TromboneChat

Hi guys, I am interested to know what do you think about exploring the very high register at the beginning of our sessions. There ones who suggest that is not very recommended to play very high right after start playing and others that suggest that the earlier you start playing at the very extreme registers, the earlier you will be ready to play. what do you think? is it better for you to build our register slowly or the faster we start to cover it the better?

Depends what 'very high' means for you, but...

Start high/soft dynamic/efficient/flexible, centered somewhere 6/7/8th partial, and then maintain that setting and approach higher and lower. Watrous talked about starting the day around G, you can find the video... for what extremely amateurishly little it's worth, that feels about right to me.

I think the opposite logic - 'building up to the high register' - comes from thinking that High = Athletic, which it mostly isn't when done efficiently. But keep the dynamic down.

Starting off with low long notes seems needlessly 'expensive' in face time, and if you're working on keeping your embouchure stable it's pretty useless - I can slide around the 2nd partial with the mouthpiece and face more or less anywhere, whereas if I've drifted from a stable and efficient basic setting that's going to be immediately apparent in the higher register. (Air stability/note shape/long tone exercises can follow later if you want.)

We live in fortunate times...

Talk to someone who really knows the 'Rheinhardt Method' of brass playing, like Doug Elliott or David Wilken, or Rich Willey (trumpet player and owner of Boptism Music Publishing, who has recently made a lot of books available based on his years of Rheinhardt training.)

If you're trained in, or had teachers who were trained in, the 'Eastman/Remington school' or the 'Chicago school' of trombone playing, then be prepared to have your worldview 'turned upside down'.

And your warmup routine as well (depending on your embouchure type)

To make a long post really short, get in contact with or have a lesson with someone who can rally help you out and can get you set straight on how the body/embouchure really works for brass playing.

Don't get stuck in the thinking that you must always do what is passed down in the 'Chicago school' or the 'Remington school' of thought.

Some will perceive that as a sacrilegious statement or as blasphemous, but the trombone world is away behind the trumpet world when it comes to being open to exploring other 'schools of thought'.

The 'Rheinhardt school' of thought is not new, but it certainly hasn't gotten the good 'press' that the other schools have had over the years.

Check it out. Could be the best thing you've ever done as a brass player.

The key to playing good high notes is to use your air properly.

My favorite exercise is to take a big breath, then let out 75% of it. Then play some high notes. You can start in 6th playing a F then gliss up to the Bb. and continue upwards.

Air balls are caused by too much air for your apature. Playing high is not that hard if your air is correct. I am presuming your chops more or less work well with your face.

If that doesn't help a lot, you need to work on embouchure mechanics. Probably best at that point get a quick on line lesson from Doug Elliot or Wilktone.

Cmillar is 100% correct. The Rheinhardt stuff is excellent and about the only method that works and makes sense. But like he said, open your mind to it, bc it is not what most mainstream teachers will tell you.

Give it a shot. A lesson or 2 with either Doug or Wiltone could make some huge differences to your playing.

I use this approach and it works for me. I play from double pedals to Bb 2 octaves above the tuning notes on all my horns and can do it in a breath without resetting. Having an embouchure that works with your anatomy is important. Unless you fall into doing it right which is rare, most people go through their life playing on a middle school style embouchure and have range and sound issues.


After a lesson or two and some simple exercises and dialing it in, work on playing Borgodogni(Rochuts) up an octave or two. Try to play easy and sweet. Aim for a Tommy Doresy or Jack Teagarden sound. If you want to get better you have to play all the way up and all the way down every day, IMHO.

aasavickas wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 6:37 am Cmillar is 100% correct. The Rheinhardt stuff is excellent and about the only method that works and makes sense.

Quite a statement. While it certainly is good, there are definitely a LOT of excellent players who have never heard of it and are using other methods very successfully.

