[Trombone-l] airy sound.

[David Johansen]

Julie,

I've run into this a handful of times with my own students.  It's always 
seemed to me that the introduction of an air noise meant that there was 
a place where the lips weren't vibrating and letting a small amount of 
air through; thus the hissing air noise.  When I've had students with 
that problem, I've had them buzz on a visualizer while I watched the 
vibrating area carefully while trying to not get showered upon.  Many 
times I've been able to discern an area that just stays open and 
provides no vibration.  When pointed out to the student, he can try to 
focus his attention on that particular spot through a combination of 
free-, visualizer and mouthpiece buzzing.  Often this, combined with 
regular practice on the trombone will alleviate the problem.

Dave Johansen

Tom Ervin wrote:

>Julie, you've got plenty of good advice already..
>
>And this is hard to fix at a distance. So I could be wrong. Made a mistake last
>month too... ;>}
>
>It may also be that you are (simply) spilling too much air into the trombone,
>through the embouchure.
>
>Give it a day off. You may be "blown out," playing too much at this time.
>
>I hate to ever use the word PINCH, but maybe get a better GRIP on the airstream
>between your lips. Focus on the center of the embouchure.
>
>TRY to make the most airy sound you can. Exaggerate it.
>
>Then Fix it
>
>Then go lousy again.
>
>Then fix it again.
>
>Hope it works.  Won't take long.
>
>--
>Tom Ervin  -   Professor of Music
>University of Arizona  Tucson AZ 85721
>(520) 621-7021    ervint at u.arizona.edu
><http://tom-ervin.com>   (website)
><http://cdbaby.com/cd/tomervin>
>
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