skeen yy genve av a WINNIE SIG ASO eR TANS instruments with detachable bells, Schilke invented the fir = © Main tuning slide vm The metal of the brass instruments is nportant for tone quality. and most companies PRESEEELY We a sie fide, A yellow bras lacquer finaly the ment conmion aos iver pena. Pree TY ANY Profewionah 7 Plating is of course a part af the material ofthe instrument se mh contrast £0 2 "OF Bguer. Sveti than Tacquer and some professor angst that rests am a datker tone quuiey, Pur other dinates a Slightly more brian sound, Most repair shops, however, do nor ave We TUNE upieenen : ioe! ; Bee regal (or lack thereo!) which produces the darkest oF “purge A number of professional prefer a “raw brass” f sal erumpets such as red Brass, which has the ment oe Atality. Different alloys have been wed for bells on trombones a and results in the darkest tone quakty, and gokd brass, which bas but provide a rich, full sound at fuller dynamic levels. Yellow brass is the default of m Jess copper than gold brass as copper. Both of these are “stuffy” in cof nost brass instruments and ee ha ey STARTING THE BEGINNER Many brass methods, teachers, players, and texts list physical aspe authorities recommend that the teacher inspect each child’s teet allowing them to start a brass instrument. In reality, interest in ¢ only characteristic of the child that the teacher can truly rely on is been assessed under these rules, he would have played bass drum. ‘Although some famous trumpet players have suggested that all they do is serew up their lips and blow, there ie guidelines to initial production of tone. The following are helpful suggestions: sets necessary to learn a brass instrument, Some fh, lips, fingers, jaw, arms, hooves, and the ik he instrument is the primary predictor of sc i that the student will change. If Louis Arm ofthe © bale C08, The rong a 1. Moisten the lips, then with the lips alone (and keeping the teeth apart), produce a puttering sound like a chig imitating a motorboat, Increase the “speed of the motor” by tightening the comers of the mouth to produce; buzz. Watch for excessive puckering, If buzzing is difficult and the tendency is to “flap” the lips like a hone, cx the lips under more (so that less pink of the lip is showing) and place them closer together. Practice the buzing until it comes naturally, feels easy, and can be sustained for several counts. Art this point, place the mouthicce lightly to the lips, avoiding any pressure other than the minimum amount necessary to seal off escaping air Place the lips together as if saying “em” (this keeps the teeth apart), firm the corners, add the mouthpiece, nf blow until a sound is produced, The student should be cautioned not to pull the mouthpiece back into the lips but to let the airstream make the sound, Excessive pressure against the lips prevents the lips from flexing to d pitches. Excessive pressure is a natural tendency for the beginners, as they are using facial muscles in a difewce manner than before. Unfortunately, excessive pressure is among the more common bad habits for bras player and is the primary reason for poor upper register playing. Excessive pressure is usually a symptom of an under developed embouchure or lack of a supported airstream, 3. Have the student gently blow into the instrument without firming the lips—as if “sighing” into the bras insane: then very gradually bring the lips closer together, firming the corners until a pitch responds, 4. Place the mouthpiece against the lips and release a burst of air into the mouthpiece while simultaneowsly ™ a “toe” or “tah” syllable (depending on the instrument) with the tongue touching the roof of the mouth nar" teeth. Try the same procedure with the mouthpiece inserted into the instrument. oS 5. If none of the above helps produce a sound on the mouthpiece, the teacher has two alternatives: (I) che es instrument with a larger mouthpiece (if the student isn't already playing a tuba); or 2) Ie te sent to produce the initia sounds, Brass playing is a vigorous physical activity; in some cases what feb le is : smell viet soy be resuied Blasting is never advocated, but it may be worth trying when al oe" ‘ng conveys the concept of blowing a fast airstream. ‘When students can consistenth with raisin rently produce a tone with each attempt, they are ready to ae spore me lowering pitches by tightening and loosening the comers of the mouth and changing ait speed. PRVIME oat with just the mouthpiece is val aluable embo ining -impo oe uuchure training; itis also fun, and it helps the all-imP ee a rant8 NCH oyun RASS PRINCIPLES 93 ada ier Fal stUctate, the aatese ae ge MME MNCS Hal aadradntn with the lips touching thre puckering muscles. Because povtcluure ts to have them close a6 if saying “em"). The comers of the lips are Taps will be loose enough to v ‘ ishtly Ughtenmg or ki putty dos not canny vy toh help a sturtent