There is no perfect warm-up or practice routine. Spending too much time on one thing can potentially diminish skills in other areas. As a teenager, my primary teacher believed in doing extensive warm-ups that were routed in the mid- to high-register (average or middle pitches being in the 5th-7th partials). Those familiar with the Charles Colin Advanced Flexibility Books 1-3 will know exactly what I played routinely.

I am aware that there are many trombone and trumpet teachers that teach this system of warming up and I see the validity of it. The embouchure actually gets a good musculature work out from the the first minutes of the warm-up. For a jazz player, this routine might be fine.

But I went to a college that was mostly “classical” and my new teacher was quick to point out how inadequate my mid and low register was at that point. I obviously had to change my warm-up routine.

I believe that the trombone is an unforgiving instrument. If you do not practice a particular skill or aspect of the instrument, it will eventually catch up with you. So….. when students ask this……. What should I use in my daily warm-up……lip slurs, long tones, high register, low register, fast articulations, legato articulation, scales, arpeggios, wide intervals, etc…? My answer is always……yes!

aasavickas wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 6:37 am Unless you fall into doing it right which is rare, most people go through their life playing on a middle school style embouchure and have range and sound issues.

For sure, there are 'freaks of nature' who are total 'naturals' as brass players, were born with perfect embouchures, were lucky enough to find mouthpieces/horn that just naturally suited them, and many of them have even gone on to become teachers.

Therein lies a problem. Many great, natural talented brass players can't teach because they've never really had to 'figure things out'.

Students are very lucky if they find someone who can do everything well! They're out there, but you have to really talk to knowledgeable, older players who've been around and know who's who.

The process never ends!

MStarke wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 6:46 am

aasavickas wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 6:37 am Cmillar is 100% correct. The Rheinhardt stuff is excellent and about the only method that works and makes sense.

Quite a statement. While it certainly is good, there are definitely a LOT of excellent players who have never heard of it and are using other methods very successfully.

You're in Germany. I'm in North America.

We're far behind you in many ways!

We don't get exposed to many of the great things that are happening in the world, and as brass players here, we don't get exposed to many other 'schools of thought' due to the preponderance of universities/colleges/conservatories 'pumping out teachers' who just teach what they were taught, usually just by rote.

Is that 'quite a statement'? Not really. Just as it is.

I think it's worth differentiating between warm-up and practicing. Some people seem to use the former to refer to anything that isn't pure repertoire work, which makes little sense to me... that's just practicing. (How hot do you need to get?)

In the context of the OP's question, I think we're just considering the first notes/few mins of the day, in which case the process can't be accused of focusing 'too much' on anything. You're just attempting to set a stable baseline, reaffirm good habits, and collect enough data to understand and avoid any 'mysterious bad day' phenomena. The high range is a good place to do those things.

Tbone00 wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 5:23 am Hi guys, I am interested to know what do you think about exploring the very high register at the beginning of our sessions. There ones who suggest that is not very recommended to play very high right after start playing and others that suggest that the earlier you start playing at the very extreme registers, the earlier you will be ready to play. what do you think? is it better for you to build our register slowly or the faster we start to cover it the better?

I like the way you worded this question. "Beginning of our sessions" is not necessarily the same thing as "warmup" and I think is a more clear phrase.

I think that it's fine to start aggressively from the first note of the day. There are sometimes gigs where I end up doing this with not choice in the matter. For example, playing a wedding where there is literally no place to warm up, and the first tune starts a fortissimo-like brass fanfare-like intro. That has to be practiced.

I also think it's fine to start really gently.

MStarke wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 6:46 am

aasavickas wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 6:37 am Cmillar is 100% correct. The Rheinhardt stuff is excellent and about the only method that works and makes sense.

Quite a statement. While it certainly is good, there are definitely a LOT of excellent players who have never heard of it and are using other methods very successfully.

We used to believe in phrenology as well.

My own playing has responded much better to the Sam Burtis method of emphasising sound, flexibility, connections and timing.

To each their own.

High range is like any other athletic achievement. It takes time, patience, proper form and rest to develop.

