shew on aperture (new)
BlastMaster
discussion on Bobby Shew's teachings on aperture (this is his direct
response to my request for clarification, distinct from the material on
his website).
#---^^---
Hi Jeff,
It always amazes me how much time and effort goes into "arguing" about
HOW to play. If the minds were more openly relaxed and egos weren't
flaring, I think the entire thing would straighten out. Oh, never mind,
probably NOT!
[... OT stuff removed ...]
Now about open apertures. Looking at this strictly from a scientific
point of view (the ONLY way to really answer it), it is NOT POSSIBLE to
play a note with the lips together. Some people who have been taught in
the "traditional" or classical approach have ended up with a slight
misunderstanding of what makes the sound. They believe that their lips
must keep BUZZING while they play. This sets an idea into the
subliminal level which perpetuates this feeling of holding them closed
or at least tight while blowing.
BUZZING is basically understood as lip buzzing with no mouthpiece. This
is an isometric (somewhat static) tightening of the lips. When trying
to blow thru a mouthpice and thereby thru a trumpet with this setting,
the extraneous tension causes interference with the required airflow
and many players feel tremendous tension and pressure in their heads
and throats. This is primarily caused by the air backing up because of
the wall of interference.
As far as what is required to produce sound, the air must move THRU the
lips, setting up sympathetic vibrations from the vortices of the
airflow. Simply , part of the air moves somewhat directly THRU and into
the mouthpice, some of it sheds in waves as it moves in eddies around
the lip surfaces, and some of the air moves back inward
after "pressuring" inside the mouthpiece cup. It can't ALL go thru the
throat/ drill of the cup. If the throat were drilled out enough to
allow this, the compression would drop so low that no one would ever be
able play out of the staff.
Anyway, back to the issue. Players who have conditioned themselves to
think in tighter terms are STARTING the sound by blowing their lips
apart until the vortices are formed. The size of the aperture has alot
to do with determining the quality of the produced sound, i.e., degrees
of overtones, intonation, etc.
On the other side of the option coin is the ability to start the sound
with the aperture already pre-set in an open position which has been
determined thru a method of practicing with this in mind.
I have observed that some players especially those under the pressure
of orchesral playing feel a bit more secure by starting the sound with
a lip buzz and then opening them once they have found the center of the
note. Obviously, this is a split-second occurence, not a slow process.
One must listen closely to the player in order to hear him do this
opening movement but it is there if you know what to listen for.
Players who work in more "aggressive" situations such as big bands,
theatre, production shows such as Las Vegas plus those who play in top
40 pop bands, funk bands, latin bands, cruise ships, etc., usually will
tend to gravitate towards the latter style, i.e., playing with a more
open and pre-set aperture.
Just remember....EVERYONE plays with an open aperture to some degree
depending upon the style and all of the arbitraries that go along with
each situation.
In spite of what people often think, this can all be answered by alot
of common sense....a sometimes not-so-common condition in our world of
trumpet mania.
[... more OT stuff deleted ...]
--
Jeff
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
S.Hager
Spencer Hager writes:
Thanks for the post Jeff. I thought I understood the Shew concept & now I
am not sure? Is this a contradiction to what Pops is teaching or not? One
thing that sticks out for me, "openly relaxed mind". Is Bobby saying not
to worry about all this stuff & just blow or what? This is somewhat the
thing Jim Manley said in my lesson (he is a student & friend of Bobby
Shews). Listen to your sound & trust your body ...... relax & eliminate
all tension ...... it is all in the air ..... playing the trumpet ain't
hard .... people make it hard. Man, I sure am confused about where all
this leads. To think or not to think, that is the question? Help! Help! I
am drowning in a sea of analysis on this stuff .... someone please throw
me a life line!
Spencer
Richard Bush
>
>
> Spencer Hager writes:
>
> Thanks for the post Jeff. I thought I understood the Shew concept & now I
> am not sure? Is this a contradiction to what Pops is teaching or not? One
> thing that sticks out for me, "openly relaxed mind". Is Bobby saying not
> to worry about all this stuff & just blow or what? This is somewhat the
> thing Jim Manley said in my lesson (he is a student & friend of Bobby
> Shews). Listen to your sound & trust your body ...... relax & eliminate
> all tension ...... it is all in the air ..... playing the trumpet ain't
> hard .... people make it hard. Man, I sure am confused about where all
> this leads.
