Trumpet High Notes By Former Maynard Ferguson Player

[happykokanete1]

His shirt reminds me of the girl's dad in journey 2

[SchilkeScreamer]

Man, that is some serious range. And not just range, powerful range. I'm not saying you were bad, but I heard you practicing with Vizzutti last spring and you were nowhere near this awesome. What changed? I mean how did you increase your range so much?

[kfiala01]

@SchilkeScreamer "Practicing" with Vizzutti... thank you for the complements early on in your post.

[trombonepenguin]

Nice stuff Keith! It's Gannon, just stumbled across this by chance.

What you guys should really be jealous of is my left ear, which gets a close encounter with this full throttle every Tuesday night.

[kfiala01]

@trombonepenguin Ha - Thanks Gannon!

[mmeegg1961]

pobre perro,llevalo a pare de sufrir

[308doodoo]

well done sir. RIP Maynard

[themeleed]

why do all of maynard's players use this left hand grip as opposed to the standard? I'm curious- did the boss recommend this for any specific reason?

[kfiala01]

@themeleed No suggestion from MF - just a habit that I personally got into.

[MamboMan2314]

Hey, great notes. What trumpet is that? It looks sweet. And, how to you work up your range like that. I struggle as it is to get past the E 3 legerlines. I can get Eb solid, but nowhere near the E. that trumpet playing is truly screaming and soliid. I wish I could do that.

[kfiala01]

@MamboMan2314 Austin Winds stage 470LT is the trumpet... check out Trumpet Resources online...

[drjaadmdlra]

have not heard such good a quality of sound with these extremely high notes outside of maynard ferguson.....really really good sound and clarity with these extremely high notes

[kfiala01]

@drjaadmdlra Thank you so much... I'm humbled! Merry Christmas!

[OxIde240]

I can do this with a baloon :)

[acmadsen]

your shirt goes perfectly lol

[HipCovers]

The other really impressive thing is that you could go back down and play those LOW notes....THAT'S amazing.

[TheRyan3D]

chops.

[jlclerie91]

wow... what mouthpiece do you play on???

[themeleed]

Really good tone for up there.

[kfiala01]

@themeleed I play on an Austin Winds KF-580 currently.  When this video was made, I was on a GR - they're great mouthpieces!

[themeleed]

@kfiala01 yeah. Are there any specific range exercises you would recommend?

[kfiala01]

@themeleed Check out Trumpet Resources as there are a lot of things you can do based off of fundamentals like Clarke, Schlossberg, etc.

[redvelvet64]

amazing i wish i could do that

[CIRCUS1944]

Why would anyone do this!!!???

[EBERCILLO451]

music for dogs, ridiculous

[WaterOakSoftware]

Beautiful sound!

[kfiala01]

Hey Kicker,

Yes - MF was a great teacher of the use of air support and using your body to remove the strain and pressure from the chops.

[Kickerinthehead]

I noticed that a lot of MF lead players use the same sort of body technique for high notes like hip placement and compression that Maynard used. Is this something you just coincidentally all do or did he encourage you to play like that?

[kfiala01]

Sure, check out my YouTube channel... under Keith Fiala

[br3nn3nrul3z]

Can you link me with a video of you on youtube somewhere of you playing at a concert ??

[Jordandelk]

You play in the Temple Group Right?

[kfiala01]

@Jordandelk - Yes sir...

[whatfrog903]

I saw you live at the Georgetown Jazz Contest! :D You were amazing and still are!

[Cunhamatatta]

At first, I thought you were going to break out in "Binary Sunset" from Star Wars IV, haha! Nice playing!

[MrDr143]

is that a monette trumpet

[kfiala01]

@MrDr143

No, it's the Austin Winds Copper bell Stage 470LT.

[Trumpet759]

SpaceTrumpet

tyhyutuu

[travisprb44]

monettes are nice trumpets

[TheSuzanTV]

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaa 0.o

You sir. can play the trumpet!

well done!

[TheSuzanTV]

jeeesuuss 0.o

You sir. can play the trumpet!

well done!

[kfiala01]

@TheSuzanTV Thank you Susan!

[pilot757dep]

hello,i am playing trumpet for about 2 years and my trumpet lately got yet (on rain)

i am with the philarmonic band.Now it hears sucks and i am practising every day.Any advice?

