In Part One, we discussed six special trumpet sound effects: the Horse Whinny, Scoop, Doit, Fall, Rip and Alternate Fingerings. Here are 9 more. Listen to accomplished, professional trumpet players and notice how and when to use these techniques, and remember the general rule of thumb: use them sparingly. For example, use the Flutter Tongue and the Growl for only one, or maybe two, notes in a musical phrase.

The Flutter Tongue—this technique is especially useful with a plunger and in blues tunes. Your tongue must be in just the right spot for it to work. Place the tip just behind your teeth on the flat soft palate and pass a steady airflow into the mouthpiece. If your tongue is not loose and relaxed, or is too far back or too close to the teeth, it will not work. Blow enough air to keep your tongue moving rapidly. That’s the Flutter Tongue. Use it, when appropriate, with any note in your range.

The Growl—this is easier than the Flutter Tongue. Make a growl in your throat. Now do the same when you play. It should sound rough and rumbly, and it is easier to do on lower than high notes. That is because we shape the ahh inside of our mouth to growl—the same shape we use on lower notes. It is natural to use the eee vowel shape on higher notes. Practice changing the shape of the inside your mouth. If you have trouble holding a note while growling, reduce the oral cavity inside your mouth.

Next, let us discuss musical ornaments, a whole collection of things used to embellish the melody to make it more interesting and beautiful. They include Vibrato, Trills, Lip Trills (called Shakes), Mordents, Turns, Grace Notes and Appoggiatura.

Vibrato—this is perhaps the most important ornament. It is used with almost all instruments playing in all genres of music. Vibrato is simply a slight “vibration” of the pitch of a sustained note—a slight raising and lowering of the pitch, either quickly or slowly, undulating like a wave. It has two characteristics, amplitude (wide or narrow) and frequency (fast or slow). Although the style of the vibrato may vary with the type of music you are playing, it is generally true that a long tone will start with no vibrato. After a beat or two, add the vibrato and gradually speed up as you reach the end of the note.  On a violin, the left hand moves back and forth during a long note to produce vibrato. On the trumpet, there are three techniques to produce it: airstream, jaw and hand.

Airstream Vibrato—singers and flute players use this type. For the trumpeter, it does not add pressure to the lips, which is good, and it is not very difficult. While holding a note (try middle G), use your diaphragm and stomach muscles to give your air a little push faster, about once a second. Practice until you can vary the speed of the vibrato from slow to fast.

Jaw Vibrato—hold the middle G, as before, and without bringing your teeth together, make a slight chewing motion with your jaw. Like the airstream vibrato, the jaw vibrator requires no added pressure on the lips. In the United States, it probably is the most common trumpet vibrato technique.

Hand Vibrato—this is the easiest of the three because most of us have greater control over our hand muscles than those that control our breathing. Again, hold the middle G and, with your right hand, very gently rock the horn back and forth against your lips about once a second. The movement is so subtle it is hardly visible. Experiment by varying the speed of the rocking motion from slow to fast.

Trills—fairly common in some classical music, trills are rapid changes from one note to the next higher note in the key signature; for example, trill an A by moving rapidly between A and B. On the music sheet, you may see trills written above the note as tr or a squiggly line. Occasionally, the trill starts on the higher note. Often they begin slowly, speed up as fast possible, slow down again, and end on the written note.

Shakes or Lip Trills—the shake is used in jazz, from fourth-line D and above, but usually above the staff where the partials are so close together.  Practice by beginning with slurs among lower notes, working up through all seven valve combinations, getting faster and faster. Use the ah-ee vowel shapes inside your mouth, something like ta-ee-ya-ee. Once you get speed among the lower notes, take the shake above the staff. Remember to blow through the notes with strong air support. Up high, slight mouthpiece pressure may help the shake.

Mordents—there are two types, the upper and lower mordents. The upper mordent is a rapid single alteration between the written note and its upper neighbor note, written above the note by a wavy line. The lower mordent does the same with its lower neighbor note, written by a wavy line with a slash through it.

Turns—these are written in music somewhat like an “S” turned on its side. Start on the written note, rise to the note above, back to the written note, down to the note below, and back to the written note again. For example, imagine the note to be turned as a half note in 4/4 time. Play it in rhythm as a quarter note followed by four 1/16th notes. Used sparingly in the right places, turns can be very effective ornamentation of a melody.

Grace Notes—easy to do, grace notes are probably second only to vibrato as the most common ornament. A grace note is simply a quick note just before the principal note. Unlike scoops, grace notes are performed right on the beat designated for the principal note. They usually are only a half or whole step away from the principal note and are written by a very small eighth note with a slash across the staff, just before the principal note.

Appoggiatura—similar to the grace note but longer, the appoggiatura is half as long as the note which follows it. It is usually written as a tiny quarter note.

Incorporate these special trick sound effects into your repertoire so that you can perform when the written music calls for them or you want to improvise on a melody. Remember, too much of a good thing is not good…too much salt spoils the broth…loose the surprise, loose the audience.

It helps greatly to read these descriptions while listening to examples of each. For more detail, check out www.allabouttrumpet.com, a prime source for these articles, and click on the words and phrases shown on the book cover. Find a good trumpet tutor who will listen to you play and explain and demonstrate these techniques, either in person, on CDs, or both. And listen, listen, listen…