develop a he teeth rematn imam (OPICH FEST a He x shh Fi sely apart hin) and the center ic center of th usted! by shy sacersartie MOU (he Comets oF the me ease sbrate with the outyomg sosenning the strongest muscles in the face, Seed Tees (Pon ansthing ba themselves). ‘The process works somevshat jen vap-tock bog" im thatthe aperture a the comer orn ; : Stee eae of the embouchare i cloned by tension moving. from the outside oye fom he hin Fermains fat. This position makes a yitu ‘When the S mereased in velocity to play hove at the ly impossible to puff out the checks, . : 'y pitches higher in the overtone series, the comers of the lip nie firmer €© prevent the increased air wre ; mdly when 1 acne es {air pressure trom blowing the his open. The hps vibrate more rapidly when, Tension at the comers of the mouth makes the apert c a une, onal ene ea dl f the mouth makes the aperture smaller while retaining. ld be encouraged Ny. ts ‘ouraged to produce a higher pitch by simply tightening the corners of dhe mouth or lps. By “thinking” higher and tower pitches, the player can increase and decrease the speed in ru ime ay a singer produces higher snd lower che _ “mene The smile embouchure tends to produce hi peace roduce lips that are stretched to produce higher pitches but can result in a thin sound. The pucker-type embouchure creates tension in the center ofthe lip, a lip that needs to be free to vibrate. The pckertype embouchure also makes it : difficult for the chin to remain flat. The type of embouchure affects tone quality raven Fegisters. Every effort should be made to center the mouthpiece on the ips horizontally and vertically. Though there are many shades of opinion regarding the vertical placement of the mouthpiece, most f teachers prefer to have equal amounts of each lip vibrating for oY comet, trumpet, and tuba, and more of the upper lip on the ¢ * ‘mouthpiece for hom and trombone. The shape of the front teeth } ray ako impact placement. An embouchure visualizer can be helpful in checking mouthpiece placement (Figure 21.2). When ene-third of the upper lip and two-thirds of the lower lip show FIGURE212 Brass embouchure visualizer from the outside, the actual placement is closer to half-and-half on the inside of the cup. The lip and jaw structure affect the placement. If the upper lip is fuller, the mouthpiece may te postioned slightly higher on the lip; if the lower jaw recedes, the mouthpiece will be positioned a bit farther down. The lower jaw should be exactly beneath the upper jaw, with the incisors aligned, making the lower jaw jut out in such position that it sends the column of air almost directly into the mouthpiece, neither excessively upward nor downward. Most students need to be encouraged to move their lower jaw forward to align the teeth and lips. ‘Aithough beginning players, as previously stated, are encouraged to center the mouthpiece both vertically and horizontally, a slight drift to one side or the other may occur with students who have uneven teeth; this drift should be 10 cause for alarm. The teacher must maintain a careful watch, however, to make sure the drift does not extend to the point where the mouthpiece placement becomes detrimental to the player. The direction of the air changes in different registers (more ‘© with larger mouthpieces)—generally the higher the register the tmore the air is directed downward, or toward the end of the cup asseen in Figure 21.3. The embouchure remains basically the same, but there is slight shifting of pressure from one lip to the other depending upon the register. Upper and lower lips and teeth may. ot remain perfectly vertically aligned, as the lips move into these Slightly different positions. (The head or the instrument may be Proted just enough to transfer pressure from one lip to another.) According to the brass pedagogue Donald Reinhardt, the direction f the airstream in conjunction with the degree of lip tension and ‘ir speed determines the pitch. In addition, the tongue directs and governs the size of the airstream through the embouchure, eneraly, articulations such as “doe” are used in the lower regis- ‘es and articulations such as “dee” are used in the upper registers: ‘hese two vowel sounds require a different placement of the back ° the tongue but use the same consonant for the beginning of * note, Articulations such as “toe” and “tee” are slightly more fined and are used for marcato or accented passages. FIGURE 21.3 Direction of airstream inside mouthpieceand dlymamics affect the size of the embouchure opening (aperture), the aperture becoming small fog higher notes and softer tones, Players who resort to a pucker for the lower register anda smile for the higher ee usually experience tension and fume. A more satisfactory solution seems to he in pivoting—that is, in change 10g the Position of the lower hy Because 18 not a crctal producing the “buzz.” Pivoting