Chords for Ep. 1 Tongue Position: The Secret to High Notes

Hey everybody, I'm Ryan Nielsen and this is Ryan's Trumpet.
_ [Ab] _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ [Ab]
Hey everybody, so for this first episode of Ryan's [Dm] Trumpet, [G] I want to talk [A] about maybe [Eb] our favorite hobby [F] topic as trumpet [Bb] players, which is range.
I [Ab] stumbled across [Dm] a [Eb] concept that's helping me [Ab] so much with my upper register [G] and I want to [Am] share it with all of [D] you.
[G] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ [Ab] _ _
[Eb] _ [Bb] _ _ [Ab] In order for [Cm] this new concept that I'm going to [Bbm] share with you to work, there are [G] two things [Cm] that I [A] want to share [Bb] as sort of [G] foundational [Cm] principles.
[Ab] _ [B] _ [Fm] The [C] first is [Cm] _
that [Fm] in order to move around [G] on the trumpet, we [Db] don't actually [Bb] go up or [Eb] down on the center [Db] of pitch.
What [Ab] we do [C] is [Bb] we go [Cm] out deeper into the center of the [D] instrument.
As long as [Fm] we go out [Gb] into the center [Cm] _ _ of the instrument, [F] then we have access [Bb] [A] to [D] all the notes on the instrument.
[Gm] The minute that we [Fm] leave that center is when [G] we're going to get ourselves into [Bb] trouble.
[A] The [Ab] second thing that the emmature, the lips, are not _ [Eb] _
the source [Db] of the sound, which is to say [Ab] they're not [Cm] _
_ the cause of the sound.
Rather, they are [A] the [Gb] response [A] to the [Ab] cause. _
_ _ [Bb] _ _ [Eb] The _ _
[Fm] _ _ [D] _ _ [G] cause [F] is [B] essentially [Gm] setting up my [Ab] body in terms of the alignment [Db] of my [Eb] body, like posture and the resonance of [G] the chamber of the [C] mouth.
If I set [Eb] those [Ab] things [F] up [Db] behind the lips, [Gm] everything [Ebm] behind the lips, if [Fm] that is [Bb] set up to [Eb] resonate at a specific [Ab]
frequency, then [Bm] the lips will [Am] respond at [D] that [B] frequency.
The [E] lips are [Cm] not cause. _
_ _ _ [Bb] [C] They are [Bb] effect.
As my [Eb] teacher says, they are a [Bbm] receptacle [G] _
[Eb] for everything [F] else [Bb] that's [Abm] setting [A] up playing the [Ebm] instrument.
[Fm] Those two things [Eb] are absolutely crucial for what [Ab] I'm going to talk to you [G] about today _ [E] if [Eb] you want it to help you.
One, _ go out into the center.
[F] Two, the [Bb] lips [Eb] are the [Bbm] effect.
They are not the cause.
[Dm] _ [E] _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _
_ _ [Dm] _ _ [Bb] _ [A] _ [Ab] In this coaching [Gm] session with Adam Rappa, he [Ab] mentioned in passing this [G] idea that string [Bb] players, when they need to go up an octave, [Cm] they just take the [A] string and cut it in [Bb] half.
[Eb] _ I started to imagine the air [Cm] column [Db] behind [Ab] the lips, between the vocal [Cm] folds and the lips, as [Eb] the vibrating string _ _ [F] when I [Gm] play the [Abm] trumpet.
[Am] [A] Thinking of it that [Ab] way, I started experimenting [Bb] with three [Eb] distinct half whistles [Ab] or focal [D] points.
[Dm] _ _ [G] [Eb] Those three half [Gm] whistles are a [Eb] half whistle where I [Ab] say [Gb] kick, [Ab]
[Db] kick, kick.
[D] _ [Eb] _ _ _ A half whistle where I say ya, _ [Cm] _ _
and a half whistle where you might think of it as a lisp close to the teeth.
_ _ _ _ If I want to play an [N] F, _ I'm going to set up for the _ first half whistle at the kick.
