two

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instruments are alike so it's important

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to get to know your instrument and spend

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time doing this slowly

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[Music]

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hello and welcome to tone base I'm

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Brandon ryen hour and I live in New York

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City I teach at three schools in New

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York I'm at juliard the Manis School of

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Music at the new school and also the

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Manhattan School of Music I also have a

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few ensembles that I play with I'm in a

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group called brassy and of Founders

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along with the American brass quintet

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here today to talk about flexibility and

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also the importance of warming up so

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that we can be a more flexible player so

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flexibility as it pertains to the

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trumpet and all brass players is much

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like an athlete getting ready for an

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event it's important that we start in

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some sort of neutral place that might be

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a middle G or even a sea below that and

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we basically want to warm up slowly both

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low low and high as we negotiate higher

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and lower Around the Horn we're trying

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to expand our flexibility in both

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directions it's important to start out

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slow and I've found also that as I get

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older and older the warmup has become

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more and more important another thing

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that's important to think about with our

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warm-up and flexibility is to be in tune

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with your body to listen very carefully

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when you're ready to go on to the next

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step so for me I like to do a

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combination of things that allows me to

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warm up as I expand in both directions

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I'll first do that with some sound

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flexibility and then later on I'll add

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in fingers so here's something that I

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might do when I'm first picking up the

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trumpet I'll start on a middle G and

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explore the flexibility within my sound

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just on one

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note for

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[Music]

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so as I'm settling into any note on the

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horn I'm thinking about well where does

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that note naturally want to resonate so

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as I'm doing what we call these pitch

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bends which I'm sure many of you have

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done pitch Bens before it's not just

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about doing the bend dipping down coming

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back up it's about exploring your sound

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and the resistance that you create in

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that bend against where the note

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naturally wants to go in this hunk of

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metal and it's quite difficult to resist

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what physics wants to do in this brass

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instrument I like to think about this as

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sort of an elastic effect with the notes

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so as we're bending down we're

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stretching against that elastic it and

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the more we stretch against it the

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further we bend down the harder it gets

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to pull that apart but where the note

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wants to sound its best is when we're

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not stretching that elastic and we just

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let go so as we're playing our

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instruments we want to find that Perfect

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combo between control and letting go

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some of us have a tendency to over contr

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control and then very few of us have a

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tendency to not control at all and play

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far too loose so doing this sort of

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exercise I found to be quite useful with

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this philosophy of letting go with just

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the right amount of control as we're

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trying to find our best sounds and

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effortless approach on our instruments

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so again like an athlete getting ready

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for an event they're probably not just

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going to run out on the field or the

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court and just start playing right away

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they're going to do a few things well

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probably more than a few things to get

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ready for the big game uh they're going

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to get their bodies warm and running and

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they're probably going to do some maybe

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some stretching as well so we can think

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of this in the same way uh many of us

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probably do lip slurs that is slurs uh

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as we're warming up slurs without using

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the valve think of this as like trying

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to touch your toes doing hamstring

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stretches or twisting your body in some

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sort of direction that is

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uh away from your middle Center Point a

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neutral point so this is something that

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that I might do to get ready in my

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warmup as I'm thinking about flexibility

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[Music]

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so as you heard I took basically what I

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had just done on one note with the pitch

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Bend but now I'm adding to the bends I'm

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adding slurs so now I have bends and

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slurs together sort of killing two birds

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at once

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[Music]

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so and like many of us do when we start

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on our in this case C and G

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um taking it down chromatically all the

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way down to our lowest SN so make sure

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that you do go down and explore the

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lowest register on the trumpet I know

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it's harder to play down there and make

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a good sound but it's important that

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when we're warming up and just important

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in terms of our overall range to be

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playing down there and to do so on a

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regular basis so just because you can't

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make a good sound down there yet doesn't

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mean that you shouldn't go for it and

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figure out how to make a good sound down

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there how are you going to make a good

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sound down there think of it by

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approaching from where you can make a

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good sound so let's say you can make a

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good sound

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[Music]

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here reason why we do this descending

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chromatically is so we can take it from

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where we make our best sound use that

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concept of sound approach so that we can

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do the same thing on our lowest

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[Music]

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notes another way we can approach this

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is also by using our fingers and getting

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down the there say chromatically so if

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you're still struggling to get a good

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sound and your lowest to notes you could

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also get there by this way

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[Music]

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so I'm using that c as a base point for

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my best sound and thinking about not

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moving or changing too much to get all

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the way down to that low FP so there's

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so many different ways you can approach

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getting down to that lowest note on our

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on our instruments this way is is

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chromatically and it's going to be a

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little easier to get down there that way

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versus doing a larger lip slur without

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any valves so you may have noticed I've

