Favorite Range Extension Excercise?

[TommySopranoContra]

What's your favorite range extension excercise?

My favorite is the Blue Devils Range Extension in the Dynasty of Brass

[idontwan2know]

Lip slurs, flow studies, scales, etc.

Essentially anything that will start you off in a comfortable register and moves you up progressively so that you train yourself to keep the good sound and habits of your middle range as you move into the extremes of your range.

The range extension exercise you mentioned from Dynasty of Brass is a good example of this, though starting on low concert Bb may be a tad low for some embochure sets. Two cautions though:

First, don't play it faster than you can play it smoothly with a great sound...when you watch the DVD, they rip through it at a pretty amazing tempo, but those are top notch players who have been doing it every day for months on end. Go as slow as you need to make it smooth and sound great, then gradually increase the tempo to increase your security up high and develop elasticity.

Second, for some reason drum corps exercises and writing seem to treat high concert Bb(high C for the treble clef instruments) as the "magic barrier" which only small numbers of people can exceed. You'll almost never see corps practice anything higher than that except in the actual book or chord progressions, and even then only the leads will be asked to play anything higher. This creates a mental block in people about anything in the next octave...players feel like anything past that note is suddenly foreign territory which is ridiculously difficult to play in and where the normal rules of brass playing don't apply. Granted, if you develop a great sound and facility from low Bb to high Bb, you're going to have no trouble with the vast majority of music...but if you can do that, there's no reason you can't play higher(and lower) with the same quality. The point of this diatribe? Don't stop practicing at high C, even if you aren't a lead. Find your personal limit and push yourself through and beyond it(in practice).

[CozyChopsCom]

Lip slurs, flow studies, scales, etc.

Good points! Lip slurs and scales are a big help.

Make sure you have the correct mouthpiece for you. Comfortable! Get with a teacher or knowledgeable consultant.

Long tones in the upper range extend the range and endurance. Do it carefully. Loud volume is not necessary. Carmine Caruso exercises, done carefully, will certainly help. Also, Arban's and Clarke exercises: Pick out ones that challenge your range/endurance, even take some up an octave.

Rest more than you play. Extend the low range. Play pedal tones. Flutter vibrate the lip embouchure to "recharge."

Air, air, air! Breathe deeply, support with the abdominal and lower back muscles. Relax and keep the throat open. It's not easy to do up high, but keep visualizing it; then do it. Use a mirror to check.

Just do it while using your ear.

Cozy

[BMBob]

Air, air, air!

Yup...whichever range exercises you use, whether you're going higher or lower, this is the key - no exercise will accomplish its goal without good breathing.

[bssop97]

Moving long tones... Clarke #2.

I think I started in the key of D (staff) and went a half up the half down... etc..

[uzi9mm_]

Chromatic scale up and down.

[vferrera]

Start an exercise program. Build up to 6 days/wk alternating cardio (run, swim, bike) and strength training (free weights, nautilus) for at least 30 min a day.

Before you practice, do about 15 min of stretching and breathing exercises. Then do a few minutes of lip buzzing and mouthpiece buzzing to set your embouchure.

Practice long tones at various dynamic levels.

Do lip slurs - thirds, fifths, octaves. All dynamic levels ppp to fff.

Do scales up and down, all keys, major and minor.

Do chromatics up and down starting on bottom C, up 2 octaves. Then start on C# up two octaves, etc.

Do not push yourself beyond your limits. What you build over the course of months you can destroy in minutes.

Do not use pressure. Always stay relaxed and take what the horn is giving you.

Do not work on range and power every day. Probably no more than once every three days. You need to give the muscles time to recover.

If you do all that, you should develop a solid 2 1/2 octave range (low G to high C) within a few months and you will have a foundation for playing up to the limits of your natural ability.

[fourouttheforty]

Look into the Caruso studies.