The MDAS system uses two apertures. One aperture creates sound and the other aperture changes the pitch of the sound. The aperture which produces sound works in a very normal trumpet playing way. When you blow through a space between your lips they vibrate and you get sound. That's why I call it the "sound" aperture. You can see it at 10:04. If you can "buzz" your lips like a bee you are blowing through a sound aperture. Now in normal trumpet playing the muscles of the lips and face tighten and loosen changing the size of that aperture, and therefore the size of the vibration. A tense aperture gives a smaller vibration and higher notes. A loose or relaxed aperture gives a bigger vibration and lower notes. Watch at 8:39. But I don't use my lips to make the vibration smaller and bigger. INSTEAD I use an area of my lower lip to funnel air through a gap in my teeth with a FFFFFFFFF sound. You can see the gap at 10:07. This can give me a much much smaller aperture with less effort. This hole/gap/aperture sits behind the vibrating lips (or sound aperture) and I can change how big or small it is in a similar way to saying "FAR FAR FAR FAR". The "F" gives me a smaller gap so smaller air stream and the "AR" gives me a bigger gap so a bigger air stream. The small air stream will hit my lips and vibrate high. The bigger thicker air stream will hit my lips and vibrate low. So, the top lip touches (or almost touches) the lower lip for the sound aperture (10:04), and slightly behind that, my lower lip opens and closes against my top teeth (FAR FAR FAR) to change the size of the space and therefore the frequency/pitch. That's why it's called a frequency aperture (10:07). Watch the sequence from 10:04-10:07 and you'll see them both. And if you can buzz your lips and say FAR FAR FAR at the same time you'll be using a version of MDAS!! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND HIT THE LIKE BUTTON IF YOU ENJOYED THIS VIDEO. THANKS TP

Mr. Mayes, I’ve been playing trumpet for 46 years now. I tried your upper register suggestion and hit G and A over high C WITH EASE and zero pressure! I am eternally grateful to you for the simplicity of your revelation but outraged that no one has ever explained the HOW TO before. Thanks to you now I understand what Adam Rapa and others were trying to explain in their videos. THANK YOU!! 🎺

This is in response to someone below who asked for more details. I wasn’t sure what the Prof meant either, but I played around with it and this is what I got: there is an inner aperture that is created between the lower lip and the upper teeth. An overly simplistic approach is to make the FFFFF sound. The point here is making a concentrated airstream that comes out of this inner aperture. I am not blessed w the space between my two middle teeth, but was still able to get a concentrated airstream, formed by my lower lip and upper teeth. A few more tips that I figured out were (1) helps to have a very slight rolling in of the lower lip, (2) the upper teeth touch only the edge of the lower lip - not the meaty part (in other words, if bringing the teeth together, you would be biting just a sliver of the inside of the lower lip and not contact with the main meaty portion of the lower lip) - so don’t roll in too much and (3) bringing in corners ever so slightly which pushes middle of the lower lip out a tad which creates the aperture. This creates the inner aperture. Then the outer “standard/regular” aperture is formed between the two lips which is simply making sure the upper lip gets in the way of the inner aperture air stream. This happens fairly naturally, but may require the slightest downward push of the upper lip. The beautiful thing I found is that because the lower lip is pressing up into the upper teeth (not the upper lip), the upper lip stays so much more relaxed and independently vibrating with great resonance. The above basically gets your pre- playing set up. Once you start playing, since everything is in place, for me mechanically it simplifies down to just be sure as you’re ascending that you feel the lower lip pressing up into the upper teeth and upper lip is staying free and relaxed. It does help some for me to feel the majority of the upward pressure from lower lip coming on either side of the “inner aperture” - if I press too hard at the aperture itself, it seems to close it down too much. For me, the above mechanical thoughts above get me about 80% of the way there and the last mysterious 20% is achieved by hearing in my head and trying to duplicate the tone of Arturo Sandoval. He has such a huge, resonant sound w immediate effortless response. Adam Rapa and James Morrison also do it for me. So once mechanically you have everything in place (after a few days), really let that sound concept take over. I think every once in a while, while playing, a mechanical thought may pop in which I think is fine, but the majority of your mental capacity should be focused, once everything is in place mechanically, on that sound concept. I know that people are going to rag on me because of needing to get the 80% mechanically in place first, but those are the people who already naturally have their mechanics 80% in place so literally all they have to think about is the sound concept - most of us normal people are not 80% of the way there, so no matter how good your sound concept, your playing ceiling is going to be very low without improving the mechanics. These people could actually be more helpful if they just admitted that mechanically they really don’t know how they’re producing the beautiful sound they do; and more importantly that the vast majority of us are not there, so will not benefit from sound concept only advice. In just a few days the above has worked wonders for me. For 40 years I’ve struggled above the staff and in just a few days the above has me finally easily playing to high C - who knows where I’ll be in a few months.

