by Daniel Grabois
A good lip trill makes a thrilling sound on the horn. You trill quickly between two notes, usually a whole step apart, using the same fingering for each note. Many people struggle with learning how to do a lip trill, so I will propose three methods of practice below.
But first, a quick note about fingerings. It goes without saying that any fingering that produces an excellent sounding trill that is in tune is a good fingering. I have found fingerings that work for me, and I’ll offer them to you here.
Typically, the lowest lip trill we will play is from F♯ at the bottom of the treble clef (note that all the trills I discuss will be whole-step trills, since half-step trills can almost always be done as fingered trills; so when I say “F♯ trill,” I mean a trill from F♯ to G♯). I finger the first two trills in my sequence, the F♯ trill and the G trill, with the fingering for the higher note, played on the F horn:
F♯ trill, finger F23
G trill, finger F12
Many people finger the G trill F13, but I find that fingering out of tune for both notes of the trill, G and A. F12 gives me better intonation.
For the next set of trills, from the G♯ trill up to the C trill, I finger the lower note on the F horn:
G♯ trill, finger F23
A trill, finger F12
B♭ trill, finger F1
B trill, finger F2
C trill, finger F0
From C♯ on up, finger the lower note on the B♭ horn. You know those fingerings, so I don’t need to list them.
Now that you know which fingerings to use, how do you actually make the trill “kick in?” Below are the 3 methods to practice; but before examining those, here is one quick explanation: by making the trill “kick in,” I mean having the alternation between the two pitches of the trill gain lightning speed, seemingly by magic, so that it actually sounds like a trill and not a labored motion from note to note. Now, try each of these approaches:
Method 1
I call Method 1 the “Kopprasch method,” since there’s a Kopprasch etude that explores this exact approach. On the trill you want to play, play the pitches alternating as quarter notes, then as eighth notes, eighth-note triplets, sixteenth notes, and finally as sixteenth-note triplets. Basically, you are “wiggling” between the two notes of the trill faster and faster.
To be honest, I have never had any luck with this method, but some people do, so do try it. Choose a trill and put it through these paces, getting faster but always in rhythm, and see if you can get the trill to kick in.
Method 2
I call Method 2 the “just do it” method, because you simply choose a trill and try to make it happen. I learned my trills this way, and I have to be frank: it took a long time to get the trills to initiate. For my students, I’ll often choose the G trill, one of the lowest lip trills we do. Push down the valves and try to trill. You might be one of the lucky ones for whom the trill just takes off, flying from note to note with ease and lightness. Or you might not. This method can take patience and lots of practice. That’s why there is Method 3.
Method 3
I call Method 3 the “flick method.” Here’s what to do: choose the note you want to trill, the A trill (A-B), for example. Depress your valves (F12), and play a long A at a forte dynamic, with lots of energy behind it. After around two seconds, flick up to B and back as fast as possible. As you return to A, keep the sound forte. It is crucial to maintain that aggressive dynamic, to learn to put the power of your air stream behind the trill. When you’ve continued the A for around two more seconds, flick up to B and back again. You can get in three or four flicks in one breath. It is crucial that you flick absolutely as quickly as possible, up and back, and that you make no diminuendo.
When you have completed that, play the forte A again, and now flick up to B, back to A, back to B, and back to A, so you are making two flicks instead of one. Do these flicks as fast as you possibly can. Again, return to your powerful A, and when it’s reestablished, do two more flicks at lightning speed. Do a few of these in one breath.
The next step will not surprise you: get a good breath, establish the energetic A, and do three flicks as fast as you possibly can. Do NOT settle for slow, labored flicks. Settle the A again and do three more flicks. A few glorious times in my teaching career, a student who is completely new to lip trills has accidentally produced a beautiful lip trill when doing three flicks. Don’t worry if that doesn’t happen to you (but celebrate if it does!)—just go back to one flick, then two, then three.
In the flick method, it is crucial that you maintain the power in your long note, and that you flick quickly. This is not a controlled method; you want, instead, to snap the note up from the main note to the higher note and immediately back. This is in direct contrast to the Kopprasch method which focuses on controlling the motion. In the flick method, it is almost like you are taken over by the trill: it creates itself almost without your help, taking on a life of its own. It is truly a thrilling moment when this happens.
I have found that students learn to trill much easier by focusing on the flick method, but I also recommend using all three methods, especially if you are feeling stuck. Practice these methods in different parts of your range. Some students have greater success learning the trill on higher notes, some on midrange notes. Video demonstration
Once your trills start coming reliably, you can increase your skills by practicing tremolos in the lower part of the middle register. For instance, finger F0 and trill (tremolo, really) a minor third between E and G at the bottom of the treble clef. When that works, make your way down the fingerings to E♭-G♭, then D-F, and so on. When you accomplish these, try major thirds from C to E, and, again, work down chromatically.
One Final Note
Lip trills are common in works from the classical era, like the Mozart concerti. (There is also a famous trill in the big horn solo at the end of the first movement of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, from F to G on top of the staff, that feels like it appears out of nowhere.) A trill often comes at the very end of a phrase that itself comes at the culmination of a section. In other words, trills occur in context, not just by themselves or out of the blue. I recommend practicing scales or arpeggios with a trill inserted at some predetermined moment. For instance, start on low C (in the bass clef), and play a two-octave rising C major (or minor) arpeggio. When you get to the top C, trill it (from C to D), then create an elegant little turn-out (B-C sixteenth notes), and proceed back down the arpeggio to low C. Now do the same, but with a B arpeggio, or a D♭ arpeggio, and so on. Make the trill and the turn-out elegant—you should always strive to play with great musicianship!
You will find that being able to initiate a quick and elegant lip trill is exhilarating and fun, and it sounds great.
