Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: articulation, becoming a good student, buzz, buzzng, how to practice, learning music, music lessons vermont, practice atitude, practice strategies, tongue, tonguing, trombone, trumpet, tuba
Often these are mixed up in our minds. Articulation is a musical expression. Basic articulation is either connected or separated. Other examples of articulation include staccato, tenuto, accent, sfrozando, reinsforzando, marcato, slurred, legato, and normal notes, slightly, almost imperceptibly separated.
Brass technique is concerned, in part, with how to execute these articulations. We should never confuse the articulation with tone production. Our basic tone production should serve as a template, which informs us how to execute each articulation. The basic tone production is either a T, D or L, with a vowel succeeding.
(Because the vowel sound “AH” produces the most open, relaxed position in the vocal cords (folds), this is recommended for all notes. Range issues often develop when pinching occurs in the vocal folds, where the tongue is attached to the voice box, in the throat, and soft palate, so maintaining these open and relaxed is essential. Range can be developed through the relaxed movement of the voice box-tongue up and down according to the same direction as the pitch. In addition, you may manipulate the tongue, as in “AH,” “oo.” or “ee,” depending upon the range, low to high. Ultimately, the tongue shape is what is important, as it changes the flow of air in the mouth, thus the angle of air into the mouthpiece, thus the length of the sound wave or pitch. Some players play by changing the angle or shape of the lips, thus the angle of the buzz into the mouthpiece and the pitch. This adds pressure to the lip movement and tires the lips, though to some degree may be necessary to achieve the desired effect, depending upon the player. Faster air forces the air stream to a more severe angle thus assisting in the change of pitch, but this is not recommended either, for it adds tension to the playing and does not allow for soft playing in the high register, ultimately.)
So, each articulation is then learned from this basic tone production. There is no separate tone production for each articulation. Stopping of the air stream by relying on the epiglottis to stop the air flow (make the sound “ah”, then allow the air to stop and feel this natural motion) can be an accurate way to time the release of the note. Thus a staccato is a Ha. Ha. Ha. This method relies on relaxation, thus its advantage.
The loudness from our instruments comes from the velocity of the air; loudness is intensity, as the air flow in the instrument becomes intense the instrument gets louder. We need to develop the control of exhale through a relaxed motion, gradually making our ability to play a longer or shorter phrase. The volume determines the possible length of the exhale.
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
