Air Will Get You There
In 90% of cases, brass players are either not using enough volume of air or are not using a fast enough air speed. Check those two things first.
Sirens
Demonstrate a siren sound on a trumpet mouthpiece (you can obtain these for cheap here). Have brass students perform these in class once in a while just using their mouthpieces. Instruct some of them that they may need to practice more sirens at home
Oh-Ah-Ee
Create and print out a word document with these syllables printed out in large letters. Have the students exaggerate these sounds. Teach them that Oh is for the lower notes, Ah is for medium notes, and Ee is for higher notes.
Shoot The Marble
Pretend a marble is stuck in your bell and you’re trying to shoot it out. A low note would equal shooting it near their feet, a medium note shooting the marble out three feet, a high note they’re going to shoot that marble across the room.
Bottom, middle, top of the mouthpiece
Aim your air at the lower third of the mouthpiece for low notes, middle third for medium notes, upper third for higher notes
Stir The Waters
Have a small tub of water handy. Have a trumpet player dip his/her bell only under water, then blow and try to create a bubble bath.
Hold the paper using air only
Take a piece of paper, place it against the wall, then let go while blowing from 12 inches away trying to hold up the paper for 4 seconds using your air only. A lot of times students don’t realize the force of air needed to play an instrument.
Blow out the candles on your grandfather’s birthday cake
Have students pretend to blow out the candles on a cake with 50 candles.
Use half the aperture and twice the air
Draw some consecutively smaller circles on the board to demonstrate smaller and smaller apertures. Or explain in the context of rapids in a river. When a river gets more wild, it’s not that more water is suddenly going through, but that the same amount of water is trying to pass through a smaller passage. Ultimately students need to take responsibility for improving. Hold them to high standards and teach them these techniques.
James is the author of Almost Everything I’ve Learned About Teaching Band. He has served private, suburban, and Title 1 schools and now teaches at a charter school. Find out more about James at www.jamesdivine.net Subscribe to his podcast Almost Everything I’ve Learned About Teaching Band.