[Trombone-l] airy sound

Sat Dec 2 10:43:31 CST 2006

Hello Roger and all.  

Everybody has experienced finding the 'perfect' mouthpiece and then
becoming disappointed with it after a short time.  I've heard some
version of the story from dozens of people.  I think there is a common
reason for this phenomenon.  The problems with the new mouthpiece begin
to show themselves right at the very same time the new owner begins to
'learn' the new mouthpiece.  The few days of bliss at the beginning then
turn into the same old raging battle.  Here is the reason: at the
beginning it was necessary to rely on musical expectations in order to
play.  There were none of the familiar physical characteristics to react
to.  That is why the new mouthpiece was so good.  There was no
compensating for some remembered deficiency, just playing and listening
for what would come out, which would be as good as you could imagine.
Of course, it's nearly impossible not to notice the characteristics of a
mouthpiece (or any equipment, for that matter).  We're all too smart and
observant artists not to notice.  The trick to keeping that new
mouthpiece 'freedom' is to maintain that musical frame of mind that was
very naturally relied upon at the beginning (since it was the only thing
available to rely upon).  This is a lot easier once one has experienced
and observed the pattern a few times.  These days, when I get stuck in a
mechanical/technical rut, I can break out of it just by sticking a
different mouthpiece in my horn.

On the muscle building topic.  Back in high school (class o' 69), we
were required to take PE.  When it was time for weight lifting, one of
the cardinal rules was never to do the same exercise two days in a row.
We got into trouble if the coaches caught us.  The muscles had to rest
to grow and avoid injury.  It was interesting to see Sam's use of the
phrase "low impact" practice.  Some time after the introduction and
emphasis on the new and improved low impact aerobics (due, of course, to
all the injuries folks were sustaining at the health clubs from
strenuous aerobics), I had a student who, as rare as they are, actually
practiced too much.  So I coined the phrase low impact practice just for
him.  He didn't listen, though...eventually blew his chops and doesn't
play any more.  But he sure was turning into a very fine player before
that.  Who can resist keeping up the effort when the payoff was so
spectacular?  The smart, disciplined player, that's who.  Another
circumstance, that I found myself in a few times, is that wonderful
period of confidence and strength that comes after a summer at music
camp.  I would come back home and try to keep it up for as long as I
could.  But it wasn't long before things just weren't quite right.  It
was very discouraging.  It took a long time (years) for me to figure out
that it was the rest that was a natural part of the days' schedule at
camp that was the key to all the progress that was taking place.  Yes,
there was musical activity every day; morning, noon, and night for
weeks.  But there was a lot of time spent not playing while heading from
one thing to the next or at mealtime or sitting and counting rests or
waiting while the strings got their act together during rehearsals.
When I got home and tried to duplicate the camp experience, I neglected
the 'rest' part of it and just kept up the face time part of it.  Of
course there would be problems.  There really is no escaping them, if
you don't let the chops recover from heavy practicing.  If you have a
full calendar, you have to think, put the horn away, and save some for
the next day.

Steve Gamble, Librarian
Tucson Symphony Orchestra
2175 N. 6th Ave.
Tucson, AZ  85705
520-792-9155 x118 office
520-792-9314 fax
520-991-7056 cell
sgamble at tucsonsymphony.org
www.tucsonsymphony.org

-----Original Message-----
From: trombone-l-bounces at maillists.samford.edu
[mailto:trombone-l-bounces at maillists.samford.edu] On Behalf Of Roger
Hecht
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 6:59 AM
To: julie
Cc: TROMBONE-L at server5.samford.edu
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] airy sound

At 10:44 PM 11/30/2006, julie wrote:
>Ok Ok...
>I don't know i think its maybe just because i did'nt take the time to
really
>fix the mouthpiece on my face and I did not make enough technique to
get
>everything right.
>When I change something i always want  it to work right now...
>So, when i did my last mpc change I just continue practice exerpt as
loud as
>I can and my concerto...but i did'nt return to the basics...So I crash
and
>then here in Quebec its the time of the year when it get colder and
less sun
>and more rain and all this help a lot for the depression, so in case of
>continue to practice I just left my trombone and go cry somewhere in
the
>school up to the time i return at home.
>Then I get my arban and my schlosberg and we work together for 3 days
and
>then I'm mostly reach what i wanted...
>Now I just need to make my sound more compact and regular on all my
range
>and I will be ok..
>:)
>Julie

I never replied to this this thread: I just never got to it, and 
besides, you seemed to be getting plenty of good advice. But the 
subject interested me because I went through a crisis like this once. 
It was the result of overwork, too much playing in the high register, 
etc. I didn't get an airy sound, per se, just an overall feeling of 
being shot. I recovered by taking some time off, playing a lot of 
long tones, working in the low register, and just taking it easy. I 
do the same kind of thing when I find I have over exercised. (I do 
aerobics and weight training.) Someone here noted that muscles 
develop mainly after exertion, during rest. That is also when they 
recover, and sometimes rest and going easy is the only answer. As an 
ex-athlete, I found the same patterns to be in place for me then.

In your case, it sounded to me from the beginning that you played so 
much that you literally deadened your lip muscles, to the point where 
they weren't fully vibrating as usual--hence the airy sound, as if 
some of the lip was vibrating and some was just letting air through.

As for your remark about changing mouthpieces and going all out, 
that's familiar, too. Changing mouthpieces can be trappy, at least 
for me. Often a new mouthpiece feels good out of the box. I've often 
wondered why. Maybe because it uses different muscles--or parts of 
muscles--which happen to be fresher, giving other muscles a break. 
Sometimes the new mouthpiece turns out to be the "answer," but more 
often (at least in my experience) that feeling of newness goes away 
and we end up returning to what we were using before. The problem is 
that sometimes, in our enthusiasm, we beat ourselves to death with 
the new mouthpiece, as you say you did. When we happen to be working 
muscles differently as noted above, we may find that the "fresh" 
muscles soon tire. Then trouble may ensue.

Did you say you were working with a euphonium and were playing it 
with the usual deep mouthpiece? That may have thrown you too, if you 
overdid your practicing--though I don't have much experience with 
that, so I can't speak from any.

One thing I've learned over the years is that the old football coach 
admonition to his sore muscled athletes of "wrap it up and walk it 
off" can lead to trouble if applied to delicate embouchere muscles. 
There are people who can get away with this sort of thing, but 
injured reserve lists of football (and other sports) teams are filled 
with players who came back from an injury too soon or worked out too 
much. Work out gradually, build from the basics, listen to your body 
when you're tired. Feel the burn, they say, but don't wallow in it.

Roger Hecht 

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