Hey guys,
Currently I am a Freshman in Marching Band at my school. The trumpet line in the band consists of 5 freshman and 1 senior. So I was put on first along with the senior and as a result I was concentrating on 1 thing high notes. My tone quality and endurance suffered greatly. To play the higher notes I would have my top lip almost completely on the rim with maybe 2-3 mm inside the cup. So within the last couple of weeks I have noticed more so than ever that my range is degrading and consistancy is just plain not there.

So I'm am trying to slowly pull my top lip down to center that way I can still kind of play the higher notes. I try to practice in front of a mirror for 5-10 min. Also I'm not sure if this is relevant or not but I play with dry lips. When my lips get wet the mouth piece slides around and I can't put out anything higher than a low G. Are there anythings you guys recommend?

Hey, I think that it is definately important to try and fix the lip placement. Sometimes, when I strive for a high note, my top lip moves down aswell but I think you should really try and keep your lips in the right place.

What you were doing is fine, but you're taking it to an extreme. It's ok to use more bottom lip. A lot of people do it. It increases your volume, too.
I use mroe bottom lip as well, and I can tell you, it doenst hurt range. I can go to 3rd Ledger E, and even higher on good days.
Get with a private teacher, tthey can really help with that.

For the most part, a 1/3 2/3 top to bottom placement is good. For me it depends on the mouthpiece I'm using. If I'm using a larger mouthpiece, I tend to 50/50 it. Although with this new mouthpiece I got, 50 50 is impossible. Literally.

Even for the higher notes, 1/3 2/3 is good. When going up, increse vertical pressure, not horizontal. Meaning, don't push the mouthpiece into your lips, but push your bottom lip against your top lip and BLOW. That was my problem. I was using 50 50 in a deep mouthpiece using horizontal pressure. Yeah I'm done jamming my lips into my mouthpiece, and higher notes are really easy now!

Another thing I didn't learn to do until late, use your diaphragm. Don't be afraid to play out. So what if you miss a note, who cares, only you know it's wrong. Unless it was insanely dissonent... in which case, it was 1 note, no one focused too much on it anyway.

You may also want to consider a new mouthpiece. If you're a freshman (I'm guessing in high school), you're probably using a 7C, or 3C. Or maybe even not. If so, and you're playing 1st marchin music, you really need a new mouthpiece. If you enjoy the Vincent Bachs, I would suggest a 3D. That's what I used for the longest time. Served me well. If you're looking for a sweet gimmick pea shooter mouthpiece, a Yamaha Japan 5A4 is nice... impress all your friends with high notes, yet your low and middle range will suffer greatly. That's what I did... moved back to the 3D, then just got myself an Asymmetric Lead 342. Best mouthpiece ever. You should try it.

WHAT SIZE MOUTHPIECE DO YOU USE