[Trombone-l] Air in sound

[Jackie Harris-Stone]

  Hi Jullie,
   
    I have agreed with what I've seen as things to try.  A few additions- after checking the slide, have you checked the valve section for leaks?  (plug one end up w/ a tennis ball, blow in the other.)
   
    A couple things that might help- A. I remember reading once that the mouthpiece adjusting takes about a month.  I haven't switched mouthpieces for a while, but I remember that's about right.  I think if you still have a problem after 6 weeks, you might want to see what happens if you switch mouthpieces (you'll have to readjust all over again, but after that long, it's like a new mouthpiece, and you can see what the effect would be.).  If you still have the problems it's not the mouthpiece.
   
    B. Muscle building happens at about 2 weeks.  A lot of times, when my students have a drastic change in sound, and nothing's changed over the past week, that would explain it, looking at what happened 2 weeks back from the sound change will solve the mystery.
   
  C.  My first hunch in this situation, would be to try free buzzing- and also free buzzing with a finger on one lip, and then the other.  Just be aware that this tires you out really fast, so I would recoomend only a few notes to start, given what you've said about the sound, and work up SLOWLY.  If this doesn't get instantaneous results when you switch back to the horn, then it's not worth continuing until you solve the mystery- that woun't be the problem.  
   
  D.  My other advice would be to make sure you're drinking a lot of water, and avoid salty foods for a few days and see if that helps.  I might be the only one who this affects, but I know I can't have potato chips or even anything with salt sprinkled on without noticing it.  
      Hope this helps!


Jackie Harris-Stone
Bass Trombone, Orquesta Sinfonica de Monterrey 
Professor of Trombone, Escuela Superior de Musica y Danza, 
Professor of Low Brass, UANL
 
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