To answer the OP's question, it depends on lots of things.
If you truly understand your own embouchure type and correct mechanics, you can start anywhere as long as you do it correctly. But the majority of players don't know their own "correct mechanics.". Cmillar and ithinknot do know, I've worked with them off and on for quite a while.

Interesting words from AndrewMeronek...
"start aggressively from the first note of the day" and "start really gently." Reinhardt (that's the correct spelling) used similar terminology for those two different approaches, "Knock it in it in" or "Baby it in.". They are both appropriate at different times and different situations.
But you can do either one in any range... High range can be aggressive or gentle.

"take a big breath, then let out 75% of it. Then play some high notes". My only disagreement with that is, you don't need to take a big breath first. High range requires almost no air... especially if you're playing correctly for your own face.

And... High range is not an "athletic achievement."

Pretty much any advice depends on what you're already doing and how it relates to your own mechanics.

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 9:46 am
And... High range is not an "athletic achievement."

Today, I guess. And yet it requires musculature that you are proud of while advocating "weight-lifting for the chops".

Mr412 wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 10:13 am

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 9:46 am And... High range is not an "athletic achievement."

Today, I guess. And yet it requires musculature that you are proud of while advocating "weight-lifting for the chops"

Not at all. If it seems that way you're doing it wrong.
It's more like threading a needle. It's about position and control, not strength.

A huge advantage (from lessons, knowledge of, and application of the Reinhardt (! sp) methodology as required by my particular facial/embouchure requirements) is that I can 'warm-up' rather quickly and get down to 'practice'. (which is now more Reinhardt work being applied to my playing)

And, being a type III-a player, I find that doing the Watrous '4th Floor Walk-up' as a careful chop-setter and physical-reminder first thing when picking up the horn has helped me enormously as to being able to be more solid in every aspect of playing the trombone.

Oh....to have been aware of Reinhardt many, many years ago would have been wonderful.

But, better late than never!

So, for you younger players, 'better sooner than later!'

Should "exploring the very high register at the beginning of our sessions" be suggested?

Impossible to give general answer. You should start where you are comfortable and as soon as you are ready you should go where you've never been before. That's my short answer because I think that is best use of practice time.

Is this what we do?

I think a lot of people spend to much practice on what they already know how to do. I do that myself too and it is simply because I want to feel the joy of playing music. I practice with minus-one records just for the fun and experience of beeing IN music.

Better than this is probably to as soon as you are ready go beyoind your limits wherever they are. You should sound like you are struggelung, because that''s when you learn so Yes, you should probably go high too as soon as possible.

I go high the first thing I do if the warmup is just seconds. If I only have a few seconds then I play a couple of chromatic runs from Bb up to Bb and back. Is high? What's high is relative. Yes, to me Bb is rather high since my highest reliable note is a high Db. No problem for me to go beyond that of course, up to high f if I'm still fresh is not a problem and sometimes I also squeek high Bb's, but not every day. Often squeek Bb is where my roof is. I think what's high here is for anyone to decide.

If I have half a minute I start with bending notes from Bb to Gb (a "factitious note") on first and move that pattern down to seventh and then I do the chromatic runs. The factitious notes is to take playing to the extremes but in the lower regions. I could extend the ascending chromatic runs up to Db if I have two minutes.

Would I choose to start on that high Bb ?

No, I wouldn't do that, but I could if I wanted too. I thnk it is as Doug said "If you know what you are doing you can start anywhere'. My first notes is to tune in to the instrument, so I'm in that first moment not really sure what I'm doing so I tune in to the instrument before I play my highest notes, because it feels good. My first notes is a reminder like "ok, this is how it feels today". After this is established I can go anywhere and "as soon as possible" is better.

/Tom

I look at extreme high notes (and extreme low notes) as the top of a pyramid. If you build the base wide enough, you'll support a good sound and technic in the higher ranges. The longer you've built that pyramid up also, the less work you'll need to get there each day.

.

