Tone
Hello, I'm a 4 year trumpet player and I'm a senior in high school as of now. I'm currently in the process of going to college to study music education. I had a question on how to practice tone quality for anyone who is able to answer. How can I achieve better tone quality? What kind of practices of techniques can I perform to improve my overall tone quality?
I agree with guitar booths idea. Why not get a sound in your head that you would like from listening to a few different players and picking the tone you prefer the most? Your equipment may also have some affect on your tone. If you play on a shallow mouthpiece and a lightweight 'lead' style trumpet then this will lean more towards a commercial sound. A deeper cup will help or perhaps even a 'sound sleeve' over the mouthpiece may help to focus the sound more. Why not try out a few options and see what works best for you.
Breathing? Just an idea - maybe you don't use enough air.
Josh.
I agree with the other comments. I think another idea is to practice some mouthpiece buzzing so that note production becomes easier. Then practice long notes (use a good method book like Arban) and listen carefully to the tone quality. Breathing is essential here as Josh mentions. Listen for any pitch variation (use a tuner) and unevenness in sound. Now practice some slow melodies and listen carefully to your tone quality. Your sound should be full and even through the full range. Also, listen to some great players and notice their quality of sound, phrasing and articulation. Get the sound into your head as mentioned above. Try and emulate what they do. You should incorporate tone quality into every practice session. Hope this helps!
For me listening would be the key. Jeff makes some valid points around technique, however I would say that there are lots of great musicians for whom technique is not and has never been a consideration.
Start by listening to yourself and listening to others. Not lazy listening but really listening.
If after practice you fnid you can't make the sound you want then is the time to resort to technical changes. Technique is a means to an end - to make the sound you want and to express music in the way you want. Technique for techniques sake is not, for me, the way to go.
Hey man I don't play trumpet but I would say that you need to get the sound in your head first. When I play I think really hard about how the licks gonna sound first. If I try real hard sometimes it comes out just right.
Peace.