[Trombone-l] Technical Question

[Richard Corliss]

What Dan says here I think fits well with what Joe Jackson says. I want to
make a clarifying comment here. What both in effect are saying is that it is
important to have a narrow stream of air going into the aperture formed by
the embouchure. The tongue and a constant push from below is the means to
this. At this point we need to keep in mind that mouths and teeth differ
significantly. Getting from the compressed air formed by the tongue to the
apeture is not going to be the same for all. For example, my front teeth
function like blocking guards in a football line up. For me the best way for
the air to get to the apeture is to have the mouthpiece slightly off to one
side so that the air goes around my blocking guards. After discovering this
about myself I found out that many trombonist end up doing this. Here we
have to be careful to avoid thinking that one approach fits all. What's
important is a narrow air stream going into the aperture formed by the lips.
With this approach there is less emphasis on muscle and more on technique.

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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