Trumpet questions, yet again

Drosselmeier
Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:17:46 +0000

Try to discover what he means when he says the thing hurts his mouth. If he has dropped the mouthpiece and chipped it or something, it’s a problem. But it could be that the second trumpet resists more than the last, which will require a securer embouchure. If so, then it is possible the kid’s muscles are getting blown away a lot quicker. Ultimately it is a good thing because good players need remarkably tough embouchures. But his pain may come as a result of his jamming the mouthpiece into his chops in order to compensate for the lack of a tough/proper embouchure. If he is doing this, then his teacher needs to check it and help the guy make corrections.

If the trumpet’s resistance is just ungodly, then something is wrong with it. The thing ought not feel all that tough to buzz through. Have the teacher play it. If he/she can deal nicely with the horn, then the problem is with the kid. Size does matter (haha) when it comes to mouthpieces, but I suspect this is something else.