What Shews and company are saying is: be EFFICIENT. Get the best possible
tone and learn to play with greater endurance by using the least possible
effort. The key words, relax and eliminate all tension applies to swimmers,
runners, sax players (like myself) and playing trumpet. It IS all in the
air. Don't let the brain freak you out when you see a large interval. Think
air. Don't let the fingerings get into the air delivery system. While they
must be coordinated, one should not influence, physically the other. Air
delivery is one piece of machinery. Fingers moving in patterns is another.
If I'm totally out in left field, come and get me. I've to flame suit zipped
up and eye protection in place. :-)
BlastMaster
I can't speak to whether or not Pops' stuff flies in the face of this,
hopefully he will chime in. My suspicion is that these two sets of
teaching dovetail somehow.
Certainly, reduction of tension is beneficial...
Certainly, you can't play without added tension if you're altering your
embouchure by the simple act of taking a breath, that would suggest to
me that the 'closed embouchure' approach is a teaching tool for
preventing people from doing that. It may, however, foster the 'blow
the chops open' approach that Shew says can be less efficient.
In the end, eventually we'll have to shut up and play the horn. ;)
In article <3A3FBB69...@yahoo.com>,
dlwi...@my-deja.com
earlier discussion of this topic. And it confirms what I thought Shew
was saying on his website.
Spencer, I agree that much of this is confusing and that we would all
probably be better off if we just played and forgot about the technical
stuff. But in response to your question, I believe that there is
significant difference between what Pops recommends and what Shew
recommends. And the difference is defined in two sentences from Shew's
comments posted by Jeff.
"Players who have conditioned themselves to think in tighter terms are
STARTING the sound by blowing their lips apart until the vortices are
formed." This, as I understand it, is what Pops recommends.
"On the other side of the option coin is the ability to start the sound
with the aperture already pre-set in an open position which has been
determined thru a method of practicing with this in mind." And this, as
I understand it, is what Shew recommends.
Shew is obviously correct that nobody actually produces a sound with a
completely closed aperture, something that Pops to my knowledge never
claimed. The difference between Shew and Pops comes in how they prepare
to produce that sound. The method that works best for a particular
player apparently depends on personal preference and the type of playing
he/she does. I will say--once again--that after using Pops' approach for
two years with limited success, I tried Shew's approach and my sound
immediately opened up. The tension that I had been wrestling with
instantly disappeared. For me, Shew's method works best.
Don Winters
BlastMaster
In article <3A3FC78B...@home.com>,
rbushi...@home.com wrote:
>
> What Shews and company are saying is: be EFFICIENT. Get the best
possible
> tone and learn to play with greater endurance by using the least
possible
> effort. The key words, relax and eliminate all tension applies to
swimmers,
> runners, sax players (like myself) and playing trumpet. It IS all in
the
> air. Don't let the brain freak you out when you see a large interval.
Think
> air. Don't let the fingerings get into the air delivery system. While
they
> must be coordinated, one should not influence, physically the other.
Air
> delivery is one piece of machinery. Fingers moving in patterns is
another.
Tom Murphy
each one of us reads the same words and forms a different visual image
which ultimately defines how we "execute" the embouchre. I've had
a few lessons with Pops (highly recommended) and I'm pretty sure I am
starting to execute the closed embouchre in accordance with his
concept, but I'll bet it's not exactly his vision of it.
I expected the sound to "close up" or get stuffy as Don experienced, but
this did not happen. To my amazement, my traditionally open sound did
not suffer at all, and I am seeing the benefits that Pops predicted.
I have better control, better endurance, and I'm seeing signs of
possibly even developing the "lead" range I've dreamed of for the last
25 years!
Not right, wrong, better or worse, just different. So far, right for me,
though!