(The trumpet is a bit old)

[kfiala01]

Hi pilot757dep,

I'm not sure I understand exactly what you're asking... can you please clarify?

Thank you...

Sincerely,

Keith

[kfiala01]

@pilot757dep Hi Pilot,

Could be that you may need to replace the felts under the valve caps, but I can't imagine anything other than a good oiling would be necessary. Some of the older horns are still the best as quality in many horns have dropped significantly.

All the best!

Sincerely,

Keith

[YoHback]

im also curious if a different mouth piece would help me play higher. W

I'm currently playing on a Bach 3c and was wondering if a different mouthpiece would make a difference along with practices from your other videos. Thank you for all your help and I hope to hear from you soon!

[tuffer020]

@YoHback Yes and No. At first, it will seem as if a shallow mouthpiece gives you extra range but its not true. I bought a shalow mouthpiece about 2 months ago and thought that I could play higher with it. Then, a month after that re-used my bach 3c (exellent mouthpiece btw) and guess what? my high notes are better, in-tune, steady and I can do alot more with the notes.

Keep using your 3c Bach, give it time. Took me 6months to go from squeaking to playing the note and now almost screaming it.

[kfiala01]

Although I agree with much of what you're saying... there are still many who are on mouthpieces that just don't "fit" them. I'm one that cannot play as efficiently on a 3C as I can my current piece.

I think by practicing the fundamentals first on the equipment currently being used, a player can make a wiser decision about equipment later as they'll have more to base those decisions on.

Just my 2 cents...

Keith

[tuffer020]

@kfiala01 I completely agree with what ou said. It is true. Not everything works for the same person.

True again, only by practicing on the equipement that they will know which works better.

Thanks

[YoHback]

Hi I'm a 14 year old trumpet player. I have a question about playing higher. Currently the highest I can play with good support is a high d above the staff. I am hoping to increase my range and technique in the upper ranges. I have braces as well which cut the backs if my lips occasionally and I play on a Bach 3C mouth piece with a good tone quality and with good support. How can I go about increasing my range and playing higher without cutting the backs of my lips with braces? I notice I

[kfiala01]

Hi YoHback,

As unpopular as this is going to be with a large amount of trumpet players / teachers, many will tell you that you should be on as efficient equipment as possible. In many cases (not all) a 3C is too large (as is a 5 or a 1).

BUT - before switching mouthpieces and buying experimental gear that can become a paperweight, start by doing extreme soft tones to develop your aperture. Then incorporate Schlossberg exercises and monitor that your air is doing the work.

[acupfulofteaplease]

Oh wow dude :O this is amazing!!!

[nickthetrumpetMAN]

damn what mouhtpiece is that dude

[drummingtrumpeteer69]

hey man, Im in a high school jazz band playing lead and this year my director has given some pretty range demanding pieces... currently im consistent at an E above high C, but the music has me going to A's above the high C. Do you have any advice on what exercises i could do while practicing to help with range. Also do you think if i bought something like the kelly screamer it would increase my range but sound decent?

thanks in advance...

[drummingtrumpeteer69]

hey man... awesome tone. I have a question... I've been playing trumpet for 6 years and just recently got into high notes, but i think i had the wrong approach to playing high the first time... i damaged my chops pretty bad. Right now i can hit a e above high C consistently but would like to be hitting at least A's above that by September. Is it possible to achieve this in the amount of time i have, also since i ruined my chops?

[kfiala01]

@drummingtrumpeteer69

Hey Drummingtrumpeteer, the absolute best advice I can give you is to practice fundamentals. Schlossberg, Arbans, Clarke, etc. If you look at Clarke Technical studies - exercise #9, it says to keep the lips flexible as you ascend and avoid playing too loudly. Practicing this in ALL registers will improve your range...

Hope this helps -

Sincerely,

Keith Fiala

[kfiala01]

Hi Jazzanova,

Yes I was there with Brecker and TJO! What a festival!  Hope we get to meet someday...

K

[jazzanova68]

Hi, I think I saw you at the North Sea Jazz festival in 2009 playing lead with the Temple Jazz Orchestra featuring Randy Brecker. That was really great. Nice video by the way!

