SPOTLIGHT ON BRASS / LES CUIVRES DE PLUS PRÈS
No More “Bad Days” – A Trumpet and Brass-Instrument
Warm-Up Routine that Works
Christian McIvor
Anyone who has played a brass instrument for an appreciable
amount of time has, no doubt, experienced “good days” when it
seems like anything is possible on the horn and everything feels
effortless, and “bad days” when it seems like nothing feels or
works right. The most important factor in eliminating “bad days”
from a wind player’s experience is a common-sense warm-up
routine that leads the player to establish proper physical playing
habits on a daily basis.
There are two conceptual areas that require constant practice
and development by performers: technical facility and artistic
expression. The warm-up routine unveiled below focuses on
setting a daily foundation for proper technical facility so the
highest level of artistic expression can be achieved. We will
discuss the concepts behind this routine before exploring in
detail the routine as played on the trumpet, the author’s main
instrument. While the discussion and the exercises provided
refer specifically to the trumpet, the concepts are applicable to
any brass instrument.
Foundational, Coördinated Motor Skills
In learning to play a wind instrument, musicians essentially learn
how to effectively use, or “play,” their own body. The instrument
does not play itself; rather, an effective motor-skill coördination
system must function to enable production of the desired sounds.
In playing the trumpet, this system requires the following skills
to be mastered, in the following order:
1) POSTURE: sitting or standing with an aligned, upright
posture, with the rib cage up;
2) BREATHING: deep, relaxed, cyclical breathing with relaxed
shoulders and a steady exhalation that is supported by the
abdominal muscles;
3) EMBOUCHURE  /  APERTURE: the exhalation needs enough
air compression to allow the lips (in a forward position, with
firm corners and a small aperture) to buzz first without, and
then with, the mouthpiece;
4) TONGUE / ORAL CAVITY SHAPE: the shaping of the oral
cavity in different vowel syllables to facilitate various
pitches; and,
5) ARTICULATION: the use of the tongue to release the air for
proper articulation.
Let us discuss each of them in turn.
VENTS CANADIENS  •   CANADIAN WINDS  •   FALL / AUTOMNE 2017
Posture
A primary goal of any musician looking to develop their technical
skills is to play with great efficiency – to achieve maximal
output from minimal input of physical energy. Efficient playing
begins with an upright, aligned posture that focuses on the rib
cage being raised, with relaxed shoulders; players should carry
as little tension as possible in their body that is not required to
play the instrument. Centered alignment is important so that
airflow is directed forward through the trumpet mouthpiece, not
up, down, or to the side, and also so as not to contribute to neck
or back problems over time. Sitting up straight in a chair, the
player can imagine a string being pulled up through the top of
the back of their head, keeping the rib cage up (to give the lungs
room to expand) and shoulders relaxed (so as not to introduce
tension into the shoulders, back, neck, or head).
Breathing
A good “trumpet breath” inhalation involves the feeling of
“filling up” the lungs from the bottom to the top. Diaphragmatic/
abdominal breaths are ideal for most playing circumstances. To
feel this type of inhalation, one can stand up straight, bend over
at the waist with a straight back and legs and hands on hips, and
take a deep breath. The feeling should be that of the air going
into the “gut,” or the abdominal area. Another exercise that tends
to work in allowing students to feel this type of breath is to sit up
straight, put a straight palm below the chin, imagine the mouth
is below the palm, and think of breathing deeply into the lower
back. Focused, conscious breath is the goal, with an awareness
of where the breath is active in the body.
The exhalation should be a natural, cyclical part of the entire
breath. When one sits at rest, breathing works as a continual
cycle, not as a series of forced ins and outs. A good “trumpet
breath” replicates this natural cycle as closely as possible, with
the abdominals firming up and preparing the supported, steady
exhalation at the end of the inhalation. As mentioned above,
the goal is to breathe with as little extra tension as possible.
Conscious, deep breathing helps develop this skill, as do yoga
and other meditative practices that use the breath as a focal point.
Regular cardiovascular exercise is also encouraged.
Embouchure / Aperture
The embouchure is the musculature in the face that is used when
playing the trumpet. One way to feel a proper embouchure
set-up is to imagine spitting a small piece of thread or a seed
off one’s lower lip. Simply spit the thread/seed and keep the
23
 NO MORE “BAD DAYS” – A TRUMPET AND BRASS-INSTRUMENT WARM-UP ROUTINE THAT WORKS
air moving. Another way to feel a proper set-up is to say
the word, “mom,” and bring the corners of the mouth to a
forward position (as if saying “ooh” while keeping the lips in
the same “m” position). “Aperture” is the word for the hole
in your lips that the air passes through when you play. The
