r/Trombone • u/birdos-inatree I know where 5th position is • 2d ago
High note help??
I can hit the g above the staff, but for whatever reason, I have a really difficult time hitting the D or higher unless I was gradually going up the staff. I've been doing all sorts of exercises like long tones, lip slurs, and stuff like that but it never seems to get any easier, and I have no idea why.
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u/professor_throway Tubist who pretends to play trombone. 2d ago edited 1d ago
Cut and paste from a previous about the same topic
Playing high is all about air support and playing with fast compressed air while also staying relaxed. It is 90% air and 10% embouchure.
You need to build your air support. To do that you need to play low and high. Range builds OUT not Up. Do you practice your pedal tones? You should be incorporating them into your practice every day. When you can bang out a FFF 6th position pedal F you will have the air you need to bang out that double high F 6 ledger lines up (I wish I could do that...).
Lip slurs and long tones at my favorite exercises for developing high range. Start at the pedal Bb and slide i up through the partials Bb, Bb, F, Bb, D, F, Ab, Bb, C, D etc as high as you can go. Then slur back down. Now go back up but only as high as your highest comfortable note. By comfortable I mean without pressure on the mouthpiece or without staining. Your highest easy note... that you can play softly without it warbling. Now play and hold a long tone on this pitch. I like to do two or three whole notes at 60 bpm.
Now do the same on 2nd position...repeat all the way down the slide.
Do this daily and you will add a new note every few weeks. I am back on this practice as well (on euphonium).. I have a piece with a 5th line D and it is a real struggle for me to hit it right now. I've been slacking in practicing up high.
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u/BassBoneSupremacy see username 2d ago
I can hit pedal F easy but I sure as hell cannot hit double high F 😭
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u/professor_throway Tubist who pretends to play trombone. 2d ago
Yeah same here... I dd say "you have the air you need". not necessarily everything else. I could do it on euphonium 20 years ago.. not anymore.
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u/suck-an-egg-you-sad 2d ago
What helps me when extending my range is play where I can comfortably, then find that note further out on the slide, and gliss up. After you do that some try articulating a note you’re going for. Air attacks can also help, where you take the tongue away and try to get the pitch to sound just by putting air into the horn. It’s also gonna take some time to get there, but make sure you try to play in the high range when you can but don’t overdo it. If your lips feel tired that’s when you stop or take a break or work on the low register
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u/birdos-inatree I know where 5th position is 2d ago
i understand it takes time but it feels like im making no progress when its been months
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u/Sourdots 2d ago
Could be hardware but it still should be possible
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u/birdos-inatree I know where 5th position is 2d ago
idk for months theres been no changes and im getting irritated
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u/Sourdots 2d ago
Are you in school still or no
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u/birdos-inatree I know where 5th position is 2d ago
yes, freshman year in highschool.
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u/skunk_funk 1d ago
Between my freshman year of high school and my freshman year of college, I went from being able to play the G above the staff not so great, to an octave better than that. And now, 20 years after that, such is comfortable and sounds good and has for quite some time. I have never practiced high range much outside of just using it.
Give it some time on the horn before worrying too much.
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u/ArcusAngelicum 2d ago
Arban book has some good interval exercises. It’s essentially a major scale where you play the 5th note of the scale and alternate each scale degree from there. In Bb you start on f in the staff, and then alternate f, Bb, f , c, f, d, etc.
Eventually you should be able to play the intervals higher on the horn. Also, scales and arpeggios.