BuzzingtheMouthpiece

TimeforaRevisionofTeachingPedagogy
NeilHansen
InthiswritingIwillstatethecasethatrecentresearchwarrantstheupdatingofbrassmethods
textbookswhichadvocatethebuzzingofthebrassmouthpieceasapreludetosuccessinplayingabrass
instrument.Mosttextsusedincollegebrassmethodsclasseswerefirstwrittentwentyfivetoforty
yearsagoandstillpromotemouthpiecebuzzingincontradictiontorecentresearchwhichprovesthatit
iscontrarytoitsassumedbenefits.Acceptanceofthisresearchmayalsoencouragethosewhoteachthe
trumpetandotherbrassinstrumentstoupdatetheirapproach.Mostoftheresearchquotedinthis
writingisentirelyfocusedonthetrumpethowevermostoftheinformationwillalsoapplytootherbrass
instruments.
Intheworldofbrassplayersthereisagreementthatagooddailywarmuproutineshouldincludelong
tones,lipslurs,tonguingexercises,scales,etc.Formanyplayersthepreparationtoplayalmostbecomes
aritualwhichintheextrememayincludeintensephysicalactivitysuchascalisthenics.Incontrastto
thesewellacceptedconcepts,thereisoneareawhichseemstocreatecontroversyamongteachersand
playersalike:whetherornottobuzzthemouthpiece.
Whenthesubjectofbuzzingthemouthpieceisraised,thereappearstobenomiddlegroundamong
knowledgeableplayersandteachersconcerningthisaspectoftrumpetpedagogy.Thosewhodobuzzas
partofawarmupareconvinceditisoneoftheonlywaystoproperlypreparethemselvestoplay.Some
ignorethisconceptandutilizeothermeanstoaccomplishthesamegoals.Ihaveencounteredplayers
whobuzzonlyforafewsecondsbeforebeginningtoplaywhileothersadvocatespendingafewseconds
uptoasmuchasfortyfiveminutesdoingbuzzingexercisesonthemouthpiecebeforeplayingasingle
note.Althoughthismayprovidesomebenefittothestudentintheareaofeartraining,researchshows
thatbuzzingthemouthpiecewillintroduceunwantedtensionintotheprocessofmakingmusic.
Oneofthemainreasonsmouthpiecebuzzinghasbeenadvocatedforsolonghasbeentheperceived
beliefthroughoutthebrasscommunitythatithelpsdeveloptheembouchureforplayingthetrumpet,
horn,trombone,euphonium,ortuba.Oneofthebestdescriptionsofthebrassembouchurecomesfrom
therespectedtrumpetprofessorWilliamAdam.Hedescribedtheformationoftheembouchureina
1975clinicaddressasfollows.
Iamconvincedthatthemostworkableembouchureisonethathastheareabehindthemouthpieceinastateof
resilienceandquiterelaxed.Atthemouthareaoutsidethecornersofthemouththereisfirmness,butnotareal
tightness,andthisfeelslikeawarmtension.Thetrumpetmuscles,orthebuccinatormuscles,arethemuscleswe
utilizewhenwearegettingreadytospit.Themusclesshouldformapassagewayfortheairtobeaccelerated
throughthelipsandthroughthehorn.Ifwecanretaintheresilienceandrelaxationoftheembouchure,wemake
itpossibleforourairtogetthroughthelipsandthehornwithouttoomanyrestrictions.Themorewecancut
downontheresistanceoftheairstream,thebetterthetonewillbe,andalsotheeasierthehornwillplay.(Adam)

Thebuccinatormusclesoneithersideoftheface(cheekmuscles)andaredescribedintheMerriam
WebsterMedicalDictionaryas:
athinbroadmuscleformingthewallofthecheekandservingtocompressthecheekagainsttheteethandto
retracttheangleofthemouth(MerriamWebster)

Adamcontinuesinthesameaddresstomakethepointthatwhenthemouthpiecealoneisusedto
createabuzzitwillresultinunwantedtensioninordertoproduceanaudiblesound.Hesuggests
insteadusingthemouthpieceandleadpipecombinationasaprefacetoplayingthetrumpet.Hereis
howAdamdescribedthistechniquetoaskepticalaudienceoftrumpetplayers:
Totrymyexercise,firstbuzzyourmouthpiece.Notethatthereisacertainamountoftensionwiththataction.
Nowinsteadofbuzzingyourlips,justthinkofnotpresettingtheembouchureinanyway,shapeorform,butjust
placethemouthpieceintheleadpipeandthinkofmovingyourairthroughthattube.Doesthatseemeasierthan
buzzingthemouthpiece?(Adam)