aperture should be centered in the mouthpiece, with the upper
and lower lips each taking up about half of the mouthpiece,
and the air directed straight into the hole in the center of the
mouthpiece. The aperture should be a relatively small opening,
or else the sound will be very “fuzzy.”
When playing, it’s helpful to imagine the air as starting at your
lips and moving only forward, through the instrument. This is
a bit of a mental trick. By focusing on air movement only in
front of the lips, attention is directed away from the muscles
of the neck and throat. This helps the player avoid accidentally
performing the Valsalva maneuver (i.e., “blocking” in the
throat), which is a primary cause of frustration in trumpet and
brass-instrument performance.
The embouchure and aperture should be shaped in such a way
that, with practice, players should be able to produce acceptable,
vibrant sounds while buzzing just the lips, then buzzing the lips
in the mouthpiece, and finally buzzing the lips in the mouthpiece
when it is connected to the trumpet. It is often helpful to picture
the corners of the mouth as being firm, in a forward position,
with the embouchure forming a cone shape that leads into the
mouthpiece. The corners are like the frame of a trampoline on its
side, as the lips need to be supple enough in the middle to vibrate
freely inside the rim of the mouthpiece.
Tongue / Oral Cavity Shape
When playing the trumpet, the tongue and oral cavity act
much as they do when one whistles. When whistling or simply
blowing air that sounds at a low pitch and transitions to a high
pitch (with a glissando in between), one can feel the back of the
tongue rise in the oral cavity as the pitch ascends. This is the
same movement within the mouth that must take place while a
trumpeter plays from a low partial on a given valve combination
and transitions to higher ones. The shape of the oral cavity and
the corresponding shape of the air – or, the “wind pattern” –
should be rounded, circular, and smooth.
This is achieved by using a French “u” vowel sound (as in
déjà vu – essentially an “oo” sound through an “ee” lip-shape)
to play notes in the middle range of the trumpet, an “ee” syllable
while playing in the upper range, and “oh” syllable while playing
in the lower range. It is important to note that every single pitch
has its own distinct syllable shape; these vowel syllables are
relative in nature, and it is assumed that the embouchure will
remain in the previously discussed forward position while these
vowels are shaped inside the oral cavity (again, just like when
whistling). When shaping the “oh” syllable, there is more space
in the oral cavity for the air to pass through, resulting in slower
air speed and lower pitches produced on the trumpet.
24 FALL / AUTOMNE 2017  •   CANADIAN WINDS  •   VENTS CANADIENS
The higher the back of the tongue moves for each vowel shape
(higher for “u” and even higher for ee”), the lower the spatial
volume of the oral cavity, resulting in faster air speed and higher
pitches on the trumpet. Again, performers are encouraged to
think of the moving air as being round, smooth, circular, and
warm, to produce efficient air and a rich tone quality.
A common problem for trumpet players relating to this skill is
that of overcompensating – dropping the tongue (or even the
jaw) too low in the oral cavity for lower notes, and bringing it
too high in the oral cavity for higher notes (which often leads
to the Valsalva “blocking” mentioned above). For this reason,
it is important to approach range development from the middle
outward, on a daily basis during the warm-up.
The “middle” that I use and refer to is a concert F4 (second
line G in the treble staff for Bb trumpets). Using this mid-range
open partial as a “home base” from which to build range
outward discourages overcompensating for vowel syllable
shapes in the upper and lower registers, and leads to greater
ease of playing. Extreme ranges of high and low should be
approached gradually from the middle during the warm-up, as
should linear leaps across wide intervals.
Articulation
A detailed discussion of articulation will not be undertaken in this
article. It is important to note, however, that by the conclusion
of any comprehensive warm-up routine, consistently clean and
clear articulation should be achieved. With any articulation
style, the function of the tongue is to release the air. The motion
of the air is crucial to the sound of the trumpet. This is why,
when listening to great performers, only sound is heard at the
beginnings of tones, with no audible sound made by the tongue
itself. This is an important concept – the tongue does not start the
sound, the air does.
Imagine the sound the trumpet would make when using only the
tongue itself with no air behind it – there would be no sound! For
this reason, using breath attacks for the first part of the warm-up is
highly recommended. If, on a daily basis, the player reëstablishes
the necessary air compression needed to make the lips respond
(buzz freely) and can do this consistently, fundamental articulation
takes care of itself.
Once consistent lip response and tone quality is established