Tom
Kirk Reeves
I have some questions. First
some background
I have been playing with an extremely open aperture for just under a year
and 1/2. Essentially what I do is whistle through the horn. It give me
really nice tone. But wondered what would happened if I tried to open up
more. So what I did was put as much of my bottom lip into the cup and
almost none of my upper lip. My lips form a circle as if I about to
whistle. Since it is extremely open I can breath through the horn with no
resistance whatever. I then just blow like I'm trying to whistle and let
my airstream do the work. I am not buzzing. I noticed several things.
It was easier to play although my tone sounded slightly differeent. Not
off-key, because I check with my meter, just different. I guess darker
somehow, a less jazzy/trumpet sound
The second thing I noticed was my range gone up a couple of notes. I am
not a high note player and since I was trying a new technique, I did not
want to cause possible injury by playing high notes. I went up to high "C"
But that high "C" was a lot clearer and easier than I ever played before.
All that was required was breathing extremely fast.
Here are my questions
First I seem to seem to be using more pressure than before. The pressure
is not on the lips, my lips are fully inside the cup. (And if you ask how
is is possible to have an open armterure and still have your lips inside
the mouthpiece, That is why I have the biggest mouthpiece possible. The
pressure seems to be a 1/4 of an inch before the bottom of the lip, maybe
just where the cleft of the chin starts. I played for about two hours and
did not notice any soreness, numbness, tenderness or the things that you
can feel when you do use too much pressure. In fact it feels fine. What I
would like to know however is it bad to place pressure, not on the lipsbut
the area below your lips where a beard would start? It seem to be
more muscle than the flesh of the lips and so so to be able to handle
pressure better but I cannot be certain.
My next question. The way I placed my mouthpiece today, seems to be a
minor adaptation of the way
trombone players, tuba and other low brass seem to play. I mentioned it
darken the sound slightly but you could tell it was still a trumpet. My
question is Would the sound change sound out of place in a
trumpet section of a band by using this technique. I ususally play alone
or somethings with a group of friends but I am the only trumpet. But I
heard examples of a player not blending in a section. Like how a trumpet
designed for lead won't blend in the trumpet section of a symphony
orchestra.
Thank you
S.Hager
Spencer Hager writes:
The things you refer to above still somewhat confuse me. Using the closed
lip setting on fresh lips I sound pretty good & my range is high F/G over
high C & as I get tired my chops open up more like Shew is suggesting & I
sound pretty good & my range is high E/F over high C. The only difference
between the two is with Pop's approach I use very little MP pressure & not
alot of air for that matter because my sound seems to just resonate out of
the horn & I am very relaxed & tension free not only in my air production
but also my chops. With the more open chop setting I am flowing alot more
air through the horn but am still very tension free & I use more MP
pressure. When I played with Jim Manley in my lesson he seemed to be
playing with open chops (he says it is the same embouchure as peddle C) &
he still didn't have alot of air flow only compression of a small volume of
air. So, where is the efficiency? I thought being efficient meant doing
more with less (as in more tone/volume with less air & effort). With Shew's
approach I use lots of air & intervals require more lip movement than with
Pop's approach. It seems with either approach there is a nanosecond where
you either blow open your lips or your lip are already open & the time
delay is in waiting for the eddies & vortices to form. Is he saying you
have to wait a nanosecond longer with lips touching than with lips open (we
are talking 1 lip vibration cycle here)? It seems like if I play using a
relaxed air stream (but with good support - pressure gradient steady) &
concentrate on the tone & sound that my body will adjust between the
variables listed above & expanded on by Pop's & I will find my way. At this
time I would say that Pop's approach works best for me when I am fresh & I
go back to open chops as a crutch when I am tired. The length of time that
I can play with the closed lip setting is extending so I will stay on the
path I have been on for well over 18 months & see where I end up. One other
thing I have noticed. When I play my WT cornet I do have to open up my lips
to play it & I'm not sure why. The WT cornet does have more resistance than
my WT trumpet & a deeper cup MP to boot. What would cause this? Another
interesting observation ..... either way I play there is a perfect place
where my embouchure is pushed out & my range goes to the stratosphere (way
over double high C) but alas repeating this at will has alluded me up to
this point. That is what really confuses me about all this. Finding that
sweet spot where everything is in perfect balance (for my physical makeup)
& working from that base is what I am in search of. Chi' & Jim Manley have
helped me discover the air control solutions & now what to do with my
chops?