Ihavefoundthattomakethemouthpiecebuzz,Imustbringitintoclosercontactwiththelipsbyusing
morepressureagainstthelipsthanIwouldotherwisedesiretoapply.Itappearsthatthetypicalbrass
playerhastwowaystocreatethebuzz:eitherbyincreasingthepressureofthemouthpieceagainstthe
lipsorbyblowingharder.Itdoesnotmakemuchsensetoaddthistensiontothewarmuproutineand
thenlaterworktoeliminateit.Instead,accordingtoAdam,theembouchureisblownintopositionby
theair.Althoughbuzzingthemouthpiecemayprovidesomebenefittoplayersbyhelpingtotrainthe
earormentallyprepareformusicperformance,itnecessitatesthecreationoftoomuchpressuretobe
includedaspartofaregularpracticeroutine.
InhisaddressAdamdidnotdiscountthefactthatthelipsdoindeedinteractwiththestandingwavein
thetrumpetandtherebyproduceasound.(Somemayrefertothissensationwhileplayingasbuzzing,
butforthepurposeofdiscussionIwilllimitreferencestothetermbuzzingtomeanthesoundcreated
withthemouthpieceonly.)AdamquotesresearchbyArthurBenadewho,ina1973articletitled
PhysicsofBrassespublishedintheScientificAmerican,provedthatwhenasoundiscreatedonthe
trumpetthelipsdonotmoveuntiltheacousticenergyistransferredbackfromthebellofthetrumpet
tothemouthpiece.Thisresearch,whichwaspublishedtwoyearspriortoAdamspresentation,
demonstratedthatthelipsarethensetintovibrationbythestandingwaveandasoundiscreated.
Inamorerecentstudyofthephysicsofplayingthetrumpet,ThomasMoore,ProfessorofPhysicsat
RollinsCollege,setouttodetermineifwhatAdamstatedin1975wasaccurate.InhisresearchProfessor
Moorecreatedartificiallipsandteethandconnectedthemtoawindsourceandatrumpetmouthpiece
bothwithandwithoutthecompletetrumpet.Mooreprovedthetrumpetmouthpiecealonedoesnot
produceasounduntilithasbeeninsertedintotheleadpipeofthetrumpet.Inthisstudy,publishedby
theInternationalTrumpetGuildin2001,heandhisstudentsprovedwhatAdamhaddeclaredalmost
thirtyyearsearlier:thelipsdonotmoveuntilthemouthpieceisinsertedintothetrumpet.
InsteadofbuzzingthemouthpiecetowarmupAdamadvocatedthatplayersinsertthemouthpieceinto
theleadpipeonly.Unlesstheplayerhasaleadpipeavailabletheeasiestapproachistosimplyremove
2

themaintuningslide.Onthetrumpetthisuseofthemouthpiecewithastandardlengthleadpipewill
produceapitchwhichtypicallysoundsaconcertEb.AsAdamhasoftendemonstratedinhis
presentations,andMooresresearchsubstantiated,airisfirstblownthroughthemouthpiecewithout
creatingabuzz.Thenthemouthpieceismovedintothetrumpet.Asthemouthpiecebeginstoslideinto
thereceiverofthetrumpetthesoundasthestandingwaveoccurs.Thissoundwilltranspirewithoutany
changeintheairflowthroughthemouthpieceasitmakesaconnectiontotheleadpipe.
However,thisdoesnotmeanthisprocesshasbeengenerallyacceptedinthetrumpetcommunity.Inhis
articleMouthpieceBuzzingConfusionNicholasDrozdoffiswellawareofboththepreviouslyquoted
articlesbutalmostderidestheconceptspresentedbyAdamandMooreasuninformed.Hedoesnot
mentionAdambynamebutmakesreferencetohislecturepresentationinthefollowingparagraph:
Infact,oneoftheseteachersevenclaimsthatoneshouldn'tactuallybeabletoproperlysustainatoneona
mouthpiecewhenitisn'tinthehorn!Thisisnotquitecomplete.Whatwehavehereisanincomplete
understandingofphysics. Whileitispossibleforsometrumpeterstofindthattheirbuzzstopswhenthetrumpetis
removedfromthemouthpiece,itisjustaspossibletofindtrumpeterswhocansustainabuzzwhileplayingand
removingthehornandtheneventhemouthpiece,buzzingonlythelips!Itturnsoutthattherearerathercomplex
modelsforunderstandinghowatrumpetandtrumpeterworks.(Drozdoff)

