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Thread: Hitting High Notes

  1. #1

    Hitting High Notes

    So to start off I wanna introduce myself, I'm Andrew Childs and I've played Euphonium in school for 8 years now. I'm currently practicing my auditions for college, and I just got my two solos I ordered online for the auditions. One of the main problems is is that there are many notes in there that I just can't reach (I have a hard time hitting F4. Anything above that, forget it). Both solos feature notes snugly in the range of G4-B4 and I just can't seem to hit those. I've tried asking both of my teachers back at school, but neither of them really touch brass. One mostly plays Flute while the other is way more comfortable around saxophone, but neither of them have much experience around brass, much less low brass. So I decided to come in here and ask the same question: How can I reach those Higher notes? No matter how much I tighten my embouchure, it always sounds gritty, fuzzy, and airy, if I'm even able to play the note at all. The one technique I've found that even helps a little bit is I move my mouth so my top lip is just barely in the mouthpiece, and that seems to help me hit higher notes, but that isn't something I'll be able to do quickly while doing 16th note runs. Does anyone have any tips to help me out please?

  2. #2
    Welcome to the forum!

    The phrase "tighten my embouchure" raises a flag for me. Certainly we DO need tighter muscles in the high range, but we also have to avoid pinching off the air supply. There are two primary ingredients of a good high range: muscle strength and AIR.

    Check out this post:

    http://www.dwerden.com/forum/showthr...and-High-Range

    I've also done a video that demonstrates what I discussed above:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTJ4Gb9aBTE

    Dave Werden (ASCAP)
    Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
    Adams Artist (Adams E3)
    Alliance Mouthpiece (DC3)
    YouTube: dwerden
    Facebook: davewerden
    Twitter: davewerden
    Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Acey76 View Post
    [snip](I have a hard time hitting F4. Anything above that, forget it). Both solos feature notes snugly in the range of G4-B4 and I just can't seem to hit those. [snip]
    I just want to clarify that you are referring to scientific notation, where C4 is middle C?

    I think that a good teacher can work with you on your embouchure. In these pandemic times I am sure you can find someone who can help you via Sype/Facetime/Zoom. You may find some insights in reading about Reinhardt's analysis of brass technique. I think this is an informative website: https://wilktone.com/?page_id=5619. The better-skilled players in this forum will be offer better advice than I can.

    Good luck!
    Dean L. Surkin
    Mack Brass MACK-EU1150S, BB1 mouthpiece
    Bach 36B trombone; Bach 6.5AL and Faxx 7C mouthpieces (pBone on loan to granddaughter)
    Steinway 1902 Model A, restored by AC Pianocraft in 1988; Kawai MP8, Yamaha KX-76
    See my avatar: Jazz (the black cockapoo; RIP) and Delilah (the cavapoo) keep me company while practicing

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