Warming up means getting blood to the area and pressure on the lips remove blood. When trumpet player warms up we are talking about warming up four different things: the lungs, lips, tongue, and fingers. Let's start with the most basic and fundamental of these.
BREATHING EXERCISES:
1. Breathing lower- sit in a chair with your hands by your side. Lean over so that your chest is on your knees. Take in three slow comfortable breaths. Do not raise your back as you inhale. You should feel the air expand your stomach (diaphragm). Sit up and try to breathe the same way with out having your chest expand. This type of breathing will give you more control over your breath since you will be able to use your stomach muscles to help control air speed. Although there are other methods of breathing (3 stage yoga breath) this method is the first step to mastering the other methods. The other methods are usually for scream playing and should not be used all the time.
2. Breathe through a short pipe or cardboard paper towel holder to open your throat.
3. Try holding a piece of paper against a wall with just your breathing(6"-10" away from it).
4. Tape a piece of bent paper on a wall on move it with your breath. Increase your distance away from the paper each time until you are across the room (10'-15').
5. Exhale three times fully, then 3x's into the horn with no mouthpiece, then 3x's into the mouthpiece without making an embouchure, then 3x's with an embouchure into the horn but don?lay a note. Each time you have increased the resistance and know you are ready to play.
Buzzing:
Buzzing your lips is a fast way to strengthen your chops. Keep the corners in as you ascend. When you buzz your lips you can not add pressure to your lips as you can with the mouthpiece. For this reason I suggest you start your buzzing warm up with just the lips. Then buzz the mouthpiece- this helps you center and is helpful for the "muscle memory" aspect of playing the horn (once you put the mouthpiece in the horn you can't hear it and must go by memory). Try buzzing tunes, intervals and work on bending on the mouthpiece. Remember you are warming up and pressure is not good. Fluttering your lips will add in getting the blood to your lips.
Buzzing the leadpipe is also important to open up your sound and range. Try buzzing an F in the staff, then a G on top, high D, and high G. There are notes above that but that is not a "warm up" it is more of a range builder. Of course Bill Adam is the man when it comes to that technique, but it is worth a mention here if you haven?eard of leadpipe buzzing.
Longtones or "Buzztones"
Longtones help you center the buzz to the same note you are playing. Bending in front of the longtones aids in centering quicker. Less pressure or no pressure produces what I call a buzztone. These buzztones really help you literally hear the note you are trying to play. They require more air and can not damage the chops. Try this method before you say it doesn't work.
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