[Trombone-l] Help! A question for everyone.

[Price Taylor]

Tom - I think Chuck is on the right track here.  You need to think center of
the pitch.  Long tones will help a lot here and go with Chuck;s concept of
letting the pitch sag.  When playing those tones think "center" of the
pitch.  Some might say practice with a tuner, that might help at first but
you've been playing long enough that I bet that won't help much.

FWIW, I had the same thing happen to me when I was playing a lot of lead
stuff in college jazz band.

Price

-----Original Message-----
From: trombone-l-bounces at maillists.samford.edu
[mailto:trombone-l-bounces at maillists.samford.edu] On Behalf Of Charles De
Paolo
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 5:10 PM
To: Trombone List
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Help! A question for everyone.

Hi Tom,

I'm thinking chops and air.  You are probably playing with harder (tighter)
chops than you think.  Relax and let the pitch sag.  Let the air vibrate the
chops freely.  Sing!!  Think of producing a sound by pulling a bow across a
proverbial set of strings, with the bow speed high and the pressure light.
Instead of low speed and high pressure.  I strongly doubt anything is wrong
with your axe, unless something is stuck inside, the problem is almost
certainly with something you are doing.  Hope this helps!

--Chuck


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: ewigleben1 at aol.com 
  To: trombone-l at server5.samford.edu 
  Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 10:41 AM
  Subject: [Trombone-l] Help! A question for everyone.


  Reading about all of this old trombotine or other lubricants lasting a
lifetime got me to thinking about a problem I've encountered.  No, it's not
which new lubricant to buy, 'cause I have a tube of trombotine older than my
adult kids also!  But instead, here's my query:  
   
  As I get older it seems I'm getting sharper and sharper.  Not my mind, of
course, my playing!  Over the last two years or so I've noticed I have had
to pull out more and more.  And it's not just in my rock band.  I've noticed
it in my playing with the brass choir or other symphony or even church work
around town.  It's not as big a problem with my bone quartet but that's
because I think the other three guys are adjusting to me (I play the first
book).
   
  I've wondered if it is my horn.  Is that possible........a horn simply
"wear" out?  I have played the same Bach Strad 36 since 1975.  It's a small
bore without a trigger for those not familiar.  I bought it because back
then that's what Watrous played and I thought he was the greatest!  
   
  It's not in mint condition but there are no dents in it and the slide
still works great.  No visual weld problems or spit valve problems.  
   
  Has this happened to anyone else?  As I approach 50 lots of things start
to go, the knees, the blood pressure, the cholesterol, (fortunately some
things still work fine!).
   
  If it's not the horn but somehow it's my playing, what would you suggest?
My embouchure certainly hasn't changed.  My hearing (ears) are fine.  I can
hear I'm out of tune if I don't make the adjustments, but soon I may run out
of tuning slide or 7th position!  I've lost no endurance and , if anything,
due to my kids getting older and I have more "playing time", my chops have
gotten stronger and my range has increased!  Besides, the tuning issue is in
all octaves.
   
  There's a fine repair shop in Indianapolis and I may take it in and have
it looked over.
   
  Looking forward to hearing some suggestions.  Thanks.
   
   
  Tom
   
   
   
   
  ________________________________________________________________________
  Check out the new AOL.  Most comprehensive set of free safety and security
tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web,
free AOL Mail and more.
  _______________________________________________
  Trombone-l mailing list
  Trombone-l at maillists.samford.edu
  http://maillists.samford.edu/mailman/listinfo/trombone-l
_______________________________________________
Trombone-l mailing list
Trombone-l at maillists.samford.edu
http://maillists.samford.edu/mailman/listinfo/trombone-l