InreadingthisarticleitbecomesapparentthatDrozdoffrefusestoacceptthesedocumentedstudies
butdoesnotpresentanyscientificevidencetosupporthisposition.Theseriousstudentofthetrumpet
mightbewisetodiscardsuchunsubstantiatedstatementsandrelyinsteadonthedocumentedfacts.I
realizethatmanyplayerswillbereluctanttoacceptAdamandMooresconclusions.Mostlikelythese
aretheindividualswhospendseveralminutesadaybuzzingthemouthpieceandbelieveithas
benefittedtheirmusicianshipasaresult.Ihavefoundinmyownplaying,andinthatofmyprivate
students,thatthetoneproductiononthetrumpetatlowervolumelevelsisnotsimilartowhatis
requiredtoachieveabuzzwiththemouthpiecealone.
Eachyearacrossthecountryuniversitymusicdepartmentsteachcountlessaspiringmusicteachersto
learnthebasicsofbrassinstrumentsinmethodsclasses.Thesecoursesusuallyutilizetextbooksaspart
oftheclassinstruction.Thesesametextswilllikelybecomevaluablereferencesforfutureeducatorsand
mayprovidethemwitharesourcetoanswerquestionsconcerningbrasspedagogy.Thereforeitis
imperativethesetextbookscontainthemostaccurateandscientificallybasedinformation.
Ihavediscoveredtwoofthemostcommonlyusedtexts,GuidetoTeachingBrassandACompleteGuide
toBrass,advocatetheteachingofbuzzingasapreludetoperformanceonthetrumpet.Manymusic
teachersinthepublicschoolsacrossthecountryhavelearnedintheircollegemethodsclassesthatthe
firstthingtobetaughttobeginningtrumpetplayersistheconceptofbuzzingthemouthpiece.Infact,
whenpresentingthevariousbandinstrumentsforbeginnerstochoosefrom,someeducatorsmayhave
potentialbrassplayersattempttoproduceabuzzwithonlythemouthpieceasasortoftesttobetter
predicttheirfuturesuccessonthatinstrument.Hereiswhatonesuchbrassmethodsbookstates
concerningthispractice:

Itissuggestedthateachstudentpracticethebuzzuntiltheembouchurecanbeheldsteadywithoutairpockets.,
andthathepracticeonthemouthpieceuntilhehasarangeofapproximatelyoneoctave,whichcanbeplayed
freelywithoutunduestrain,closedthroat,orexcessivepressure.(Hunt)

Otherbrassmethodtextspromotebuzzingthemouthpieceinmoredetail.ScottWhitenerdevotes
threeentirepagesofhisbookACompleteGuidetoBrasstomouthpiecebuzzing,advocatingitasa
preludetoproducingatoneonabrassinstrument.Althoughhedoeswarnagainsttheuseofexcessive
pressure,heencouragesfutureteachersofbeginnerstousethismethod.Thisresultsinvaluable
instructionaltimebeingspentteachingstudentstoplayexercisesonthemouthpiecealone.
Atfirstglancethismightseemtocreateaseriousproblemwhichwillfollowamusicianforaslongashe
orsheplaysaninstrument.Inmostcases,however,thebeginningtrumpetplayerwillquicklydispense
withbuzzingthemouthpiecewhentheabilitytoplaymelodiesontheinstrumentoccurs.Regardlessof
theimpact,itislikelythatmostteachersofbeginnersbelievethatbuzzingthemouthpieceisapositive
concepttoteachyoungstudents.
Oftenitisonlywhentheplayeradvancesandmaybegintakingprivatelessonswithaspecialistthatthe
conceptofmouthpiecebuzzingwillbereintroduced.Itistheprivateteacherwhoismostlikelyto
advocatethisapproachtowarmingupontheinstrument,perpetuateitspractice,andindoctrinatethe
playerintocontinuingtoutilizeit.AsAdampromotesinhisteachings,itwouldbebetterforthese
studentstobegintheirpracticeroutinewithafewminutesspentplayingthemouthpiece/leadpipe
combination.Thisprocessmorecloselyresemblesthewaythetrumpetisactuallyplayed.Ifeartraining
isthegoaloftheteacherthenaskingthestudenttosingorwhistlethesoundswouldbemore
beneficial.
Irealizethatmanyofthethoughtspresentedheremayconflictwithlongheldbeliefsconcerningtone
productiononthetrumpet.I,too,wasskepticalofmanyoftheseideaswhenIfirstheardaboutthem.
AftercarefulstudyandobservationofmyownplayingandthatofmystudentsIhavecometoagree
withthisupdatetobrasspedagogy.
Asstatedearliermostofthesetextbookswerefirstwritteninthe1970sand1980sandhavebeen
revisedinmorerecenteditions.Unfortunatelynonehaveincorporatedanyofthisrecentresearchin
theirrevisions.Iwouldhopethatastheideaspresentedherebecomemorewidelyknownthatthe
authorsmightchangetheirpedagogicalinformationtoreflectthisresearch.

References

Adam,William."1975ClinicAddress."Everythingtrumpet.com.Ed.MarkMinasian.16Sept.2007

<http://everythingtrumpet.com/BillAdam/articles/ClinicAddress.html>.

"Buccinator."MerriamWebsterMedicalDictionary.MerriamWebster.com.17Sept.2007

<http://www.mw.com/medical/buccinator>.

Benade,Arthur."ThePhysicsofBrasses."ScientificAmerican(July1973):2435.

Moore,Thomas."PlayingWithoutBuzzing:FactorFiction?"InternationalTrumpetGuildJournal25.4

(June2001):51+13.

Drozdoff,Nicholas."MouthpieceBuzzingConfusion."GeoCities.com.16Sept.2007

<http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/3941/poppycock.html>.

Hunt,NormanJ."TheEmbouchure."GuidetoTeachingBrass.1968.3rded.Dubuque:Wm.C.Brown,

1984.23.

Whitener,Scott."ToneProduction."ACompleteGuidetoBrass.2nded.Belmont:Wadsworth/Thomson

Learning,1997.139141.