As someone that has always struggled with upper register I just watched this, picked up my horn without warming up and played clearly up to F above top C. Mind blown..... Gonna be experimenting with this....

I visited Paul today for a lesson and when I came in I barely could hit a G. after warming up (Paul’ warm up) Paul spent few minutes analysing my mouth and teeth trying to find any good channel then let’s say after 10 minutes I was able to hit a double C and an E. Back home after few hours I took my pocket trumpet (as it’s the only option I got) to see if it was just a dream or I could still play high notes.. well I was able to hit a F above the double C. So in few words the system does work!! Thanks again Paul for sharing your expertise.

Dear Paul, thank you for your contributions and your great patience towards the questioners; personally, I think you make excellent and insightful arguments - I find it hard to understand why some people ask the same questions over and over again, as if they haven't actually watched your videos. It's a shame that I only came across your posts so late (6 weeks ago) and purely by chance. I have been interested in this subject for a long time and have tried out many schools and tricks to improve my playing in higher registers. I am now 75 years old, not a full professional on the trumpet, but a doctor and music therapist - but the sound and the creative possibilities on the trumpet have always fascinated me. The only instrument I learnt to play very well as a child was the recorder. I still enjoy playing it and have tried all my life to transfer its lightness and liveliness to the trumpet. In the comments and considerations, the question repeatedly arises as to whether some wind players would not do well to have suitable gaps built into their dentures. I agree that this would need to be carefully considered and would rarely be a good idea. If it seems sensible in exceptional cases, here is a basic consideration: If dental repairs are necessary in a wind denture and small spaces are acceptable without visual or technical disadvantages, it would be interesting to see if a prognostic statement can be made about the optimal size for the spaces. My opinion on this in a later comment. Best regards Wolfgang

This video makes a lot of sense! Thank you for posting it!

This has appeared randomly on my feed while I am away on holiday without my trumpet! I’m 70, played for 60 years as a good amateur and am still big band competent but never knew about this technique! I cannot wait to get home and start practicing.

Finally! Glad to see you are back making content. Best videos I've seen by far

After ages, Mr.Paul is back again!🎉😊 Thanks for this new video!!

Thanks Paul. Nice little reminder of how to play with ease again, I find myself getting bogged down in all sorts of different ideas and often forget the basics every now and again. This video has been a good reset for me. Hopefully catch you for a pint soon! W

First of all, it's great to see you Paul posting this video. I can't wait to give it a try. Thank you again for everything you do. Have a wonderful and safe Labor Day. 👍🏻🎺🎺

Great to see you back Paul.

Bonjour. As usual a very good video with great explanations. And happy to see you back. Until next video. Merci

Thanks a lot for your explanation. You are a trumpet master. I'm a professional trumpet from Barcelona (Barcelona)

Just great and amazing! Greetings from Brazil!

Fascinating, thank you!

Such a fine and illustrative explanation of the dynamics. Thank you for focussing on the mechanics of playing. I had naturally stumbled upon some elements of this method and to have you explain it so clearly really helps in formalising my own understanding and expanding on my current capacity. Eternally grateful.