with breath attacks, the tongue can be used to articulate notes
after the air is already in motion (in the middle of the exercise,
after the initial breath attack). This teaches the body how the
tongue should feel when articulating – as if it is releasing air
that is already in motion. This takes the guesswork out of how
“hard” or “soft” to use the tongue in articulating notes. While
exercises focusing on different articulation styles should, of
course, be part of any well-rounded practice routine, using
breath attacks during the warm-up routine results in the proper
functioning of the tongue in the context of basic articulation.
 NO MORE “BAD DAYS” – A TRUMPET AND BRASS-INSTRUMENT WARM-UP ROUTINE THAT WORKS
The Routine
The exercises below are either of the author’s own making or
have been taken/adapted from Max Schlossberg’s Daily Drills
and Technical Studies for Trumpet, Herbert L. Clarke’s Technical
Studies for the Cornet, James Stamp’s Warm-Ups and Studies
for Trumpet, or Charles Colin’s Advanced Lip Flexibilities,
and are duly noted as such. However, other exercises may be
substituted in this routine. It is not the specific exercises used,
but the concepts discussed in this article and the piecing together
of the coördination system in a methodical way, one element at
a time, that is of primary importance in this warm-up routine.
All of the included exercises should be played at a slow tempo
unless specifically marked otherwise.
1. POSTURE:
Sit up straight in a centered, aligned position, and imagine
a string being pulled up through the top of the back of your
head, keeping the rib cage up (in order to give the lungs room
to expand) and shoulders relaxed. Notice any unneeded areas
of tension, and release the tension. Be aware of your body and
how it feels to sit in this confident position.
2. BREATHING:
Make a few deep, relaxed, intentional inhalations, with smooth,
steady, relaxed, and intentional exhalations. Focus on the
continuous cycle and circular motion of the breath.
3.  EMBOUCHURE / APERTURE:
Form a proper embouchure as discussed above, and “free buzz”
the lips by using a steady airflow. Start in the middle range and
work outward, spanning the range of an octave:
All of these exercises should be done using only breath attacks.
These exercises prepare the muscles in the lips for what they’re
about to do in the trumpet mouthpiece. Glissandos across small
intervals in the middle range are suggested to also encourage
the tongue and oral cavity to shape the air properly, in the same
way it will be shaped when playing the trumpet (think round and
circular, and use the relative vowel shapes discussed earlier to
change the pitch of the buzz).
VENTS CANADIENS  •   CANADIAN WINDS  •   FALL / AUTOMNE 2017
4.  BREATHING, EMBOUCHURE/APERTURE,
AND INTRODUCING THE MOUTHPIECE:
Before playing anything on the mouthpiece, put the lips around
the outside of the rim and blow a few breaths of steady air
through the mouthpiece. This prepares the breathing system
for the amount of compression necessary to blow a stream of
steady air through the mouthpiece. This can be followed with
soft, mid-range long tones and lip glissandos across small
intervals, within the span of an octave:
Again, all of these exercises should be done using only breath
attacks. It is important to begin the warm-up with relatively
soft playing (a full mezzo-piano) to allow the lip muscles to
gradually get used to the work they need to do. Playing too
loudly too early in the warm-up can result in blowing the
aperture wide open, after which it becomes difficult to keep the
small lip muscles in the position that needs to be maintained
for optimal playing.
5.  BREATHING, EMBOUCHURE / APERTURE,
AND INTRODUCING THE TRUMPET:
Before playing anything on the trumpet, put the mouthpiece
in the horn, put your lips around the outside of the rim, and
blow a few breaths of steady air through the trumpet while
fluttering the valves. This prepares the breathing system for
the amount of compression necessary to blow a stream of
steady air through the entire horn (and physically warms up
the instrument). Then begin playing soft long tones, working
from the middle, outward to concert E3 on the bottom and
F5 on the top:
These exercises should still be played using only breath attacks.
6.  TONGUE / ORAL CAVITY SHAPE AND ARTICULATION:
It should be noted that, while the previous parts of the
routine are primarily dedicated to reëstablishing the earlier
processes of the coördination system we are discussing, the
tongue and oral cavity shape should be a focus of the player
as soon as tones are produced with the lips in step 3, as the
tongue/oral cavity shape will dictate the pitches produced.
The next several exercises in the routine are dedicated to
25
 NO MORE “BAD DAYS” – A TRUMPET AND BRASS-INSTRUMENT WARM-UP ROUTINE THAT WORKS
re-familiarizing the player with the wind patterns (created 13,6 and 21,7 and include lip slurs of up to a fifth across the range
by the tongue and oral cavity shape) needed to navigate of a thirteenth. These exercises also serve to introduce the higher
jumps across wider and wider intervals. Start with long range gradually each day.
tone exercises that slur across half steps – for example,
Schlossberg’s fifth study:1