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 10:33 am Not at all. If it seems that way you're doing it wrong.
It's more like threading a needle. It's about position and control, not strength.

Lol! It's some of both; else why would we struggle (as you stated you did once at the end of a gig) with holding a high note. If fatigue is a factor, then it's at least partially a function of strength and endurance. But I do like your "threading a needle" analogy. That's pretty spot on. The higher the note, the smaller the eye of the needle to thread! Strength and conditioning makes it more possible to thread that needle for a longer time. Threading it early on is relatively easier, compared with threading AND holding it towards the end of a demanding session. So that could be a good, usable mental concept for someone when learning how to play higher - learn to thread the needle.

It's another debate; what constitutes athletics. A pop meme is if you can smoke a cigar while doing it, it's not athletic.

Yeah sometimes I get tired at the end of a long gig. But I also regularly go a week or more without touching my horn, and then go play a demanding gig with no issues. I know HOW to do it, without regular practice... I've been playing totally correctly for several decades now, and I continue to get "stronger" at it even with no practice at all - I only play gigs.

And a number of times I've been asked by other players next to me "Don't you ever get tired?"
I hide it well.

It's good to be well rested, with a strong foundation!

When I'm tired, I can still ping high notes, but I maybe can't hold on to them with a good ballad-worthy sound. That's when I switch down an octave or two and/or devise an alternate melody that doesn't go as high - for all or part of it. Others may not have that luxury.

It all starts with technique, where it ends depends.

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 9:46 am Interesting words from AndrewMeronek...
"start aggressively from the first note of the day" and "start really gently." Reinhardt (that's the correct spelling) used similar terminology for those two different approaches, "Knock it in it in" or "Baby it in.". They are both appropriate at different times and different situations.
But you can do either one in any range... High range can be aggressive or gentle.

Indeed!

hyperbolica wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 11:37 am People don't get a thrill hearing trombones play high.

Speak for yourself.



These folks seem to enjoy the show.

The "warm up" should take only a minute or two. I do it in the low to mid register. Open, long lip slurs. The first note basically gives you an idea of how your whole day off playing is going to go, so you better make it a good first note.

Then you can play in any register.

If you need to be "warming up" more than that, you're doing it wrong. Or you're just practicing.

Maybe a slight tangent but I think related:

Here in Detroit we have several of the best trumpet players in the world in this area, and to my great fortune I've actually gotten to gig with some of them. So - these concepts of how to warm up are pretty universal at least between trombonists and trumpetists. I've seen gentle warmups and extremely aggressive warmups from them. I remember seeing Mike Williams do about 15 minutes straight of nothing in the staff before a relatively easy gig (for him) and he sounded fantastic. Also, from Mike - about 5 seconds of "puttt puttt" "warmup" in the low range with the same result. (I currently play in a local band with him; the simple experience of playing next to someone like that has been inspirational and humbling for my musical growth.)

Honestly, I don't think warmups are really all that important - at least, in the sense of getting physically ready to perform, especially for people who have their technique and musicality well-established. If there are times when you have to "warm up" more thoroughly to be able to do specific things, by all means do so - but this should probably also be a warning sign for things you need to practice.

AndrewMeronek wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 5:28 pm

hyperbolica wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 11:37 am People don't get a thrill hearing trombones play high.

Speak for yourself.



These folks seem to enjoy the show.

Yeah, well, in my defense, not many of us are Steinmeyer, and as great an icon as Steinmeyer still is to us trombonists, he got overshadowed by Maynard and Severinson and a dozen other trumpet players.

I agree about warmups, though. If your chops are in order, you need less to get them going.

Speaking of the Airmen of Note, somebody gave me a high quality video of the Japanese TV show we were on when I was in. I think it was 1994.

That's a really nice little find, Doug.

Despite the haircut.

Nice Doug!

Jim Scott

Great playing, Doug!

