A couple of years ago i gave up playing the trumpet as i was practising hours each day and getting nowhere. I`ve been told by a trumpet teacher that i don`t have the best shape mouth.the higher i play the further in my bottom lip goes in until it disappears at around high G (and i rarely hit that). And yes i always try to play with as little as possible pressure on the mouthpiece. Lately I`ve been dabbling with my friends sax but it`s just not the same. I want to play trumpet but how do i find out whether my lips are suited to it and if it`s a problem i can work around?
ps. are there any Chicago(THE BAND!) riffs out there?

Your lips should come together and held firmly in place. adjusting (smaller/larger hole for range) your jaw should move to adjust for range also. Don`t forget to blow through the instrument as if blowing through a drinking straw. Don`t press on the mouthpiece. Put a pensil between lips and try holding it straight out with no teeth support, great exersize for building strength. by doing this you should get a feel for lip position when playing.

i put pressure on my mouthpiece and it has become a bad habit. does anyone know any exersizes to help me play right, and how exactly are the lips supposed to be shaped?

one thing that helps me is to hold the trumpet with one hand, or only hold it by the buttons so that it sways if you push too hard. these are only excercises to help, not suggestions for performances or playing for some one. hope it helps

yes thank you. i can play now without pressure on the mouthpiece. i need to work on my tone a little to get it back where it was before but it`s not too bad. thanks.

why is it bad to put pressure on the mouthpiece? I never heard of that

Yeah, i had the same problem, but i fixed it subcounciously. But my suggestion is, when doing scales etc. be overly careful of the way you are playing, eg: Lips firm, not to much pressure and so forth. I also have heard of people that have played with their lips to far up the mouthpiece and they had to pretty much, start learning trumpet again the right way, so don`t get into that habit

stupid question in that regard: do I have to make a sound with vocal cords while blowing in the mouth piece or should I just let the lips vibrations create a sound, in which case, I really need a teacher