High register cornet playing

[James McFadyen]

The Arban is my friend now, I have been working on it for some time and I have my set routine.

I don't know if I have any advice for you, as Images of the Millenium features the worst writing for Soprano - ever! It really exposes the weaknesses of the instrument and makes the player feel uncomfortable - and it's not the first time Mr Snell has treated the Sop to such awkward passages.

I guess practice makes perfect, just don't let the band bully you - Sop is well the hardest instrument in the band, if it goes wrong on the day so be it. Just remember a confident mind is a confident player!

[dafyddapiago]

As previously suggested, I would recommend the Charles Collin "Advanced Lip Flexibility" book. It is in 3 sections; part 1 being the range finder, and part 3 is used to build stamina in the upper register. This should be used in conjunction with the Arban page 42 lip slurs. The Arban will help build stamina in the middle register to help support the upper register. Remember there are 24 muscles in the chops in which you need to build stamina and flexibility. A little and often is recommended. Like weight lifters one should go into the burn but not to the detriment of tearing muscles.
Part 2 of the book is for lip trills, which can be supported by the use of the tongue as in the syllable "La". I do not recommend working at this until you have complete control up to F & G above top C. When you can do this remember there is another octave to go; when I could play a little bit my register was up to F above super C; That way I didn't panic at parts written in the high register, which is the major problem when the mind looses control over the playing.


Dafydd ap Iago

Remember most importantly to perfect the point of co-ordination!

[thedoctor]

I think you'll also find that to be a Top Soprano Cornet Player and as my old music teacher told me you have to be a born sop player.
A sop player can practice all they want to gain a good top register but if they cant play in tune or dynamically when required with a band then the results can be disastrous.
If you have all these qualities then it can be very rewarding as a player.

[dafyddapiago]

There are 2 other attributes that spring to mind as well; a brass neck, and a large dose of stubbornness.
There are a number of sop players I would place in that category; two spring to mind, Peter Roberts and my father-in-law Charles Cook (RIP) who played Sop Cornet for Fodens for 30 years.

Dafydd ap Iago

[James McFadyen]

I am in total-awe watching the 2004 Euro's DVD with Pete playing 'Flowerdale' - a masterclass in Soprano playing. My wife bought me 'Legend' for my birthday this year and it's just mind-blowing stuff, the sort of playing that makes you want to give up.

Today, I spent 20mins on the Arban, focusing on No.1 of the Fourteen Studies - an excelent test for Sop as it deals with large jumps in range, lip slurs and fiddly fingering!

I don't worry too much about range when I'm practicing at home, although I do really make a point of playing below the stave (from middle C to bottom F#)

Personally, I'm now at a level of playing that I was nowhere near a year ago, although the thing that always knackers the hell out of me is long slow playing without any bars rest....my lip says "no".

At band, I am playing Rhapsody for Eb Soprano Cornet, a great solo and one that demands a great deal of stamina, especially when you get to the middle section - the slow and relentless playing. Anybody got any tips to cure this?

My instinct tells me to play long notes as a warmup , but is there anything else that can be done?

[smaca]

I am no expert or guru on the right/wrong way to practice, but for stamina, I have found if I play 2 pages of the red book hymn tunes each night, and play each one once p, once mf and once ff within a week the lips are like leather, and phrases like the ones you have described in solo passges seem so much easier.

There are lip slurs in Arban amd C Collins that will contribute to that also. Easy to recommend I suppose, its dedicating the time and being disciplined to do this day in day out. If I had that discipline, I may have been a better player today.

Good Luck.

[Sharpy]

Dont know if there is a cornet version of this but Ive just discovered the Remington Warm up book for Trombone. Its made a big difference to my stamina and high range in the space of a few weeks.

Long notes and concentrating on using the air to do all the work is the key I think! Although the lead trumpet at work does admit to sometimes having to screw it on by the end of a gig!!!

Have you tried the Vittuzi study books?