/Tom

As other have said Doug, great playing…..thanks for sharing

Cmillar wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 6:58 am

MStarke wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 6:46 am

Quite a statement. While it certainly is good, there are definitely a LOT of excellent players who have never heard of it and are using other methods very successfully.

You're in Germany. I'm in North America.

We're far behind you in many ways!

We don't get exposed to many of the great things that are happening in the world, and as brass players here, we don't get exposed to many other 'schools of thought' due to the preponderance of universities/colleges/conservatories 'pumping out teachers' who just teach what they were taught, usually just by rote.

Is that 'quite a statement'? Not really. Just as it is.

I get your point and I don't want to put too much emphasis on that statement. I just wanted to point out that there for sure isn't the one method that is the very best for every player in the world - which would on the other hand mean that you can hardly be successful without knowing it.

I really do believe that most, if not all players CAN benefit from knowing some of that stuff. Even if it's just to expand understanding, confirm what you are already doing or even consciously say it is NOT for you. But many players get along well without knowing it.

And I certainly wouldn't say North America is far behind Germany or Europe in this specific topic (others, especially outside trombone, probaby yes ).
There are great teachers and methods popular/well-known and sometimes also viewed critically in Europe that are probably not known in North America (e.g. Burba methodology and some others that are less directly linked to one specific person). But it's the same the other way around.

On the actual subject:
I start warming up in middle register, but expand range carefully, but quickly within a few minutes. So after a very short time, I am really practicing, not warming up any more.
In practice I typically do a 5 minute mouthpiece in the morning which starts in the mid range, but moves into high range towards the end.
When picking up the trombone, I really only need a few mid range notes to be comfortable/warmed up.

Doug I didn't realize the Airmen of Note wore the old school Army ranks back then. Is that the Army Air Corps uniform, or the 1947 Air Force uniform or something?

re: Doug Elliott in Air Force

Beautiful! That's a lesson for us all right there!

Lovely playing Doug!

Part of what seems to be needed in warmup is to match the physical to the memory. I mean, there's a memory of what feels and works right. Then getting the physical arrangement to match, that is the warmup. Sometimes the match is immediate, sometimes it takes a few minutes. Sound, slurs and feel are the things I pay attention to.

harrisonreed wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 4:58 am Doug I didn't realize the Airmen of Note wore the old school Army ranks back then. Is that the Army Air Corps uniform, or the 1947 Air Force uniform or something?

As far as I know that's Army Air Corps, and we wore it for the Glenn Miller portion of some concerts.

baileyman wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 7:07 am Part of what seems to be needed in warmup is to match the physical to the memory. I mean, there's a memory of what feels and works right. Then getting the physical arrangement to match, that is the warmup. Sometimes the match is immediate, sometimes it takes a few minutes. Sound, slurs and feel are the things I pay attention to.

I think you just expressed what a lot of us are thinking subconsciously when we do a warmup, or otherwise start playing without one and warmup on the fly. And the higher I start my warmup, the closer the two should match to avoid strain and/or awkwardness.

ithinknot wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 6:09 am
Starting off with low long notes seems needlessly 'expensive' in face time, and if you're working on keeping your embouchure stable it's pretty useless - I can slide around the 2nd partial with the mouthpiece and face more or less anywhere, whereas if I've drifted from a stable and efficient basic setting that's going to be immediately apparent in the higher register. (Air stability/note shape/long tone exercises can follow later if you want.)

I mostly agree, but maybe there's a nuance here.

I start on F above middle C as the center point of a correct setting, at Doug's suggestion. I do a little free buzz and buzz in, then start a routine. I alternate between Reinhardt (Pivot Stabilizer and Track) the way Doug shows them and the way they are in the Routines or the Reinhardt Ten - slight differences in order etc. It takes me a long time in the morning but that's because I alternate playing and my regular physical exercise routine.

So it seems to me that there may be a lot of inefficient ways to start on 2cnd partial notes that we want to avoid, but maybe there's a fairly correct way too, that just doesn't work far enough up in range.

