Absolute Range, Control & Endurance
How to Play with the Tongue-Controlled Embouchure
Imagine a great, rich, trumpet sound, effortlessly soaring to the highest notes, throughout the full dynamic range of the instrument, with power and breath to spare. It’s enough to inspire any trumpeter. How do some players achieve almost limitless range and endurance, while so many others struggle? This book offers a window into Alan Sommer’s daily routine. With clear descriptions, Alan reveals techniques to achieve absolute range, control and endurance through a deliberate routine of simple exercises, designed to take you from imagination to reality.
Alan Mifsud Sommer earned his degree in 2006 in Jazz Trumpet and Pedagogy from the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense, Denmark. Since then, Mr. Sommer has performed a wide variety of musical genres, from big band, salsa and pop bands to jazz combos, electronic lounge music, and symphonic concert bands and orchestras. As a teacher, Mr. Sommer offers master classes in range and endurance to academies and music schools.
In 2016, he won an audition for the position of Bigband Lead Player/Jazz Soloist with the German Federal Police Wind Orchestra (FPWO) in Berlin.
Mr. Sommer’s equipment has changed little over the years. He always favored a shallow mouthpiece, and ML trumpets from Benge, Antoine Courtois, and HubVan Laar. Rather than change equipment to accommodate different musical styles, Mr. Sommer would simply adjust his sound. However, after joining the FPWO, he switched to a much larger mouthpiece (Bach 1 1/2 C) to more easily blend with the symphonic sound of the group. The new mouthpiece did not affect his range, proving that with proper technique, the full range of the trumpet can be mastered with any mouthpiece.