Spencer
Pops
embouchures. The lips did touch during the production of notes. They
touch briefly during every cycle. A = 440 they touch 440 times per
second ect.
Pictures do not lie. They also do not say what they think is happening.
This first statement is BIG. Mr. Shew says that what Mendez said and did
his whole life can NOT be done. If it can NOT be done then explain how
people like Clyde Hunt, Nick Drozdoff and I can buzz put the horn to our
lips and produce a note and remove the horn still buzzing. Are we able
to defy the laws of physics or is Mr. Shew just wrong.
I have NEVER said that it is not possible to play with open chops. I
just think it is less efficient.
Mr. Shew admits to buzzing his lips daily.
I think some of you are obsessing about minor REAL differences.
Both Mr. Shew and I agree that proper use of AIR is the most important
aspect of trumpet playing.
Mr. Shew may set his lips the width of a playing card further apart than
I do BUT he also uses more mouthpiece pressure than I do. Just what do
you and he think that pressure does to the lips? It presses them flatter
and that closes the hole.
A true open aperture embouchure can NOT produce a soft sound, nor does
it have range or endurance. I have seen people who read about this open
aperture and came to me with a hole between their lips big enough to put
their finger in. They wondered why they couldn't play well that way.
Likewise I never understood why some players take the phrase "lips
lightly touching" and in practice squeeze them together and tighten the
corners so tight that they are sealed and can NOT vibrate. Mr. Hunt has
addressed this publicly before also.
Mr.Shew makes reference to buzzing and tightness. I do NOT buzz tight.
There is a wide variety of lip buzzes ranging from a raspberry sound, to
motor boat, to mosquito. Each of these can be done with many variations
of facial tension. NONE is required.
I guess it is like my son. When he drives his foot is either all of the
way down on a pedal or all of the way off. He can't seem to do halfway
or 10% ect.
If a player approaches trumpet that way he will always fail.
Lips touching is NOT sealed shut nor is open up leaving a hole between
the lips. We have to do subtle variations inorder to play the trumpet.
Plus a player who wets his lips can leave them 1/100 " apart as the
surface tension of the water will produce the buzz. Is this an open
aperture? They still buzz.
Which way is right? Well that depends on the person.
Any new embouchure requires an open mind which let's face it is not
going to happen. We can only approach new material from our own
viewpoint. And we can NOT quit playing our old way and only use the new
embouchure. This means that any new approach has a 0% chance of success.
My point is it is TOTALLY RIDICULOUS to ask Mr. Shew about closed
embouchures and it is likewise ridiculous to ask me about open ones. Our
experiences are different. It is even more ridiculous to attempt to mix
the two.
Information about my trumpet & embouchure books.
http://www.BbTrumpet.com
Best wishes
Clint 'Pops' McLaughlin
Joshua Newman
think that perhaps his 'open aperture' setting up process may not be related
to the way he actually plays, but rather might be a unique way of him
getting into the Stevens embouchure. Try this little experiment:
1. With your lips closed but not tensed place a visualizer. If you were to
just blow, without adjusting your lips from that relaxed position, you would
basically have a Farkas embouchure.
2. Now try setting the visualizer in the same way, then separating your
lips with your tongue, a la Bobby Shew. Next, try and bring your lower lip
up to meet the top lip. You'll notice that you have to slightly curl in the
bottom lip to make it touch. In fact, you'll probably also notice that the
tongue movement brought your jaw slightly forward and separated your teeth
by about a 1/2 inch. Sound familiar?
Having watched Bobby play many times, it really looks like this is what he's
doing. You can see him move his lower lip as he begins to exhale. In that
case, you and he are probably even closer together in thinking than he
realizes. Because I really believe that when he actually starts to play, he
closes up that 'open' aperture, and plays with a textbook Stevens.
josh
----------------------
Joshua Bryce Newman
joshua...@yale.edu
203.436.3341
www.joshuanewman.com
Pops
very open aperture however; once he started to blow the air would blow
the curled part outward and they would form a close embouchure.