A Great video thanks Paul

Great to have you back ! Great content as ever

So glad to see new videos from you!

Great video! Thank you..

Just playing high is not a problem. Playing high and loud and with good articulation is a problem though. If you can play high G with a volume that doesn't cut through the band, it's pretty much useless (unless it's for your personal satisfaction). I still haven't solve that.

Thank-you Paul.

I'm so glad you're back!

Great, Thank you !

Many compliments! Really good info.

It would be great to have a video about dynamics and your aproach to them. Thank you for all the information you post

Thanks for the tips, we both think in the same way! THANKS THANKS THANKS!!!! I made a lot of progress with your help!

Glad to see you back!

Great comeback sir

amazing to see

I loved the 100k Hz joke 🤣 All the bats around were pretty impressed I guess 🤭

Thank you very much for your explanation, I am eternally grateful... I share your videos here in Brazil

Before you said that you no longer relied on tongue position as the primary means of changing pitch, leaving me to puzzle out what you meant. I assumed that it had something to do with the aperture. Thanks for stating it so clearly!

Fantastic! Great to see you back Paul! Admittedly I’m not an ‘advanced’ player by any means, I’m a ‘come-back’ player in my early 50s with limited natural ability, but I have valued and really enjoyed your videos very much. Really hope you post many more words of wisdom over the weeks and months ahead 👍🎺❤️

I am sincerely amazed! This explanation is incredebly clear, and just after watching your video i could hit an F aboce high C with ease! I would love to see more content talking about tips on how to have better control with this technique.

muchas gracias.

Very helpful 🙏🔥🔥

OMG im so gratefull. Ive been playing trumpet for 10 years and could play to f on top of the staff with alot of efort. I got big overbite and no one could tell me why i just cant go higher. I was in music school i had best private lessons and everyone wanted to help me but no one could. Some was saying im not practiceing enough (i was practiceing 3-5 hours a day every single day) some said i had stage fright (but i had no stage fright in my ammateur band when i didnt had to play high). My best teacher showed me everything he could, but he just had No overbite so he didnt knew whats problem. Yesterday i watched this video and today IN JUST ONE DAY im playing most jazz standards i could play shifted up an octave!!! Its not perfect like it was in lower octave but im not even tired!! This is not a problem since i was doing big emboshure changes many many times before i will get there in No time. At the moment it feels like very minor change that makes a huge diference. THANK YOU!!!

You're right. I'm 83, played 4th trumpet with the Johnny Hall big band as a teenager around the American airbases in the late 50s and wish you'd told me this then, though most 4th trumpet parts rarely went over F at the top of the stave. Went on to play tenor sax with Nottingham University Big Band (q.v. "Teamesville" on Spotify). Bought a trumpet a couple of years ago, but found range a problem - but (and it's 11 p.m.) I've already hit top C on my mouthpiece but got to wait until the house is empty tomorrow to make it happen (and possibly upward) on my horn. Thank you Prof. I wrote this before looking at other comments (which I have just done now) and am looking forward to getting my 5 year old grandson to start saying M into a C cup mouthpiece. Probably his mother won't approve, but how did Charlie Turner (who I met, incidentally, on a flight from Johannesburg to Buenos Aires for the Frank Sinatra final tour) start?

Yes, of course, using what you have is an excellent shortcut to hit the target faster and better, with less effort, less lost of time and furthermore it is more natural and comfortable.

wooooow Thaaaanks so much it worksss!!!! now practice and clean the sound!!

Welcome back Paul great to see you making some more content. As I play only flugal what range could I expect to achieve?

Gracias por su apoyo a la comunidad de trompetas 🙏

Wow thank for this video

You're a genius. The double apachure works.

Mr. Mayes, thank you for your work in pushing the limits of our understanding of brass playing! I had a genuine question, do you ever pracitce to merging of the two systems? I find it great to have access to the range but ability to switch between two systems of hertz production to be an interesting playing method. Is the HFA the "concert" apeture? Do you continuously switch between the two? I'm extremely curious, thank you!

