Unfortunately, there is no satisfactory method for acquiring a good upper register without actually playing in that range. Such practice can be made considerably less hazardous and frustrating, however, if the player understands several points. First the acquisition of a solid upper register takes time, considerable time—years, not days or weeks. Any player who can add a genuinely usable whole step or two a year to his range is doing very well indeed. Second, the rate of increase will slow down over the years. As with almost any highly developed skill, each successive level of accomplishment requires more time and effort to achieve. Every additional step gained will likely take longer to reach than its predecessors. For this reason, players often think they are making no progress when, in reality, they are merely encountering more sophisticated playing conditions that will take more time to master. Third, some players have a greater natural affinity for the high range than other players. Not all singers, for example, are born to be sopranos aor tenors, and even within these voice categories ranges may vary greatly. The goal should be to develop to the fullest whatever potential exists within each player, and time spent comparing one's abilities with someone else's is simply time wasted.
Keith Johnson, The Art of Trumpet Playing (Ames, Iowa: The Iowa State University Press, 1981), p. 103-04