I have a friend who studied with Mr. Shew for a couple of years. My
friend plays this way.
Perhaps the question about how he sets the lips is the wrong one to ask.
There are many GREAT players who have NO idea how they play. And several
who have a feeling but no proof.
inte...@my-deja.com
Nobody defies the science of making sounds with lips and MP. Open
aperture may be less effective from your view. So what? Some have found
how to compensate such ineffectivenss and take advantage of open
aperture.
Your approach is nothing wrong. Bobby Shew's approach is nothing wrong,
either. Both have pros and cons. Issues is how to fully take advantages
of pros and how to minimize cons.
One thing is for sure is lips are open to some degree (more than zero
mm) when sounds are being produced in MPs. The degree of openess is a
personal choice. Who cares about the static state when lips touching
each other and sounds are not produced.
I am very interested in how Bobby compensates ineffective you claim. I
am also interested in ineffectiveness in closed aperture (opening is
closer to zero mm but not zero), your favorite lip style.
I appreciate your thought.
Cheers
Martin Hoehne
>
> One thing is for sure is lips are open to some degree (more than zero
> mm) when sounds are being produced in MPs.
only half of the truth, because
as Pops said
> The lips did touch during the production of notes. They
> touch briefly during every cycle. A = 440 they touch 440 times per
> second ect
"sound" is a result of a periodic change between open (more than zero
mm) and closed (zero mm) lips. This is true whether you are free buzzing
or play your MP or trumpet. Free buzzing is more difficult because you
have no backpressure (provided by MP and trp) to help your lips to close
again after they have been opened by the airstream.
Merry Christmas,
Martin
--
inte...@my-deja.com
Lips do not need to touch each other when sounds are produced because I
as well as Bobby Shew and many other can make free buzz with aperture
as wide as 3-5mm. Buzz can be made without lips touching each other.
However, open aperture does require better air support than closed
aperture.
Therefore Pops' (closed aperture believers')theory that lips MUST touch
440 times (A=440) is negated. He cannot hide the fact above.
He should have stated, the upper lip may or may not touch the lower lip
when the sounds is being produced. Therefore, lips' touching each other
is not important. In my (Pops) opinion, open aperture is less effective
because...... However, Bobby Shew and other open aperture believers
compensate less effectiveness with......." This way, his comment
becoomes more meaningfull than his standard explanation.
Cheers.
jhen...@my-deja.com
oh, at least several seconds: What *is* the sound of one lip buzzing?
Awaiting your Zen enlightenment,
John Hensley
In article <91tfvc$fu5$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
inte...@my-deja.com wrote:
> Merry Christmas, too.
>
> Lips do not need to touch each other when sounds are produced because
I
> as well as Bobby Shew and many other can make free buzz with aperture
> as wide as 3-5mm. Buzz can be made without lips touching each other.
> However, open aperture does require better air support than closed
> aperture.
johnkool
inte...@my-deja.com wrote on 12/21/00 11:51 AM:
> Merry Christmas, too.
>
> Lips do not need to touch each other when sounds are produced because I
> as well as Bobby Shew and many other can make free buzz with aperture
> as wide as 3-5mm. Buzz can be made without lips touching each other.
What do the vibrate against to make sound, then?
S.Hager
Spencer Hager writes:
I am not calling you a liar so please don't take it that way but ........
3-5mm is approx.. .120"-.200" dia. aperture & the A=440 is a cycle of 440
flaps per second. You claim to buzz with the lips not touching at those
speeds & dia.. If the hand is faster than the eye then what would 440 HZ
give you visually? My answer, maybe an aperture that does in fact have the
lips touching 220 times per second. I know I can't see individuals frames
of a film so it is even more doubtful that you can see if the lips touch
or not at the frequencies we are talking about. An optical illusion is
what I would attribute your statement of facts to.
Spencer
William Graham
you'll receive applause that sounds like one hand clapping.
<jhen...@my-deja.com> wrote in message news:91tkue$khv$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Greg Evans
> > I guess you can then answer a koan that has been troubling me for,
> > oh, at least several seconds: What *is* the sound of one lip buzzing?
>
> I don't know, but if you give a concert with only one lip buzzing, I'm
sure
> you'll receive applause that sounds like one hand clapping.