He’s back 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

best double high C ive ever heard tbh

Im a natural proffesional player being able to play up to high g above the staff daily. Although with tension in my body and shops if playing loudly. I actually think i have been using some variation of these since i was little (around 15). And this video really explained what is happening, i will experiment more with this!

Welcome back! Great video and information and I am looking forward to more of your wisdom!

Interesting way to get the inner lip vibrating, a la Pops McLaughlin. I like that it forces a realignment of the (bottom) jaw to accommodate moving air deliberately under the top teeth instead of to the back of the top teeth. This will really help students with long upper teeth and short upper lip. I'd wager some players already do something like this naturally, like Tine Thing Helseth. She has long teeth and a short upper lip, but looks so natural when playing. It's her setup because it's her unique teeth and lip formation. In fact she says she can't really free buzz because it is really different than how she plays.

Thank you for this demonstration. When doing flexibility, do the embouchures change, and if so, approximately at which pitch? Assuming it’s approximate to accommodate all players and their different abilities.

🤯 wow, mind blown! Awesome info

Probably this is the best trumpet video ever...

Rolling the red part of the lips inward is what you are really talking about. I love how you talk about trying to expand the range of the trumpet player. I try not to call it high not playing. More like the command of the horn itself, with the proper embouchure formation you will have great command of the horn.

Woah, I was doing this to hit a G6 consistently and just played a Db7 using this method. Thank you.

welcome back !!

So interesting - but I have not got it rigth now, may be be I am prctising with any unknown basic error. What should be the steps in detail to practise? Please tell me, Paul, I am really interested in leaving c3 upwards easily. Thank you.

Thanks for such a well presented and thought-provoking video. After watching it I tried to implement this technique on my trombone and about 20 seconds later played (and held) a double-high concert Bb. I then took out my phone to video record myself, but wasn't able to repeat the act. I hope to get the knack of it, but am also wondering how applicable this is to trombonists, as we need a slightly larger aperture than trumpeters?

It’s all about air. Tightening your chops/raising your tongue is counterproductive, if you want both the note and a big sound.

Hello Paul and thank you for the videos. Question about setting the lips (or embouchure), just before placing the mouthpiece. When setting up the "M" of the lips, is there any unfurling involved with that at all? I ask because I'm reading about an "aperture tunnel" being formed by doing this, that is supposed to be helpful for range & endurance. Thanks & be well!!

This really helped! May I ask what mouthpiece you use?

HI Mr. Mayes, thank you for all your videos. Making a small aperture when you have a protruded top lip like me is not easy! Can you give some advice ? Thank you in advance.

I play most brass instruments and I have been playing tuba mostly because my band needs it most but I also volunteered to play a church song on my trumpet. Tuba rarely ever needs anything close to a tight aperture. So after getting used to tuba I could barely play high notes on my trumpet. Thanks for the tip.

Have you ever thought about moving your tongue up to create restriction in your airflow to get it to flow faster and create higher pitch ??

I'm curious how you're decreasing the size of that frequency aperture, i.e., what you're doing to make your lower lip move up in your case. Is your jaw moving closed to make that change happen? Thanks for a very interesting concept!

Confused by "blow the apperture closed", do you mean to start blowing more open, and bring the lips together to find the higher frequencies? Or maybe to resist the apperture being opened by the air? Thanks

Tongue placement. When tonguing in the high register, behind the teeth or higher up on the alveolar ridge?

I make this observation: "The primary mechanism by which wind instruments, including brass instruments, achieve different pitches is by altering the effective length of the resonating tube. This change in length directly and consistently corresponds to changes in pitch, following the principles of physics. In essence, whether it's a traditional brass instrument like a trumpet or a mechanical device, the fundamental principle is the same: changing the length of the resonating tube or cavity is the primary mechanism for producing different pitches. This physical adjustment in length is what enables the instrument to achieve its pitch range." i.e. a machine does all this without any of this.

