Trumpet endurance?

[Chief Pinchycow]

I don't play much trumpet, but my sister has a problem with lip endurance. She's always struggled with playing high. Any ideas?

[gary]

How old is she and how long has she been playing?
How often does she practice and how long at each practice session?
Does she have a teacher?

[Al Stevens]

Long tones and pedal tones.

[gary]

Long tones and pedal tones.
Al, you reminded me of my stock answer when someone asks me how to develop a strong trumpet embouchure:

- Lay down, face first on the floor
- clasp your hands behind your back
- pucker your lips
- now. start doing push-ups with them!

:D

...just teasing, Chief. I'll give you an honest answer -honest- after I get a little more info about your sister.

[Chief Pinchycow]

She plays in high school and practices every day for, oh idk, half an hour. She doesn't take private lessons.

[Al Stevens]

Gary, we just smash ourselves in the mouth with a brick and say, "I'll show these chops who's boss!"

[gary]

Chief, I'm glad she is practising regularly. That's vital for the majority of trumpet players. But -and here is the rub- if she is practising wrong, it's possible to do increasingly more damage to her embouchure until either she never really progresses or maybe even until she has to stop playing altogether, take a long pause, and build her chops back up all over again.

You've heard the axiom that practice makes perfect. Well, practicing the wrong things makes bad habits perfect. And it is much, much harder to undo a bad habit than to learn good habits.

I'm not going to give any pedagogical advice for this reason: she must get a qualified teacher! I played trumpet and French horn professionally before switching to woodwinds and I can tell you (her) that trumpet just might be the most physically demanding instrument, at least on the facial muscles and it is not something to be taken lightly.

She needs a proper embouchure, proper wind support, proper exercises and with proper supervision. :)

[Al Stevens]

here's some thoughts about building trumpet chops:

It's similar to any kind of body-building. Muscles need to be exercised beyond their normal use and then allowed time to heal. Practice a short phrase, then let your chops rest for as long as the phrase took. This gives your system time to pump new blood into the muscles.

Some players practice only every other day in order to give their chops a full day to heal and rebuild.