...and in the silence, you'll probably be able to hear a tree fall in the
forest...
David Griffin
hand in front of the mouthpiece. But it takes a LOT of air control to
get a sound. :-)
David
inte...@my-deja.com
Kirk Reeves
method works for me I have no clue what vibrates and allows me to play. And
my aperature is big enoguh to put a finger easily inside. I know it is not
my tongue or lips.
David Griffin
David Griffin
not. If that's all you did, you wouldn't need a mouthpiece. You could
just whistle into the horn. Whether you believe it or not, when you put
your lips to a mouthpiece, they vibrate together when air is pushed
through them. It may be that the FRONT of your lips are not touching
when you look at them, but when you blow air, the inside of the lips
touch to vibrate.
David
BlastMaster
I didn't realize you were an authority on this. Are you giving a
clinic anywhere soon? Or perhaps you've published a book somewhere?
I'm having trouble identifying you because you don't sign your posts or
provide a valid email address.
inte...@my-deja.com
you are buzzing, touch upper lip in the rim. You see buzzing does not
stops. When you touch the lower lip, buzzing does not stop.
Your concept of making sound will change when you see this.
inte...@my-deja.com
production.
You can do a simple experiment with the rim so you can see how your lip
vibrate inside the rim. Touch your upper lip when you are buzzing,
buzzing will stop. Then touch your lower lip, the buzzing does not stop.
When you see this, you concept of sound production will change. This is
not new. It has been there for many years. You understand how open
aperture is possible.
How big is the aperture is still a personal choice.
Many pros do know this. Bobby Shew knows it. I am amazed to see many
believe that the sound is produced because the upper and lower lips
strike each other.
Take Bobby Shew's clinic.
BlastMaster
> You can do a simple experiment with MP rim so you can see inside.
While
> you are buzzing, touch upper lip in the rim. You see buzzing does not
> stops. When you touch the lower lip, buzzing does not stop.
Hmm. So what you're saying is that you have two tissue groups,
vibrating independent of one another, at exactly the same frequency?
Fascinating.
Here's another simple experiment. Put your index finger lengthwise
across your lower lip, so that your lower lip can't touch it. Now make
your upper lip buzz a pitch. Or a scale.
Here's another simple experiment. Take an oboe reed and separate the
two reeds so that they can't touch one another. Now blow into it, and
describe the sound you get.
> Your concept of making sound will change when you see this.
Sorry, still doesn't. Might help if you identified yourself.
David Griffin
BlastMaster
> Many pros do know this. Bobby Shew knows it. I am amazed to see many
> believe that the sound is produced because the upper and lower lips
> strike each other.
Pops cites a flouroscope study which indicates that this is what is
happening. I would be interested to see how you explain that the
instrumentation is in error.
> Take Bobby Shew's clinic.
I've chatted with Bobby several times (he didn't send that mail to me
spontaneously). It's your rationalization that doesn't make sense to
me.
-- jeff (helgesen)
Kirk Reeves
whistle, a puckered round circle. And yes I need the mouthpiece. My aperture is
so open the lead pipe would slip right in. The mouthpiece surround my lips, and
provides a seal. It also helps to channel the whistle sound. . It is possible the
inside of my lips do vibrate when I whistle. I don't know I don't know what is
vibrating, I know because it is sound something has to be vibrating But it is
nothing like buzzing. I can buzz (weakly and I can whistle.
Wayne Brenner
told me.....
Bobby Shew, open aperature, Stevens embouchere.
Wayne Bergeron - Possibly the busiest studio player in the Los Angeles area,
incredible range and sound, tremendous musicianship - open aperature, kind
of forms a fist with his embouchere, and somewhat blows it open.
Sal Carrachiola - Poncho Sanchez - Good range with a wonderful sound - open
aperature. He demonstrated with a visualizer what he was doing when I
questioned about him being sure about it being open.
Me - still trying to figure it out...............
Wayne Brenner
Anaheim CA
Pops
was immobilized by either mouthpiece pressure or tension. It can also
vibrate against the tongue and form the aperture there. (A 100 year old
German french horn embouchure.)