[RainxSiN]

pop and sizzling high notes. :D I want that sound ^~^

[kingtrumpet123]

thanks for the inspiration, I'm a comeback player after 7 or so years off -- so 14 months back at it with your advice --- long tones, relaxed embouchere, and devotion -- I'm 45 it's never too late -- its videos like this that give the rest of us encouragement, and hope, and a goal to shoot for (low F# to DHC+, its there when I never had it before -- 6 more months and it will even sound good --- thanks

[Darthrator720]

Dude that was awsome!! I can hit a double G but wat u did blows me away!!! Nice job!!

[Darthrator720]

Dude that's awsome!!! I'm on my 7th year of playing an I can only hit a double g...that's with a good tone. I can squeak notes that arnt real like idiots.. But ur amazing!!

[Cheeser2012]

Wow finally someone understands what mean when I comment on every young teenagers videos. Check this out. "F above double High C" by thebeastpwner

He thinks he hitting actual notes. Please inform him as I am trying to. lol oh and Darthrator, I can do just the same as you. A real double g and squeek anywhere up lol. I actually did hit a real double c but that was only a couple times and ehhh... yeah. But anyways.

[kaunasprince]

I can play low just fine,but high....I suck.

[onmiHyper]

What do you mean by, " if you can play low, you can play high, too; " as an old school theory? I have had some success with this concept, but i do believe the philosophy is incomplete. I know the tung's position is important to high notes, but am not sure how to effectively use it to get maximum air velocity. Any tips?

[kfiala01]

I think what most players mean is that to be able to play low, your chops have to stay "relaxed" or at least not pinched. Same goes for the high notes.

It's probably better to describe it as not relying on your lips totally. Most players over pinch - therefore, they can't get the air through the lips... no matter how hard they blow!

[wannaplaytrmptjmu]

@kfiala01 recently, that's been my approach. I've been relying on air more than lip strength. I've been playing for about 41/2 years and my range is to a high Ab below double C. I've hit a double C once, and can hit G's all day. My problem though, is honestly getting past the Ab. I think my problem now is that I'm having trouble with pinching my lips too hard. For the life of my, I can't hit anything higher than that Ab ( which is just me lipping up from the G). What suggestions do you have?

[kfiala01]

@wannaplaytrmptjmu Hi there,

I'd suggest doing some Schlossberg exercises for the pinching issue. Honestly, I had to solve the pinching thing in the lower register first... it's a habit that we tend to fall into and can be overcome. As you do the Schlossberg's, just make sure that you're utilizing your air via the diaphragm and not just using the aperture. Your Double C's will be accessible in no time!

Hope you have a wonderful holiday! Thanks for checking out my video!!!

Sincerely,

Keith

[muffincheese123]

im a sophmore in highschool and i hit a g above the two octave c so i guess three octave g.

[fdiddy10]

im a freshmen in high school i i just managed to get B flat scale in 2 octives

[kfiala01]

Awesome Fdiddy! Keep going and remember to use your air... let the chops just vibrate!

Keith

[mattvj5]

Keith your a monster player!!!

[psychochris4]

@fdiddy10 nice. im a junior but i can just barely get 3 octaves on Bb.

[rtrain24]

Not true the lower you can play the higher you can play. That's old school thinking. I could play pedal C's and still could barely get above the staff until I learned the Reinhart Pivot System 20 years ago. It's an individual thing since we all have different facial structures and natural set ups.

[jac91693]

The lower you play......The higher you can

[kfiala01]

There's nothing wrong with you... it's just the approach that has been memorized. Trust me, I had to break a TON of bad habits (and still am working on it) to get here...

Keith Fiala

[JDubbs1190]

Haha same here. I'm a freshman in college and I'm going through a pretty good amount of tweaking around with my embouchure and breathing and what not. I feel like it's already starting to pay off!

[kablume2]

good stuff. nice range...however I would like to hear more control in the D to F# intervals. I can understand cracks on B's and C's tho...lol

[trumpetslayer]

You wouldn't happen to use the wedge breath?

[selector111]

What is wedge breathing I have heard that before and do you only use that for high notes.

[Jazzears]

really funny - if you listen to the background, you'll hear the dogs singing along. We get the same effect at our house.

[Generic1987]

So effortless.... amazing.

[JonathanDiazZ]

Master...

[kfiala01]

Nothing that I'm aware of... I was told "play something" so I did. HAHAHAHA

[pedroesteban86]

what's this from?

[glanderson]

Keith Fiala is a great trumpeter and teacher. Look at his other video too!

[arom815]

This is very cool. I wish it were longer. I want to hear more.

[bradnroberta]

Nice!