Use a breath attack after each breath. Only articulate when the
air is already in motion (ex. mm. 2, 4, 6, etc.). This allows the
tongue to get used to the feeling of releasing air that is already
in motion. Continue with exercises that span the range of wider
intervals, including 2nds and 3rds, such as Clarke’s second study,2
played slowly in the middle range, across the span of an octave:

Schlossberg exercises 278 and 299 continue to ascend in range

and require the player to keep a focused embouchure while
creating the proper wind pattern throughout the entire typical
range of the trumpet:
From this point forward, studies should be articulated as marked.
Continue with exercises that involve slurred leaps across wider
intervals. The following suggested exercises are adapted from
Schlossberg’s Daily Drills and Technical Studies and should be
played at a slow tempo, with a short rest between each exercise
(at the double bar lines). Begin with modified versions of studies
7,3 11a4, exercises that include lip slurs of up to a fifth in the
middle, low, and high ranges:

Focus on having no audible “hiccups” in the sound during

the transitions from one note to the next. Continue with the
following exercises, which take from Schlossberg studies 12,5

26 FALL / AUTOMNE 2017  •   CANADIAN WINDS  •   VENTS CANADIENS

 NO MORE “BAD DAYS” – A TRUMPET AND BRASS-INSTRUMENT WARM-UP ROUTINE THAT WORKS
7.  PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:
The final exercises in this routine further reinforce all the
concepts covered above, and encourage the entire coördination
system to continue working together. Pedal-tone and lip-bend
studies help further to clarify proper tongue and oral cavity
shape. A suggested pedal-tone exercise is the third study from
James Stamp’s Warm Ups and Studies for Trumpet10:

Lip-bend exercises also help to reinforce the proper shape

of the oral cavity, as well as promoting embouchure strength,
intonation, and a vibrant sound. Below is a suggested lip bend
exercise, written by the author:
The final suggested exercises, developed by the author, introduce
the more extreme upper register. It is suggested to continue the
following lip trills as high as possible without discomfort:

Finally, an appropriate arpeggio should be selected that includes

the player’s entire usable range. For example:

The final lip flexibility and arpeggio exercises encourage playing

throughout the entire usable range of the instrument, practicing
excellent posture while taking deep breaths, properly supporting
the air and the embouchure, and shaping the tongue and oral
cavity perfectly for each pitch. A suggested lip flexibility
exercise that utilizes the entire typical range of the trumpet is
Colin’s fifth study from his Advanced Lip Flexibilities11:
It is suggested to play some soft long-tones after this final exercise.
Upon finishing the playing part of this routine, it is important to
rest for at least as long as one has played (this routine typically
takes anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes). The primary function
of the warm-up is to reëstablish proper technical performance
habits on a daily basis, but it also serves as somewhat of a cool-
down from the previous day’s playing, especially if one has had
a demanding performance the night prior. This post-warm-up
rest period allows the embouchure muscles to settle, and any
swelling to subside.

