Description
Lip buzzing is one of the most honest teachers a trumpet player can have. When you buzz just the lips or the mouthpiece, there’s no trumpet to “catch” the note for you. There are no harmonic series slots to fall into — you have to create the pitch, center it, and hold it in tune on your own.
Without the mouthpiece holding the lips against the teeth, the lips have to learn to grip and coordinate on their own. It becomes a sink-or-swim environment where the lips must be strong enough and coordinated enough to stand up to the air that’s trying to blow them apart. That’s where real control starts to develop.
Add the tongue to the equation and suddenly articulation issues become very obvious, which makes lip buzzing and mouthpiece buzzing great tools for working on things like double tonguing as well.
This video might look like I’m just goofing around, but there’s a serious point behind it: buzzing isn’t for everyone, but it can help everyone — if you choose to use it. It’s just another tool in the toolbox. 🎺