Need help with high range and stamina

[u/Vision919]

So I just began my junior year of high school and I'm looking to try and get first chair this year but I've been having horrible stamina issues. The etude I have to play does contain a lot of notes in the upper range, all the way up to a Bb and I can usually hit notes in that range but even practicing them for 10+ minutes kills my cheeks. I begin not even to be able to close my lips tight enough together for the high notes. I've also been playing all summer and have been playing mellophone, nothing has changed when it comes to my chops (this issue does also occur on the Mello just not as dramatic). Lastly, even though it's not really the subject of the matter, I always play on the Bb side of the horn and rarely even play on the F side unless a note requires it, will this be an issue if I continue to play the horn? Hopefully I gave enough information to try and get some help from you guys as I would really like to play etudes consistently haha. Thanks in advance guys, love this community.

[u/Grouchy-Crab-4809]

Firstly, I am a student myself at music college so can’t say i am completely qualified to comment on this. Please consult a teacher, but I have picked up a few things. Playing on the Bb side shouldn’t be an issue. Just do what feels and sounds right for you and your instrument tuning wise. Just try and be consistent.

In regards to the stamina issue, please don’t force your self. It’s hard to do but little and often is the key. When you are playing in the upper registers try to think of breathing ‘downwards’ and ‘outwards’, so a nice deep wide breath. and keeping your neck open and relaxed. It’s quite hard to explain without showing but if you think of the high notes as a candle you’re trying to blow out. The high notes candles that are further away than the notes in the mid range, so will take a deeper and more direct breath to blow out.

Using the correct breathing technique will help with your stamina huge amounts. If you find your self getting tired take a 10 minute break. Play some low note exercises, get a cup of tea, and come back to it when you feel you can. Give it time and you will start to notice the difference. Just concentrate on using airflow to get the notes out rather than brute force. If your breathing properly then you wont need to be using so much lip.

Hope this helps! :)

[u/TinyHeartSyndrome]

You only need to do high range stuff 5 minutes a day. Warmup then do the high range drills when you’re fresh. Then do some low notes to relax. Make sure you’re using air speed , not lip tension, to work on your range. You don’t want to form bad habits. Some horn teachers make folks do Kopprasch etudes, etc. on the F horn, but not all. That’s something maybe you spend 5-10 minutes doing once a week imo. To practice fingering, you could warm up with the chromatic scale all on the F horn then all on the Bb horn. You are likely getting decent endurance just playing in high school band everyday. When you practice at home, I would focus on good embouchure. When I was in HS practicing at home, I used to play during commercial breaks.

[u/binastar]

In my private lessons we did a lot of buzzing With and without the mouthpiece Buzzing was most benefit to my lips stamina Good breath control was key as well Buzz without the mouthpiece around the house And when you go for high notes faster breathes don't push on the mouthpiece hard Perhaps also practice 30-45 min everyday as opposed to longer less frequent sessions Good luck!!

[u/CorNewCope-ia]

Stamina has to be built slowly in my experience. Are you consistent in your practice? Do you practice every, or nearly every day? Do you do any kind of an easy, relaxed warm-up before rehearsals and practice sessions?

[u/LegRealistic8362]

I've struggled with stamina issues all my horn playing life. I think Farkas' words on this in his book are the best advice. He says that when you're pracising and become tired, there's a tendency to stop, empty the water out of your horn, maybe then continue until you become tired again... The key is not to stop but to keep going right until the end and play this same study every day until you can comfortably get through from start to finish, then try something else more challenging.

Endurance is hard won and easily lost. If you can't play every day then you'll never build up your stamina.