The Reinhardt routines always go down and back up, not the other way, but they do start on lower partials. This morning as an experiment I started at the other end, 12th partial, and worked backwards. My frustration has been playing comfortably in the morning, with range and endurance, and having neither later in the day or at rehearsal; wonder if this will make any difference. <smiley>

Mr412 wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 8:10 am

baileyman wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 7:07 am Part of what seems to be needed in warmup is to match the physical to the memory. I mean, there's a memory of what feels and works right. Then getting the physical arrangement to match, that is the warmup. Sometimes the match is immediate, sometimes it takes a few minutes. Sound, slurs and feel are the things I pay attention to.

I think you just expressed what a lot of us are thinking subconsciously when we do a warmup, or otherwise start playing without one and warmup on the fly. And the higher I start my warmup, the closer the two should match to avoid strain and/or awkwardness.

Yes. I should have added that starting relatively high seems to zero in on the match much better than the other way around. Though I think starting low is a good way to assess how strong the memory is--the stronger the memory the more easily the physical match happens even starting low. But higher (6th partial usually for me) gets right to it.

timothy42b wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 8:21 am
I start on F above middle C as the center point of a correct setting, at Doug's suggestion. I do a little free buzz and buzz in, then start a routine. I alternate between Reinhardt (Pivot Stabilizer and Track) the way Doug shows them and the way they are in the Routines or the Reinhardt Ten - slight differences in order etc. .....
The Reinhardt routines always go down and back up, not the other way, but they do start on lower partials. This morning as an experiment I started at the other end, 12th partial, and worked backwards. My frustration has been playing comfortably in the morning, with range and endurance, and having neither later in the day or at rehearsal; wonder if this will make any difference. <smiley>

I'm doing much the same right now (Pivot/Octave work and right into the 'Track' work)

Am doing a little variation on the 'Track' to good success:
- starting on F above middle C, will do 'triplet' down through the partials only to F an octave below: F-D-F, D-Bb-D, Bb-F-Bb, (now back up) D-Bb-D, F-D-F, (now adding) F-Bb fourth line- back to F, D-F-D, Bb-D-Bb, F-Bb-F, Bb hold.

Then, same pattern but starting on high Bb, adding the high D onto the triplet before heading back down again to low Bb.

Repeating, starting on high D, then high F

First time tongued, Second time all-air slurs while thinking of nothing but 'singing the note for tongue/cavity placement' and having good 'pivot form' all the way down to the low Bb.

Play from 1st to 4th position on each different starting partial note.

This routine gets me 'on track' and kicks me in the butt if I'm not playing properly or am playing lazily!

Works for me before a gig very well, even with a 5 minute 'practice mute' warmup.

Cmillar wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 10:34 am Oh....to have been aware of Reinhardt many, many years ago would have been wonderful.

Are there any materials online, that go into depth of the Reinhardt method?

I've never heard of any of these methods by name, but I'm sure I've encountered them before.

[/quote]
Are there any materials online, that go into depth of the Reinhardt method?

I've never heard of any of these methods by name, but I'm sure I've encountered them before.
[/quote]

Here's a good starting point by Dave Wilken:

https://www.trombone.org/articles/view.php?id=240

Do some searching, and stuff will pop up.

Then, message Doug Elliott or Dave Wilken for more in depth information.

And, check out Rich Willey's website for 'how to books' and other great material (some for free!):

https://www.boptism.com/product-categor ... tore-pdfs/

Cmillar wrote:



First time tongued, Second time all-air slurs while thinking of nothing but 'singing the note for tongue/cavity placement' and having good 'pivot form' all the way down to the low Bb.

Play from 1st to 4th position on each different starting partial note.

Doug spent some time with me on tongue/cavity and I'm working hard on it. I've found that I can make the partial slur down with little pivot and end up a half tone sharp on the bottom note, or include the motion and the note speaks much better and in tune.

On tenor I play 1st to 4th, or skip some if I have a hard rehearsal coming. But on alto I start on the same note in 6th, then do 5, 4, 3. At my age if the shoulder or wrist is aching the alto is easier.