ean alo be accomplnheg Faising or lowering the lower hp by rolhng, itn and out or, extreme eases, by shghtly lowering the jaw. 7 He the cecal are sticiently far apart 1 will be etter to ct the right fechng an the bps. Some teoImpet pedigoye say that the Tips should form a small oval resembling the opening of an oboe reed. Beginning players may mine h ps should fi Noval ing the oy fan ob P mterpres phoe reed can help stents in prope this and open the lips too much, but the visual snagery of the opening of forming thes lps. Wat higher-putched! brass struments the opening so small that 3 can hardly be fel bythe per’ bur at can be seen with an embonchare viwahizer, An aperture that too open allows the ai € “spread” and the pe loses focus, The tone produced by a too-open embouchure will be soft and hollow with no cent resuliing tone often sounds airy or “fuzzy” and pitch will sag. When the embouchure is too closed, articulations wil (OF Fesomanice: the usually be very explosive, tones will be choked, and pitch will rise 4 mirror isan excellent way for the student to check the embouchure, mouthpiece plicernen instrument position, and general posture. Practicing in front 0 Embouchure Faults ive fault of a poor embouchure. Prew Too much mouthpiece pressure is the most common and the most destru affects the quality of tone, flexibility, endurance, and range. When the mouthpiece is pushed into the lips, the soung will be thin and hard with litele breath support, or the player overcompensates and the sound is harsh. Pressure shoul be only enough to create a seal between the instrument and the lips. An illustration in The Art of French Hom Playing shows the author playing the horn resting on a mantelpiece; his only point of contact with the instrument is his igs oy the mouthpiece. Herbert L. Clarke was famous for his apocryphal stunt of hitting high C with the horn suspended. from the ceiling by a string, Both examples serve as superb illustrations that little mouthpiece pressure is necessary Pressure restricts the flow of blood to the lips, causing them to tire quickly. The cure is to use less pressure, p remove the mouthpiece from the lips at every opportunity, and to increase air support, Insufficient ait or an underdeveloped embouchure is a cause of excessive mouthpiece pressure, as the player makes the lips vibrate by pulling the mouthpiece back into the lips rather than by relying on an adequate flow of air or firm comers of the mouth to create the lp vibration. Brass students should always be encouraged to rely on more air instead of a change of embouchure, and should regularly practice both long tones and lip sluts. ‘The player should feel as though the air is pushing the mouthpiece away from the lips rather than pushing the ps into the mouthpiece. When the lips are pushed into the mouthpiece (pucker), notes are scooped upward toward the center of the pitch. Also, the tone will be stuffy and dull. The lower-pitched brasses allow the player to assume a more relaxed embouchure that may give the feeling of more Puckering, although tuba players must maintain firm comers and prevent the embouchute from “caving in.” Beginners often produce a strange, pinched sound for which the cause is not readily apparent. This sound muv result from keeping the jaws too closed or bringing the teeth too close together. It may be caused by a lack of breath support, the player squeezing the throat to increase air velocity, or clamping the jaws together to keep the pitch up. To separate the jaws properly, hold a long tone while slowly raising and lowering the lower jaw, carefully liceing © identify the position where the best sound is obtained. The proper distance between the jaws differs for the trunpet and the tuba player. Air in the checks causes the lips to stretch at the center, destroying the setting and preventing the muscles ate comers of the mouth from working properly. The smiling embouchure has the same result as ar in the cheeks, sett the center of the embouchure and preventing a good tone. To be sure the mouthpiece is centered during lengthy practice sessions, the player should take the instrument from the lips at every opportunity and reposition it correctly. As postions ofthe lips begin to tee of become is fom constant contact with the mouthpiece, the mouthpiece will “slip” to a new position. As the embouchure sev ue mouthpisce will alway fit into the same “grooves” nicely and comfortably. One of Louis Amst ns pheromone, wa is, ably to play for hours seemingly without embouchure fatigue. Scholars have ck mene mouthpiece toa dif co ois having developed several embouchures. When he fle fatigue setting in. ifferent spot. This is not recommended for most players. ENDURANCE he pr Herbert L. Clarke said, “Endurance is 90 percent of “ormet playing.”? On any brass instrume! ; , a i " for practicine reovlarly is 90 percent of « 'ying.”* ss oo