Ep. 1 Tongue Position: The Secret to High Notes
182,531
Published 2022-09-03
"Bringing together insights from several of my mentors (David Hickman, Newell Dayley, and a coaching session with Adam Rapa at this year's International Trumpet Guild conference), I demonstrate a concrete practice to help unlock the secrets of tongue position and free up the upper register."
Ryan's Trumpet is a recurring series that shares ideas and practices that have been extremely helpful to Ryan as a trumpeter, musician, composer, improviser, and teacher.
Have some questions about this episode? About the trumpet? Music? Performance? Jazz? Composing? Comment below!
If your question captures Ryan's imagination, you just might get a free lesson and have an episode dedicated to you!
Ryan Nielsen is the trumpeter in the Kobie Watkins Grouptet.Their first album, "Movement," received international acclaim and was selected by Howard Reich (former member, Pulitzer Jury) as one of the 10 best albums of 2018.
Ryan has recorded and performed with Ra Kalam Bob Moses and the Summit Brass. In 2021, he was an adjudicator for the preliminary rounds of the Carmine Caruso Jazz Trumpet Competition, "The world's most prestigious competition for jazz trumpet." He has performed as lead and solo trumpet with Delfeayo Marsalis's Uptown Jazz Orchestra, and received the Doc Severinsen Award for Outstanding Classical and Jazz Trumpet.
Ryan co-authored "The Classroom Guide to Jazz Improvisation" with John McNeil (Trumpet, Hush Point; frmr. trumpet, Horace Silver; Professor Emeritus, New England Conservatory). It is due to be released later this year by Oxford University Press.
He is currently Associate Professor of Trumpet at Utah Valley University.
Visit Ryan online at www.ryanstrumpet.com
All Comments (21)
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This is the most brilliant and needed fix for easier playing that I have heard in the last 40 years of my playing. Thank you!!!
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I’ve been a professional for years now playing lead trumpet all the way to tuba. After experiencing a bout of embouchure tension that I just couldn’t shake, this video gave me the single biggest jump in playing efficiency I’ve ever experienced. Thank you so much.
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That's interesting. I haven't heard it described in quite that way before. I know what I'm doing this afternoon!
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I have been struggling to play high notes for months. This was the best advice I've gotten so far. I'm now able to play The Last Post, a goal I've had since a child! Thank you so much!
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awesome - been playing professionally for 27 years and this is the best advice I've ever found cheers Ryan
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I have struggled for years to understand tounge position and how if affects range. Tried this today and the concepts finally clicked. Thank you. My range just went up about 3-4 notes.
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The best video by a mile, that explains higher notes. Thanks for sharing!!!
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Nice job describing how sounds happen on the trumpet -such a difficult concept for players to understand.
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I have sort of figured this out myself after seeing those x-rays of that one horn player. It was SUPER useful to hear someone talk clearly about this. Cheers! Youtube resources like this has taught me about as much as my teachers did, if not more.
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This is solid gold. Thanks so much for sharing this!
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I am 53 and just started playing the trumpet three months ago. This is the most amazing insight into the instrument that I now love. I’m going to try it out today!
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thank you so much ryan. you had helped me a lot. you introduced the idea of "passage" and in a way is pretty similar to what happens to singers (and we can also experiment it) when they go up in the register. there are a couple times where you have to do a small modification to keep going up with fluidity and no tension. well, its reasonable that the same thing happens when playing trumpet. great discovery!!
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I wish I had seen this 49 years ago when I first started playing. This is brilliant. Might be the best video for trumpet playing ever created. Too bad most of us had to discover this the hard way over years of effort. Thanks for sharing.
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As an accordion player, other instruments fascinate me, especially Brass. I love all the brass family and this guy really knows what he is doing.
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Thank you so much. Much more range and less effort. This class changed my way of thinking about the high register. Amazing
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Well presented. I will try to think of this next time I play. A lot of what you have is nicely broken down for people when never read the written notes of many famous method books. Sounds like you had access to the right teachers and have what you really need. A desire to excel and the guts to stay locked in the room and then get out and play whenever you can ! Good job .
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This is possibly the greatest video of all time. I’m not even a trumpet player, I play horn and it works. It just works. I’ve been struggling with range for so long and didn’t realize it was this easy to fix. I can’t believe I just needed to rethink the focal point. You are a godsend
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Well Ryan, I just happened to catch your video before my practise session, and it really unlocked something for me. Obviously I knew about the importance of tongue position but somehow it never translated into my playing. After hearing your explanations and watching you demonstrate, something clicked. Thank you, and I look forward to your next videos.
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I liked how you gave a profile and pointed to different areas for attention and focus. Most teachers continue to face my/student view. Now to practice.
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What is so nice is that you maintain a beautiful open tone as you reach higher.
