When doing the Long G, are we holding the G until the air is exhausted, inhaling and repeating; or is there a meter/note duration we should go for?

Aaron Norlund

That is quite a comment for an incoming Freshman to post on his own teacher’s website. Taken by itself the post is fairly innocuous. When one considers that it is a student’s public challenge to his own teacher’s ideas, then its complexion changes drastically.

Reading your comment reminds me of the story of a man seeking enlightenment from a Zen Master. The man came to the master telling him all the things he had learned, and he expressed his desire to become enlightened. The master replied, “I cannot teach you, because you are already full. You can only learn if you come empty.”

Your post reminds me of this because I don’t see your mind as open, but closed with an open sign. Much like an abandoned storefront with the “We’re Open!” sign dangling on an unhinged door. Perhaps it is more obvious to me since you are a student of mine, but it is true nonetheless.

In this particular case, you are doubting, misrepresenting, and misunderstanding a concept presented by me, and used by countless others, many of whom are top players. First of all, the purpose is not to play “one note while watching television”. The purpose is to build the strength necessary to solve the single most crippling problem for most trumpet players, endurance. You mention that time could be better spent playing Concone or Bordogni. Have you ever looked at those etudes? The range for almost all of them is 2 octaves. This is a far cry from one note. If you read the article you will see the point to the exercise is to be able to play with as little pressure as possible. If you are playing something that has a lot of musical character, such as the Bordogni and Concone etudes, then you will be tempted to use pressure to maintain the musical character that is desired. This is where your idea becomes extremely dangerous. If you played for even ten minutes with no rest, using a normal amount of pressure, you would likely be unable to play “normally” for a few days thereafter.

You also express displeasure at the exercise being “disjunct from normal trumpeting”. Fist of all, rest assured I have no interest in “trumpeting”. My teacher, Ray Crisara, did not appreciate being called a trumpet player. He viewed himself as a musician who happens to play the trumpet. Being called a trumpet player was almost like an insult; it left out the music. He understood very well that making music is the only true value of playing an instrument. Secondly, having an exercise that is disjunct from a main activity is a basic building block for every type of athletic training. A football player goes to the weight room to build strength to improve his game, as does almost any other athlete. This kind of focus on strength is the only way to build up a level of strength beyond what the normal activity requires. So the fact that this exercise is disjunct from our normal playing is actually an enormous advantage, not a disadvantage.

Another thing I would like to mention is that the “Long G” exercise is by no means the only way one can build strength. There are many exercises that can do this, but you have to pick the one that will build the type of strength that is desired. If you need to improve range, then something that is shorter but more explosive in nature would be good, like the Caruso “Seconds”. On the the other hand, if you need to develop staying power, then an exercise such as the “Long G” would be a good choice. The point is, we need to develop strength separate from our trumpet playing, so that when we play the trumpet we are able to devote our full attention to making music. Also, this exercise should certainly not replace any of your regular practice. If you normally practice three hours a day, then you should simply add this exercise to it.

Of course, all of these things would have been obvious if you had approached this with an open mind, but your mind is full. It will need to be empty in order for any real progress to be made. I hope this answers your question, and gives you something to turn over in your mind for a while.

All the best,
Craig

Playing a G for an hour makes sense to build stamina for playing, but it raises the question in my mind, “Couldn’t I find something more productive to do with an hour than playing one note while watching television?” I realize it is just a different approach to strength building than other time-consuming exercises (Top Tones, Caruso) but it seems that the hour spent playing one note could be spent playing Concone or Bordogni etudes that would simultaneously improve endurance and musicality without being disjunct from normal trumpeting like holding a G.

This coming from a kid who does a twenty minute Caruso set every day (for better or worse).

Thanks for your guidance,

Aaron Norlund

I’m planning to record my first solo album in the next couple of months which will be all flugel with my friend on various woodwinds (all free improv) and I really want to have my chops super strong so I don’t have to think about them. I wondered what your opinion was in comparing doing moving tones at ppppppp up to the top of your range, to the ‘one long G’ exercise. It seems to me that the burn comes quicker when doing the pppppp scales. Also, I would be curious to know if you have any more detail on the benefits you and/or your students have experienced with this particular ‘long G’ exercise. Thanks and all the best to you, Lex.

Lex,

Great question. When most trumpet players think of strength or endurance, they tend to think one dimensionally. In other words, they do one particular strength exercise assuming that will improve both range and endurance to the highest possible level. This approach, however, is overly simplistic. There are at least two types of strength exercises for the trumpet: endurance and explosiveness.

The one long G exercise is an endurance exercise. It is designed to help you play for long periods of time without getting fatigued. Of course, it will improve your range because it will build strength, but the most effective way to build range would be doing explosive exercises, i.e. exercises that don’t last as long, but require much more work to play. A good example of an explosiveness exercise would be the Caruso 2nds. This exercise requires a great deal of exertion from the lip muscles over a relatively short period of time. The long G, however, requires a low amount of effort over a long period of time.

The answer to your question, then, is another question. What type of strength do you want to build? Do you need more staying power, or do you need more explosiveness? From your post I would gather that you want to be able to play things that you are already capable of, things that are in your range, but that you want to be able to do it over a longer period of time. If that is the case, then the one long G exercise would be something I highly recommend.

Any strength exercise will build endurance and range, but you will get better results choosing a strength exercise that is geared to what you want to achieve. I hope this helps.

Craig

Nate