2. If any sound is made at all then the lips were blown apart and are
open 95% of the time during the duration of the note. (vibrating)
3. Once any note is started ALL chop settings appear to be open when
using a visualizer. The things should come with instructions. You check
the setting both BEFORE and AFTER the note is played. Of course it LOOKS
open when air is escaping.
Our eyes can NOT register 1/440 of a second. All they can do is to show
the average over time. We do NOT see the widest or closest the aperture
gets. To see that the player would have to play LOWER than 4 octaves
below LOW C and for those of us with old eyes it would have to be 5
octaves below Low C to be slow enough for the eyes to have a chance to
follow the action.
Some of those big name people NEED to take a Physics class.
AS for pro players teaching trumpet. Well even Jon Faddis teaches
embouchure. And he twists his chops sideways to play. I doubt that works
for many people.
Pops
Trumpet Topics
Buzzing:
Beyond the Warmup
I recently discussed the advantages of mouthpiece buzzing as a "pre
warm-up". I would also like to mention some further advantages to
incorporating buzzing into one's practice routine, both with and without
the mouthpiece. It's interesting to observe that buzzing is a technique
which is rarely mentioned in most method books, however it is remarkable
how many brass instrument teachers and professionals strongly
acknowledge and advocate buzzing.
Mouthpiece buzzing
Mouthpiece buzzing exercises are good for attaining good concepts of air
flow because the mouthpiece gives much resistance than the trumpet does,
allowing for a free, relaxed feel while blowing. Furthermore, the
embouchure tends to be very relaxed when buzzing the mouthpiece. When
playing an ascending line via a glissando, the embouchure can remain
much more relaxed than it does when "reaching" for the next overtone
when playing on the instrument itself.
Mouthpiece buzzing can also be a good ear-training technique. Next time
you encounter a passage that is particularly difficult to hear, play
through it slowly on the trumpet, then try playing it slowly with just
the mouthpiece. Play some of the difficult intervals on the instrument,
then try to match the pitches on the mouthpiece. Add one note at a time,
alternating between the trumpet and mouthpiece alone. When you return to
playing the entire passage on the trumpet, you will see that your
accuracy has been greatly enhanced.
Lip Buzzing:
Lip buzzing, without the mouthpiece can be a very good exercise for
developing an "awareness" of proper embouchure formation. Lip buzzing is
particularly good for working on embouchure focus. When focusing, or
drawing in the embouchure as you ascend to higher pitches it is
particularly important, however, to be certain that your lips always
remain relaxed - not tense.
Lip buzzing exercises are good for working on embouchure strength
because you can concentrate on developing fast vibrations (i.e. high
pitches) without relying on the mouthpiece to maintain proper lip
formation or even worse, using mouthpiece pressure to hit the hit notes.
For this purpose lip buzzing can be even more beneficial than mouthpiece
buzzing.
Edward Tarr once told me that if you can't buzz the pitch, you can't
play it.
(Mendez wrote the same line in his book "A Prelude to Brass Playing.")
While he probably didn't literally mean this, it is certainly likely
that if you can buzz the pitch with your lips alone, you certainly
should be able to play it.
Like many practice techniques, it is probably wise to not go overboard
with excessive daily buzzing exercises.
However, I do think that you will find that mouthpiece buzzing and lip
buzzing can prove to be useful auxiliary exercised in your practice
routine.
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E-mail: bg...@mailer.fsu.edu
giov...@webtv.net
.What I do is essentially whistle through the horn....
Group: rec.music.makers.trumpet Date: Wed, Dec 20, 2000, 9:05pm From:
workin...@uswest.net (Kirk Reeves)
wrote:
(snipped)
I practice between 3 to 6 hours a day. I practice that long because I
want to someday have the ability to match the people who play in the
circus. Every day I spend about an hour and a half playing the scales..
Nothing else. I sit with my chronometer to make sure I hit the note dead
on, and my metronome to make sure I keep time properly.
(end snip)
Hello all
Just thought again of the old phrase "Practice make permanent."
