expanding my range
I've been playing for a while now... well... not for 20 years or anything, but certainly to the point where i'm not a beginning level player. I can that for me, the free buzzing exercises are great. I still use free buzzing to this day, and it really helps to develop your lip muscles. If you can free buzz a high Bb without the aid of a mouthpiece, then once you use the mouthpiece and you have the rim holding your lips in place, you will certainly be able to play significantly higher than you can free buzz. Of course, using the proper amount of air is extremely important. But all the air in the world won't help you unless you have the sheer lip muscle strength to buzz the note that you're trying to play. Thats just my humble two cents.... use free buzzing, it works!
Gregory E. Lopes
Euphonium player
US Navy Band Great Lakes
US Navy Music Program, 2009-Present
Besson Prestige 2052