VENTS CANADIENS  •   CANADIAN WINDS  •   FALL / AUTOMNE 2017 27

 NO MORE “BAD DAYS” – A TRUMPET AND BRASS-INSTRUMENT WARM-UP ROUTINE THAT WORKS
Only Good Days! CHRISTIAN MCIVOR
The warm-up routine outlined above takes a systematic approach earned a B.A. in music from the State
to reëstablishing proper playing habits on a daily basis through University of New York at Potsdam,
adding one element at a time to the coördination system required a teaching certificate from Western
to play the trumpet. In starting off the day of playing by becoming Connecticut State University, and
re-acquainted with good habits, it sets the player up to use proper M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in Trumpet
technical playing skills intuitively throughout the rest of each day. Performance (with a cognate in Jazz
Studies) from the University of North
For band directors, the full-ensemble method book, Foundations Carolina at Greensboro.
for Superior Performance by Richard Williams and Jeff King, is
an excellent tool that can be used to address the same concepts He has held teaching positions at
outlined above in a full-ensemble setting. It is the author’s High Point University, the University
hope that this discussion has been of value and that it will help of North Carolina at Greensboro, the
Canadian Winds readers and their students enjoy only “good North Carolina Leadership Academy,
days” of playing going forward! and Southwest Guilford High School in High Point, NC. A member of
Market Street Brass, a quintet that performs throughout the eastern U.S.,
he also plays lead trumpet with the Piedmont Triad Jazz Orchestra, and
Acknowledgements
performs frequently with big bands, symphony and chamber orchestras,
The concepts outlined above were all gathered and taken in and ensembles of many types across the U.S. Southeast, including the
some way from the teachings of Edward S. Bach, Professor of North Carolina Brass Band, the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra,
Trumpet at Brandon University. While a graduate student of his and pit orchestras at theaters and universities throughout the state. He has
at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, I learned shared the stage with such artists as Branford Marsalis, Dave Holland,
everything I know about the technical side of trumpet playing Robin Eubanks, Arturo Sandoval, and Lee Konitz, among others. An avid
(and, of course, much about the artistic side as well!). I’ve never composer and arranger, McIvor publishes with C. Alan Publications.
met another trumpet player or teacher with as much knowledge
about how to make the trumpet and the body work effectively
and efficiently together, and I want to thank Dr. Bach for all he
has passed on to me as a performer and teacher.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Clarke, Herbert L. Technical Studies for the Cornet. New York: Carl Fischer,
1984.
Colin, Charles. Advanced Lip Flexibilities. New York: Chas. Colin, 1980.
YOU’RE THE
Schlossberg, Max. Daily Drills and Technical Studies for Trumpet. Oyster Bay,
NY: M. Baron Company, Inc., 1965.
Stamp, James. Warm Ups and Studies for Trumpet. Vuarmarens, Switzerland:
EXPERT
Editions BIM, 2005.
Williams, Richard and Jeff King. Foundations for Superior Performance.
San Diego: Neil A. Kjos Music Company, 1998.
Call us when your
REFERENCES
1
 Max Schlossberg, Daily Drills and Technical Studies for Trumpet (Oyster Bay,
print & design projects
NY: M. Baron Company, Inc., 1965), 2. need direction
2
 Herbert L. Clarke, Technical Studies for the Cornet (New York: Carl Fischer,
1984), 8-9.
3
 Schlossberg, 2.
4
 Schlossberg, 3.
5
 Schlossberg, 3.
6
 Schlossberg, 4.
7
 Schlossberg, 6
8
 Schlossberg, 7
9
 Schlossberg, 7
10
 James Stamp, Warm-Ups and Studies for Trumpet (Vuarmarens, Switzerland:
Editions BIM, 2005), 7.
www.avenue4.com
11
 Charles Colin, Advanced Lip Flexibilities (New York: Chas. Colin, 1980), 10.

28 FALL / AUTOMNE 2017  •   CANADIAN WINDS  •   VENTS CANADIENS

Copyright of Canadian Winds / Vents Canadiens is the property of Canadian Band
Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a
listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print,
download, or email articles for individual use.