I really like the explanation for this. One thing I noticed is that one of your upper front teeth is ahead of the other. This seems to be a common trait among those that can play high along with the proper muscle structure and strength. Because of these traits, many will not be able to play into the range above D and E. I have found that it really takes experimenting with nuance adjustments to increase the range. Also, just hitting a note is not really enough when playing lead trumpet, as you really need to be able to "drill" these out in loud, commanding fashion. Being able to hit the note is definitely the first step though. I think you video is a great explanation for what goes into playing higher and many will benefit from this. Thank you for doing this video - nice job!

I have very tight spacing between my incisors. Does that mean I'm screwed?

Do you have any experience applying this method to other brass instruments?

Fascinating subject. I am a retired french hornist and wonder if you have diacussed this with vornists? I jave only ever heard a handful of hornists who truly had an unlimited high range. My own personal feeling is that is a sort of physical limit to the top, like being blocked. I had the money notes, and never experienced any physical difficulty playing high notes, but the limit was unmovable.

Hello!

Does the type of mouthpiece have any effect on being able to play in the higher register? For example, is it easier to play a high C with a 3C verses a 7C? What mouthpiece are you using in your video? Thank you!

Can this still be done if you don't have a gap in your teeth? Are the two apertures being used simultaneously or are you switching between them as you go up and down in register? If switching, at what point does the transition occur? If simultaneous, then you are only controlling the pitch ever with the inner aperture?

Welcome back ..great stuff .cheers

I'm a high school trumpeter that's struggling to play beyond high C above the staff and I think I have MDAS as my left front tooth is slanted with a small gap, but I can't seem to put that MDAS aperture together with my pitch aperture.

Hi Prof! Is this Badinerie by your performance?

Hi Paul, Gav here from Haverhill, former Sop player and now retired. Why on earth didn't you tell me this years ago!!!

How do you form the inner aperture if the gap you have is in your lower teeth? Do you use the top lip with the lower teeth instead of bottom lip?

When I get above an E my lips both tense up and get really thin and my aperture changes idk what to do

I think "blowing your lips closed" utilizes the tissue that is further back under the lips. This tissue is much softer than the outer portion of the lips and much more prone to faster vibration with less effort. The unfurling of the lips also exposes this inner area of the lips to become the vibrating surface AND can create a longer vibrating surface front to back for more volume?

I have a split in my lips and a side that can generate very high. I thought I had to play in the center. Should i move my trumpet on the side for the high pitch and back for the lower one?

does someone know the piece played by Mr.X @6:17 ?

Hey guys, so I watched the whole video and is he saying to use your teeth help vibrate your lips ? I’m still trying understand, I apologize for newbie question, still having trouble hitting above F on the staff

I think I get it. I can play easily to super G, but I can't get the volume I'd like any tips prof?

Hi dejar profesor how to get a class. Im from New York

Mr Mayes, How well does this transfer to trombone?

When I started doing this, I started hitting high c consistently, but after about 30 mins, I’m back down to my normal range. Also it feels very unnatural, because I spend like 15 seconds setting up my new aperture, and somtimes it just doesn’t work, does this come with time?

1:52

I really like what you teach. But I'm confused some players say use air and don't push and Don't make emboushoure so tight. So I get confused. I will keep watching. And thanks for expertise and sharing.😂😂😊😊😊

I didn't know Jonathan Ross plays trumpet, too. ;-)

BRO PLEASE BE MY TEACHER😭😭😭 i kinda use what i have naturally and it actually helped me get that high C

Whats the name of the piece on the end of the video?

Very interesting

Wow, you had me a bit on edge. After 64 years of playing (began at age 9 in March of 1960) it had me wondering what this "new" technique was...I discovered it on my own about 40 years ago; a lot of us do it without realizing it. No substitute for a sensible warmup and not over-playing as we age.

Jerome Callet has been teaching the lower lip coming up to meet the cutting edges of top teeth since the 1970’s. In his books Trumpet Yoga and Superchops