The 3 Golden Rules of Brass Playing: How to Make a Great Sound on the Trumpet or Cornet

brass fundamentals
A beautiful brass sound is like liquid gold.

Imagination

When I close my eyes and imagine a great trumpet sound, I hear a rich, round, smooth tone—a golden tone. It’s almost like the sound of the trumpet is liquid gold, bright, beautiful, and effortlessly pouring out from the end of the bell. If I’m hearing a great cornet sound, it’s very similar to the trumpet, only maybe a little more velvety, a little more mellow, and the color of its sound is a slightly darker shade of gold. Whether I’m imagining the cornet or a trumpet, I hear a golden tone that fills the space surrounding me with resonance and warmth. 

3 Golden Rules of Brass Playing

Whether you're a beginner picking up the trumpet, cornet, or other brass instrument for the first time, or someone who's been playing for years, the following 3 Golden Rules of Brass Playing will help set you on the path to creating a beautiful brass sound. They're the alchemist's secrets, if you will, for transforming your breath into musical gold.

Rule #1: Start with a Song in Your Head

Before you even touch your instrument, the music first begins in your mind. This rule is all about using your musical imagination to hear the sound you want to create. By starting with a clear mental image of the music, you're setting yourself up for success.

Why it works: When you can hear the music in your mind, your body naturally prepares to produce that sound. It helps with pitch accuracy, expression, and overall musicality.

Pro tip: In order to help get the sound you want to create inside your musical imagination, practice "deep listening" by closing your eyes and fully immersing yourself in the music you hear. This will help strengthen your ability to imagine sounds clearly.

Rule #2: Fuel Your Sound with Breath

Great brass playing requires great breath support. Think of your breath as the fuel that powers your sound.

Why it works: A steady, smooth airflow is essential for producing a consistent, effortless tone on brass instruments. It also helps with playing longer phrases and supporting good intonation.

Pro tip: Practice "deep breathing" exercises. Sometimes it helps to start by relaxing with some yawn breaths. Next allow your lungs to fill air from the bottom up, like inflating a balloon. This will help you take in plenty of air so that you can feed air through your lips more effectively while you play. 

You can also practice playing any song "on air" to simulate how we use our breath when playing--I like to think of it as creating musical wind.

Rule #3: Ignite Your Breath with a Buzz

The buzz is what ignites your breath. It's the vibration of your lips that turns your breath into musical sound.

Why it works: All brass players depend on the vibrations from our lips to create our sound. A good buzz is the foundation of a good brass sound. 

Pro tip: The key to finding a great buzz is allowing your embouchure to discover its sweet spot. You can practice finding your embouchure sweet spot by learning to buzz with only your lips. As you breathe out and fuel air through your lips, gradually bring them together so that the air is escaping from a smaller and smaller opening right in the center. Eventually the airstream and the shape of your lips will find the sweet spot, and your lips will start to vibrate-that's igniting your breath with a buzz! 

P.S. If you're not sure what an embouchure is yet, don't worry, it's basically just a funny French world that means the shape of our mouth, lip, and face muscles as we feed air through our lips to create a beautiful buzz. We'll talk more about embouchure, and other funny French words later. 

Putting It All Together

When you combine these three rules - starting with a song in your head, fueling that song with your breath, and igniting your breath with a buzz - you have three important foundational rules for great brass playing. The next step is learning how to put these rules into practice! 

Remember, mastering these rules will take time and patience. With consistent practice, you'll be amazed at how your sound improves. Happy practicing, and may your tone always shine like gold!