Dear Stephen:

        *Amparito Roca* is a real right-of-passage for trumpet players....

        The key to playing this piece is to double tongue the figure:
Tu-tu-queue/tu-tu/
tu-tu-tu-tu/
tu-tu-tu-tu/
tu-tu-tu-tu/ etc....

        If you keep your tongue far enough forward in your mouth, this becomes easier....Try to anchor the tip of your tongue against the top of your bottom teeth...

        That way the *tu* is articulated on the bottom edge of your top teeth, and the *queue*(Q) happens on the roof of your mouth, but very close to the top of the upper teeth....

        The final piece of the puzzle is to make sure that your air is continuing on a very steady basis, since the tongue can't operate without sufficient air-power behind it...

        Also, make sure that you keep your tongue very light--on this piece in particular it isn't always necessary to *close off* the airstream with every tongue stroke, rather, you want to merely interrupt it....

        Try this to help you understand:

Blow air out of your mouth(not a buzz, just air)with your lips slightly pursed, as though you're blowing out a candle...

First, stop the air by putting your hand against the opening, to completely stop the air(this is what most trumpeters do by tonguing against the roof of their mouth--it's a valid technique some of the time, but not always)...

Now, blow again, but this time, use the tip of one finger to merely *flick* into the airstream(you'll hear an articulation in the airstream) You can do this quickly or slowly(and get a feeling for different types of attacks by doing so), and you'll see(and hear <!>) how effective it is to keep the air flowing and the tongue light, particularly for marches like *Amparito Roca*....

Finally, try to imitate that lightness of tongue when you're playing...it make take some work/practice to achieve the same results with your tongue that you did with your finger, but I think you'll be please with the quickness of response you're able to generate...

Let me know if you have any trouble understanding these directions and I'll clarify them further....
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Take Care!
Jeannie