If memory serves me correctly, didn't Terence Blanchard take a hiatus a
few years back to work with a entirely new embouchure since his original
teacher had him with an extreme non-traditional one. His limits were
apparently reached and decided to make a change well into his career. I
am lucky I had as my first teacher a man who spent, (what I thought at
the time entirely too much), time on breathing/posture exercises,
buzzing and embouchure corrections untilhe was satisfied with the
result. I now fully understand and appreciate the foundation he has
laid for my further development.
Kirk, I would like to know how the heck you get a tone with your lips
parted 1/4" inch? Are you sure the pressure from your mouthpiece
doesn't close them even a little? What do your teachers say? I am by
no means an authority, I was just fooling around with what I think you
are doing and I couldn't even buzz. Whistling thru a horn just isn't
what comes to mind when I play. I am mystified by your approach.
Happy Holidays.
John Fretina
Kirk Reeves
was struggling with a closed aperture. After one particularly bad day
after making several bad starts he started yelling:
"NO! NO! NO! NO! You can't play like that. You got to hit that first note
and it got to be perfect! And then the next note and so on. You go into a
club and play like that the crowd is going to tear you apart. They will
listen to your first note and your last note and you have to have a good
attack on each note. Your problem is you haven't found the one way that
enables you to play your best. There are a million trumpet players and a
thousand ways of playing. You need to find the one right way for you. "
"I asked him how?"
"We start you from the beginning.. Play "G" 10,000 times
"What???" I exclaimed.
"Play "G" 10,000. Play long tones and and soft as you can.
Pianissimo." I must have looked astonished. He said: "Kirk, I guaranteed
you will hate it. I had to do it. I want you to do it. At the end of this
exercise at least you will be able one note perfectly and the tone will
amaze you."
What was I supposed to do? My teacher does not accept any excuses and no
matter how hard he tell me my exercise is, I know he been through it and
much harder. I started playing "G" Around 2,000 I decided there had to be
an easier way. and tried looking for it. I tried anything I could to get a
sound out of the horn. I tried a whistle and liked the result. I had to
work on it but I knew it was right for me. I practiced till I was up to
4,000 and shown his the result. He was impressed but warned: "Don't think
it gets easier. It won't!" My other teacher thought I made a major
breakthrough.
The whistle depending on the note may sound like the wind whistling to a
normal whistle. You said you tried and was unable to buzz. You won't be
able to buzz when you try to whistle. It is a totally different technique
then buzzing to produce a sound. And I only know it works for me. I heard
some others who use the same technique or something similar but I am unable
to verify. How do I get a tone? I start with a tone - a whistle. Just
like you may start with a buzz with is also a tone. I suspect the horn does
nothing more than amplify the whistle, the note, and turns it into the
musical range played by the trumpet. There are problems, I have trouble
getting above high "C" and since I learned a previous armature, I sometimes
switch with what I started with and this new method. Sometimes to get high
notes I use pressure but I am constantly working on those and other fault
and trying to correct them.
The advantage, I have a very nice tone from petal "F#" to "G" at the top of
the staff. The second is since I don't move my lips just whistle, I don't
get tired unless I am doing something wrong. Before when using a close
aperture I could only play an hour before becoming totally exhausted. Now I
can go six hours and not feel spent
Pops
I wrote you 6 months ago and told you that you would not get a good
range with your approach.
Working on extreme embouchures is like asking for another card when you
have 20 in blackjack. The odds of failure are much greater than the odds
of winning.
Kirk for every pro player there are 10,000 people who wanted to be pros.
Some didn't make it because they were never shown a viable embouchure.
Some were never shown to breathe properly. Some didn't put in the time
to practice. And some were like MES (too hard headed to see the
problem).
You have been playing a short time yet you already see a shortcoming to
your embouchure. What does that tell you?
BlastMaster
Bbtr...@webtv.net ('Pops') wrote:
>
> Our eyes can NOT register 1/440 of a second. All they can do is to
show
> the average over time.
>
As a frame of reference (no pun intended), I believe that movies are
filmed at around 16 frames per second, and appear to the eye (and
brain) to be in continuous motion. Anything faster than this really
doesn't register.
So the lips vibrating at 440 are chugging at about 27 times the speed
which can be distinctly registered by the brain.