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Eb] _
If I want to go up an octave, I'm going _ _ to whistle the same pitch but move the focal point forward, essentially cutting the column of air in half.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ If I want it to go up again, I'm going to cut it in half again.
_ _ _ _ Everything _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _
behind the embouchure is ready to vibrate at the frequency in those three [G] registers.
_ [Dm] _ [Eb] _ _ _ [G] _ [Eb] _ [A] _
[Dbm] _ _ [C] _ [E] _ Once [Dm] I [A] started thinking [Eb] about this vibrating [C] column of air between my vocal folds and the tip of my [Cm] lip, and this [A] idea of cutting the [C] string in half to access [E] different octaves,
[F] _ [A] _ [Am] _ I got [C] really curious about [Gb] these [C] three distinct focal points or half whistles.
If we take an F sharp, _ for example, _ _ _ I can _ _ _ _ _ use this first focal point to take me up to about a D sharp.
[Gb] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ If I go any higher than that, the resistance point between the top of my tongue and the top of my mouth actually closes off and then I can't move air anymore.
_ _ But I can use that particular focal point to take me to a D sharp. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ [B] _ [Gb] _
_ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ So from there, if I want to go higher, _ _ watch what I do. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ I shifted to the second focal point, the lazy S, _ [Gb] to _ _ access the top of the staff there.
_ Watch what happens. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [B] I _
[Bb] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
don't have to blow harder.
It just opens right up into the top of the staff there.
_ [Dm] _ [Eb] _ _
_ [G] _ [Eb] _ [A] _ [Dbm] _ _ [C] _ [E] _
_ _ [F] _ _ [A] _ _ [F] [B] So just like [G] with the [Ebm] first focal point, the second focal point will take me to D sharp in the next octave.
So I can go _ and [F] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
take me to that D sharp in the next octave.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Abm] _ [B] _ _ _ _ [N] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ Then if I want to go above that, you got it.
We're going to shift to the next focal point, the lisp close to the teeth. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ Notice that the mouth pitch, the actual mouth pitch that I'm whistling goes back down the octave.
It goes back down the octave when I shift the focal point _ because I'm just cutting the string in half.
Right? _
So, _ _ so _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
[Em] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [Dm] _ _
[Eb] _ _ [G] _ [Eb] _ _ [A] _ [E] there's one other exercise that's been [Am] especially [F] useful for me [G] figuring out how to access [Ebm] these [F] _ [Ab]
distinct [F] focal points or half whistles.
_ _ _ _ And _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Eb] _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _ _
_ _ then up another half step. _ _
_ _ _ And _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Gbm] _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ [Ab] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
so forth and so on where I'm just practicing moving those _ half whistles to access the different octaves.
And you can hear the times where it really slots in and [Bm] other times where I'm still sort [Bb] of overshooting and [F] overdoing what I'm used to [Ab] because I'm [Ebm] used to working harder to go up.
[Ab] _ [Bb] _ [Eb] But this is like [Ab] a really great tool to use [Bm] to slowly help me let [Em] go of [D] those [B] habits of pushing to [C] go higher [Cm] _ and and [Gm] also ways [C] of helping me [Bbm] really explore staying in the center on [Cm] my horn.
_ [Db] _ [Eb] These _ three focal [Gm] points, [Abm] _ [Cm] three half [Ab] whistles have [B] been [Fm] so _ [C] important for [Eb] me.
I wish [Ab] I'd known this literally [G] decades ago in [E] my career as [Bb] a trumpeter.
[Eb] Again, they are [Bbm] where we say [Eb] kick, _ _ _ _ [Bb] where we [C] say a lazy S [Bbm] that's close to what ya _
[Bb] [E] ya.
[C] _ _ _ _ And _ [Bb] like a list [A] that [Ab] goes with you.
[Bb] _
_ _ _ _ [Ab] _ [Cm] The whole the [Abm] whole game [E] is one of just [Bb] dialing [C] in those [Eb] three basic focal points and it's opening up new things for [Ab] me.
Maybe it'll open up something new for you too [Cm] as you continue your path as a trumpeter. _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
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_ _ _ [Am] _ _ [F] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _
_ _ Thank _ [G] you. _