[Trombone-l] Technical Question

[Richard Corliss]

Dan, good stuff!  As I recall Joe considers whistling as the closest
analogue to trombone playing and here the position of the tongue is the
primary thing.

Here is something elst to remember: Be careful don't overblow! The upper
range has a soft tone and think in terms of playing at a low volume like
Watrous does. It may also help to think of playing a small mouthpiece like a
trumpet mouthpiece.

Richard Corliss

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan Thornton" <danthornton at fgbc.org>
To: "'Richard Corliss'" <rcorliss at charter.net>; "'Trombone-L'"
<TROMBONE-L at server5.samford.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 1:04 PM
Subject: RE: [Trombone-l] Technical Question


> There are so many interrelated issues driving sound
> production that the question for each one of us is; where
> can I focus my thoughts in a way that best controls all the
> variables?
>
> For me, the placement of the back of the tongue is the
> strongest determinant of range and flexibility.  And it
> seems to be the easiest to control.
>
> The back of the tongue controls 'air pressure', or so I was
> taught.  It is like the nozzles on the end of firemen's
> hoses that bump up the pressure as needed.  It is the back
> of the tongue that moves up and down to raise and lower the
> pitch when we whistle, so it's easy to 'get the feel.'  It's
> the back of the tongue that is predominant in changing the
> vowels when we sing (Ah=low tongue, Ooo= mid tongue,
> Eee=high tongue), so again it is easy to 'practice' moving
> the tongue by thinking of singing different vowels into the
> mouthpiece.
>
> Of course, one can't control air pressure if there is not a
> constant source of air and lots of it, so having lots of
> wind is essential.  Yet, I've found that if I keep the wind
> machine constant and focus on controlling the pressure with
> the tongue, then the rest of the system responds well.
>
> Dan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: trombone-l-bounces at maillists.samford.edu
> [mailto:trombone-l-bounces at maillists.samford.edu] On Behalf
> Of Richard Corliss
> Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 8:42 AM
> To: Samuel Keyser; Trombone-L
> Cc: Samuel Keyser
> Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Technical Question
>
> Let me suggest a  source for answering your question. Go to
> the Trombone-L
> Forum. Look there for the name Joe Jackson who I think now
> runs that forum.
> At least he has been a moderator. Go then to his website and
> check the
> material he has on the upper range.
>
> Forgive me if what I say has been said before. I have been
> absent for a
> while.
>
> When I started to study this problem from the discussions on
> the forum and
> here I adopted the view that the key to upper range was the
> frequence that
> the lips fibrate and that the key to this was the speed of
> the air. The key
> to the speed of the air is the size of the apeture formed by
> your lips. To
> this needs to be added the importance of the source of air -
> a push from
> below and a reliance on that push. What I thought was the
> mastery of the
> upper range depended on is practice and on the development
> of muscle to
> control  the push of air from below into a small apeture.
>
> I still think that there is truth in the above picture. What
> Joe has
> convinced me, however, is that mastery is more about
> technique than it is
> about muscle. Here Joe instroduces a number of different
> factors - the place
> of the tongue, the character of the oral cavity, etc. I
> suggest checking out
> his website.
>
> Richard Corliss
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Samuel Keyser" <keyser at MIT.EDU>
> To: "Trombone-L" <TROMBONE-L at server5.samford.edu>
> Cc: "Samuel Keyser" <keyser at MIT.EDU>
> Sent: Friday, September 22, 2006 2:43 PM
> Subject: [Trombone-l] Technical Question
>
>
> > Dear T-listers,
> >
> > I have a technical question about playing tenor trombone
> in the upper
> > registers.  I'd be interested in the opinions of the
> listers.  I have
> > heard several of you on CDs and via streaming.  Obviously,
> you know
> > what you are doing.  I'd like to know what you are doing.
> >
> > In particular, here is my question. If the upper lip is
> the lip that
> > is vibrating (as I recall reading in a recent thread),
> then it seems
> > that the higher one plays, the tighter the upper lip edge
> should be.
> > That, I take it, is the counterpart to moving one's finger
> down a
> > violin string toward the bridge, i.e. shortening the
> vibrating length.
> >
> > Assuming the truth of the above, then it ought to be the
> case that
> > the higher one goes, the greater one tries to spread the
> lips. I take
> > it spreading the lips is tantamount to shortening the
> vibrating
> > length of the lip qua string.
> >
> > However, a professional trumpet player friend of mine
> tells me that
> > he does exactly the opposite; namely purses the lips as
> one goes up.
> > He is a fine player, pure upper register tone and plays up
> there
> > effortlessly.  Whatever he is doing works for him.  And
> lip pursing
> > is part of what he does.
> >
> > What do you think?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Jay
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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