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been bending the pitch quite a bit and I

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want to talk now about flexibility as it

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pertains to sound not just flexibility

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as it pertains to range and being able

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to play quickly from high to low and

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back up to high again but

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flexibility as it pertains to our

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concept of sound is incredibly important

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so let's talk about this Bend and how we

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can make our sound on the trumpet

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something that is

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flexible the way I'm creating this

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bend it can happen in a few different

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ways so um first of all I am

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purposefully misdirecting the air so

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let's say our let's say that our goal

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generally is to produce an Airstream

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that is going straight down the cylinder

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here whereas when I do that bend maybe

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you can see physically what I'm doing

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I'm purposely pointing it in the wrong

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direction and it creates that bent

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defuse

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sound um speaking of duse the other way

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to get your

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sound to go purposefully out of place is

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to have um a diffuse approach here and

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the way I do that is by opening up my

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aperture to a place that is that is

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bigger than what I would normally play

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with but by doing this I'm playing in a

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way that allows me to notice H where

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does that aperture naturally want to be

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where can I make my best sound with the

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most loose aperture possible so here's a

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an aperture that's far too

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loose it's a very big opening I'm not

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going to get a full complete sound

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here's an aperture that is the opposite

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that is far too

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tight I'm basically buzzing so so um

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that sort of pinched approach isn't

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going to allow me to make a good sound

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at all I want to find that happy medium

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where I'm not over

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controlling and I'm not too

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loose

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so you'll hear the pitch is bending down

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and at the same time it's bending down

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I'm opening up too far with my aperture

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but by the process of doing this I'm

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finding a way to play that is very very

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loose and more effortless and you can

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hopefully hear that freedom in the

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sound so I just talked about the type of

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Bend where we have a more diffuse sound

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and now we're going to talk about the

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type of Bend where we are really overly

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controlling the pitch bending it down so

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it does take a bit more control to point

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that note down but by doing this

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exercise we are learning again how to

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negotiate the physics of the instrument

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and then let go of the sound once it

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comes back up where it naturally wants

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to resonate you can hear where it wants

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to resonate because uh there are

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generally more overtones in the sound

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let me

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[Music]

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[Applause]

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[Music]

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[Applause]

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[Music]

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demonstrate hopefully the microphones

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are picking that up but there's

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this that should be blocking in when I'm

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Letting Go on the right part of that

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note and when I'm bending it down I'm

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having to control it

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[Music]

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again this way of bending is not a more

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open apperture or diffuse it is

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pointing pointing things in the wrong

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way you can probably see my face a

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little bit wiggling that that note

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down just buzzing it in a different

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direction I suggest you do this on every

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note on the instrument and then you will

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learn how to really play every note on

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the instrument

Mastering Trumpet Flexibility: A Guide to Perfect Pitch Bends and Sound Control

In the world of trumpet playing, flexibility is key. Just like an athlete warms up before a big game, trumpet players need to warm up and work on flexibility to ensure they can reach their full potential. Brandon Ryen Hour, a distinguished trumpet player and instructor based in New York City, emphasizes the importance of warming up slowly and expanding flexibility in both high and low registers.

Understanding the Importance of Flexibility

Flexibility on the trumpet is more than just being able to play a wide range of notes. It also involves understanding the instrument's unique resonant points. By practicing pitch bends on every note of the instrument, players can discover where each note resonates best, allowing for a deeper connection with the instrument.

The Warm-Up Routine

Just like athletes, trumpet players need a solid warm-up routine to prepare for performance. Starting from a neutral position, such as a middle G, players should gradually warm up both low and high registers to enhance flexibility. Ryen Hour recommends a combination of sound flexibility and finger exercises to achieve the perfect balance between control and letting go.

Perfecting Sound Flexibility

Flexibility extends beyond range; it also pertains to the concept of sound. By experimenting with different approaches, such as deliberately misdirecting the air or adjusting the aperture, players can explore a range of sounds and find the sweet spot where the sound is most resonant and effortless. The key is to strike a balance between control and relaxation to achieve the desired tone quality.

Mastering Pitch Bends

Pitch bends are a fundamental exercise for trumpet players to explore the instrument's physics and develop control over the sound. By practicing both diffuse bends and controlled bends, players can understand how to negotiate the pitch and let go at the right moment to allow the note to resonate naturally. This exercise not only improves pitch accuracy but also enhances overall sound control and flexibility.

Conclusion

Mastering trumpet flexibility is a journey that requires patience, practice, and a deep understanding of the instrument. By incorporating pitch bends, sound control exercises, and a thorough warm-up routine into your practice sessions, you can unlock a new level of proficiency and artistry on the trumpet. So, embrace the challenge, explore every note on your instrument, and discover the true potential of your trumpet playing.