For me the whole point to learning to prompt downward partial change with the tongue was to learn from there to prompt it back up to the start. After that, the tongue became an amazing controller, like fingers on keys.

Tbone00 wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 5:23 am Hi guys, I am interested to know what do you think about exploring the very high register at the beginning of our sessions. There ones who suggest that is not very recommended to play very high right after start playing and others that suggest that the earlier you start playing at the very extreme registers, the earlier you will be ready to play. what do you think? is it better for you to build our register slowly or the faster we start to cover it the better?

Playing in the high and very high registers is athletic in the sense that it takes muscle strength, endurance, and control, which are athletic qualities. It's best to begin warming up in a way that loosens rather than challenges the muscles. So, no, I wouldn't warm up in the "very high" register.

For me, warming up is gentle and prepares one to practice/perform well. So, like all athletic endeavors, it starts by gently stretching and warming the muscles, which is best done in the middle to low register. But after that, in order to "set" muscle function and get your muscular "rhythm" you have to play the entire range of the instrument, which for me means gentle and progressive scales/arpeggios/lip slurs from the middle, outward, to the lowest and highest notes I can comfortably play that day. But I do not try to stretch past what is comfortable. And I just make sure to "touch" the notes at both extremes, not beat them to death. After all, this is a warmup, not a workout, right? The function of a warmup is to get ready for the workout.

But if you're talking about extending your high register, that's completely different. For that, you have to practice it every day or every other day. And it's not just about hitting those high notes, it's about developing the facility in the upper register that you have in the middle register, and that takes strength, endurance and control while fatigued. It's hard work that you do after your warmup. Like runners trying to increase their speed, you have to put a lot of rest in-between your exercises or you'll get fatigued too quickly. And like weightlifters, you have to "play to failure" in order to develop the endurance to do anything more than just hit an occasional high note and get truly comfortable playing in that range.

That's just me, and your mileage may vary.

Another view on high range (and range anywhere) on the horn comes from the great Dave Taylor.

From lessons with Dave, he was always on me with "...where's the tip of your? where's your tongue in your mouth? Every note has a different placement of the tongue for me!....Even if it's 'implied'!!"

He had a great story about a gig with Jim Pugh, and where Jim had just missed a high note entrance. (As Dave says, and everyone knows, Jim Pugh never misses a note!)

Dave to Jim: "What happened?"
Jim: "I lost focus of where my tongue was supposed to be"

He said they'd been discussing techniques, etc. just before this happened or something like that.

Anyways, that's coming from Dave himself when he was sitting next to one of the greatest players in the world.

Hi all .

To me , at the beginning of the day , it's a good thing to take 12/15 minutes to prepare our embouchure to be ready for anything we will have to play during the rest of the day . I think this should be the pourpose of the so called " warm-up".

I am a Jazz bass trombonist . In my opinion , the most important thing is the QUALITY of the suond; so , first of all , I play around middle F (in the staff) for at least one minute , aiming for the best resonant / easy / full /steady sound I can play , testing tongue attack , air attack , stability of the tone . After this , I begin to "RESET" all aspects of trombone playing .
Single articolations (tah/dah) , double and triple tongue , du-dle tongue , flexibility , legato against the grain , dynamics (crescendo / diminuendo) , intonation , vibrato , multiphonics , lip thrills , circular breathing , and , of course , the range also : medium high / high / low / very low (usually in the middle of this daily routine) .

I stay for more or less a minute on each topics , just to "test" how they responds .
Once I made all those drills ( around 15 minutes) , I can rest for even 8 hours , and then be ready to play , whithin a minute , every kind of gig .

Anyway , I do not think is a good idea to aim at the high range ( or very low range) from the very beginning of our"warm-up" ..
In my opinion , both high range and low range are not more important than others things , so would be better not to be too much concentrate on it .

Of course , that is just my way !

Regards
Giancarlo