Piccolo leadpipe and mouthpiece Alignment

Hello Guys!
My first post was about the Mouthpiece Alignment were I've described how to perform it on your trumpets and its benefits.
Now I'd like to explain you how to get the best out of your Piccolo.
Being a very short instrument, the Piccolo is very sensitive about these "pipes adjustments" and you can really make it playing much better.
We will be aligning the mouthpiece first, so take your Piccolo and your mouthpiece and do the same process described here.
By doing it, your Piccolo's playing must have been already improved, but we are going to make it much better by performing the leadpipe Alignment too.
Keep in mind where the best spot for your mouthpiece is and now do the whole process but turning the mouthpiece AND the leadpipe together.

Do the same process you did for the mouthpiece, but this time turn the mouthpiece and the leadpipe together, clockwise.  

Take a "reference spot" on the leadpipe which might be one of the small knobs. As you can see in the pictures I've placed my knob in the 12 o'clock position and started from there. Again, for the description of the whole process go here.  

Play the arpeggios and listen to the differences. Keep going until you will get back to 12 o'clock position. 

Have you found your "best spot"? So from now keep the mouthpiece and the leadpipe in this configuration! 

The response will improve a lot and the high register will be more focused. 

It would be useful to keep records of these "positions", especially if you don't play much Piccolo Trumpet, you'll forget soon where they are. 

Have fun now with your "new" Piccolo!

Breathing Warm-up

"Oh God... I can't breath this morning!"
How many of us have said this frase to themselves at least once in life?
You are having a very stressful week and the programme your are playing with your orchestra is so demanding.
You wake up the concert's morning, you start to warm up and all you can breath is just a ridiculous gasp.
Before you'll start to think "Oh s**t, I'm in trouble now" try out this little breathing exercise.
It will open up your lungs and will ease off all your respiratory muscles.  It will take just five minutes.
What do you need?

- Just your mouthpiece -

Take your mouthpiece and put the end of the backbore into your mouth, as pictured. 

If you can't remember the last time you cleaned up your mouthpiece, this could be the right moment to do it!! :)
Take the metronome and set it to 60 beats p/m

• Inhale in 4 beats and exhale in 4 beats. Repeat for 10 times. Rest 30 sec.
• Inhale in 3 beats and exhale in 4 beats. Repeat for 10 times. Rest 30 sec.
• Inhale in 2 beats and exhale in 4 beats. Repeat for 10 times. Rest 30 sec.
• Inhale in 1 beat and exhale in  4 beats. Repeat for 10 times. Rest 30 sec.
• Inhale in 1 beat and exhale in 1 beat. Repeat for 10 times.   

I'm sure you're starting to feel much better!
Now take the trumpet, start you regular warm-up and feel the difference.


Some tips:
Try to keep your embuochure firm and avoid to inflate your cheeks.
If you start to get dizzy, just rest and take your time. You'll get used to it.
Whilst doing the exercises try to feel your respiratory muscles' work and enjoy it.
Doing the exercise, try to breath in/blow out as much air as possible, especially in the last part of it.
When you pick up the trumpet, keep the same feeling of "Dynamic Air".

I hope it will work for you as much as it does for me.

Mouthpiece Alignment

 

Hello everybody!
This is my own Buzzing Corner, a place where I'll be writing my thoughts about trumpet playing, instruments, and general issues.
I don't want to teach you nothing, I would just like to share my experiences with you. Talk about trumpet issues and how I've overcome them.

This is something I have learnt from Stephen Burns and Bob Malone and I must say that really works!
Of course there will be people that will say that it doesn't make any difference to them. But for me, it does.

What is this??
Nothing special and I can't explain it from the scientific side, but the risults are there and I'm doing it on every horn I have since I knew about it.
It would be better if you have someone with trained ears to listen to you. Otherwise you can play with your bell pointing towords a mirror, this will give you a better idea of what's coming out from your bell.

The only things you need, are:

- your mouthpiece
- your trumpet

Holding your trumpet as usual, insert the mouthpiece into the receiver and take a letter on your mouthpiece as "point of reference".
I use the 22/24 figures of my underpart and I place them in a 12 o' clock position, as pictured.

I now play a couple of G Major Arpeggios until the the D.
Pay attention to the feeling, the response and to the sound color's eveness and memorize them.
Now rotate your mouthpiece "clock wise" and rest your "referral point" exactly in the middle between 12 and 3 o'clock if you imagine the receiver as a watch dial.  As pictured.

Play the same pattern and try to listen to the differences. Is it better or worse?  

Go on, turn the mouthpiece with the "referral point" on the 3 o'clock position, in this case where the

25H on the receiver is.

Repeat the whole process and if it sounds better then the previous positions, memorize it. 

Go on and turn again the mouthpiece in the position between 3 and 6 o'clock.

Play the same thing. Is the sound more resonant? Is the tone's color more even?
Or maybe it's worse than before...
Carry on and put the mouthpiece on the 6 o'clock position

Play the same thing again and repeat all the process clockwise, until you'll get back to the original position at 12 o'clock.
Usually there are TWO spots where it sounds better, the response has improved and the slotting is also better.  By now you should have found at list one.
You will also have noticed that there are some spots where it sounds really weird, or stuffy.
My magic spot for example is on the 3 o' clock, so I play all the time in this position.
For me it makes a sensitive difference, like the 95% of the people I showed it to.
Of course there will be people that will say that it doesn't make any difference to them.
This helps me to optimize my relationship with my equipment and in this way, I'm certain that when something doesn't work, the problem it's me :).
It makes a big difference also on smaller horns like Eb or Piccolo.
I'll show you in a different post, how to optimize your Piccolo too.
I hope it helps!