Filed under: baritone horn lessons, euphonium lessons, octavemode, Stuart Carter, trombone lessons, Trumpet lessons, Tuba lessons, vermont brass music | Tags: breath control, buzz, buzzng, endurance for brass players, how to practice, music lessons, music lessons vermont, performance attitude, pitch accuracy, practice atitude, practice strategies, tone productin for brass players, trombone, trumpet, tuba
Very often I see students who come in with tone production problems stemming from embouchure difficulties. Treating these can prove difficult, as focus on the embouchure initially turns the attention away from breath control, and encourages pressure at the lips, stopping portions of or all the buzz, unless you understand the embouchure.
The integrity of the buzz, that is the quality of never changing always moving, can develop strength and endurance in the embouchure. The flexibility of keeping the lips in place, while exercising the movement the lips make, exercises the muscles. That is the basic support of the embouchure starts from the larger muscles in the face and ends with the specific needs of lip movement for each partial and note. An important aspect of muscular development includes stretching, so, large movements such as stretching each muscle in the face develop strength and flexibility, and subtle changes in the embouchure help develop the proper tone, pitch and endurance.
Try buzzing three or four times each day for about five minutes. Buzz musical patterns, freely, and improvise tunes. Notice the movement. Often players will experience changes in the angle, or pucker of the buzz. After years of practice a player can get used to these and not be bothered by them, hung up on how it happens. However, this movement initially contributes to mistakes, as an unreliable exit for the air changes the physics, complicating tone production. Most of us, if not all, need to allow these small movements through relaxation and breath support, and practice. However, strengthening of the embouchure to sustain consistency of the air stream reduces mistakes.
Paying particular attention to the corners of the buzz, and their relationship to the intersection of the zygomaticus major, depressor angular oris, and buccinator, (right near where you form dimples) stabilizes supportive and relaxed movement of the obicularis oris (the kissing muscle, or muscle that forms around the mouth and attaches to the lips.) to allow the lips to buzz continuously. The lips themselves are not muscle and therefore, are free-moving flesh. Each muscular area needs strength, right placement and movement should encourage the proper buzz of the lips.
Remember, the direction of the air as it enters the mouthpiece determines the pitch. To achieve this difference, I feel it is best to control the direction by way of the breath and therefore through the movement in the mouth chamber, as well as with the embouchure. It is one system or motion. The spin of the air in the soft palette area, the shape of the tongue and the direct exhale direction intended from the diaphragm make this possible. Whereas you can change the angle of the buzz, the shape of the buzz, this changes the physics at the moment the air exits into the mouthpiece, thus making tone production and quality change and more difficult, until you achieve the systematic movement of the breathing, mouth chamber, tongue and embouchure.
A wonderful study on embouchure movement can be found at:
The increase of the speed of the air, though it can effect the pitch, alone does not effect pitch change. Try increasing the velocity of the air and see if that itself changes the pitch. All you will find is a change in dynamic. The reason the increase of the speed of the air works changing pitch has to do with the force of air on the avuncular ridge, which then directs the air downward when the tongue is higher as in saying, “ee,” for a high note, or in the case of a low note, “ah”, more directly into the mouthpiece. Notice in this case, the mouth chamber itself is more open, thus a more direct line to the end of the cup is achieved. When combined with the embouchure movement (see link) this completes the system.
Remember also, that the use of syllables are only an approximation of the required mouth chamber shape and therefore are best used as a guide, and not as useful as learning the right shape of the mouth chamber for the desired note. Our anatomical differences are individual.
Practice finding the right placement, in very much the same way one practices buzzing pays off with accuracy and endurance. With right placement, you need not work as hard; you tire less. Playing with improvisation, free experimentation, and musical patterns, one develops relaxed and certain control over tone production in a variety of venues.This may be a result of the freedom and subsequent relaxation which comes from that state. Each type of practice develops security in various challenges of tone production.
Lastly, a good, healthy, exercised, breath, completes the brass players readiness to apply his musicianship to making music. As breathing is essential to brass playing, this is covered elsewhere in this blog.
Like this:
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
