Related tensions in windplayers' bodies


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Posted by Klaus on December 10, 2001 at 21:59:30:

Not long, but terribly long:

In a thread down the board RD signs a post, where he has mentioned the qualities of the redone pistons of his York Master BBb:

Rick "if the fourth was just a little closer to my actual finger..." Denney

Having worked a bit too many hours, that were intended for sleep, on getting some Christmas arranging finished to be used in its actual season (I did this with love, no complaints), I planned to reply Rick along this line:

With all your visits to renowned tuba workshops, that make a living out of restoring CC tubas to BBb dittos, you must have gotten some contacts, that could apply the appropriate plastic surgery to your right pinkie.


But then my brain shortcutted in a much more serious direction:

Rick has complained two matters in his relationship to his York Master: the 4th piston placement in relation to his pinkie. And the fact that he does not feel too comfortable in the lower register.

I might see a connection between these two problems.

Aside of brasses I have taught recorders. In many ways they are very primitive instruments, as they do not offer the same ease of wind control as do flutes and brasses. And the most common soprano and treble sizes generally come without any keys at all. The last fact actually is the "key" to the problem I will try to demonstrate.

Human hands superficially look all the same within the two gender determined groups of people. But finger lengths, and even relative finger lengths between index through pinkie, vary immensely from person to person. As do the angulation of the single joints.

That is why it is so important, that kids are started on three piece sopranos. The foot joint shall be rotable in relation to the middle joint to accomodate the most fleshy part of the tip of the pinkie to the lower double hole.

Why do I elaborate on this here on a tuba board. For that reason, that there is a teaching rule in the recorder world, that says: If there are any hand/finger tensions, you can hear it in the tone. Because finger/hand tensions unsciously transform into tensions of the internal windways of a human.

Recorders, as all wind instruments, need hard and controlled work by all of the human breathing apparatus. But the starting point needs to be a total state of relaxation. For all wind players.

From that state of relaxation the wind player, with a developed technique, shall be able to tense his/hers diaphragm, abdominal muscles, and diverse types of embouchure muscles. And still be able to keep the lower tongue and throat areas plus the vocal chords in a totally relaxed state (maybe with some very controlled deviations that one could call "singing by imaginary vocals"; please do not involve the vocal chords).

Defects in this relaxiation does not hinder brass playing totally. I guess most of you have heard the amateur players, that can not descend beyond the fingering 1+2 of the 3rd partial. When/if they might hit the 2nd partial, it is always way sharp. As is the 1st finger 5th partial always way flat. Some of them may even earn a reputation of local "virtuoso" if the surroundings are sufficiently humble (towards anything but the nature of music). Their sound can be quite bright, but hardly ever singing and pleasant.

But in recorders any lack of relaxation will come out as an unbearably ugly tone. Intonation is a term, that can not be applied in that situation. All good teachers start working on body posture if this problems comes up. But sometimes some raspiness remains. That is the point, where a search for finger tensions should start. The problems almost always are related to the 3rd and 4th fingers (tuba terms) of the right hand. Sometimes a slight rotation of the lower joint will solve the problem. Sometimes the 1st and 2nd fingers must be moved downwards from the positions, that seemed optiomal for these fingers in their own right. Wrist, elbow, and shoulder angulations must be worked on. Mostly that will solve the problem. In the very rare case one must invest in a custom made recorder with keys for the lower holes.

I once had a very young and extremely clever student. When he should be transferred to the treble to follow normal patterns of development, his hands were not ready. But his dedicated parents financed, that I found a sopranino to him (they are more expensive, if they shall have a tolerable intonation). The key (F) is the same as in the treble, so we took the treble books on sopranino until his hands were ready.

A long road to the point of my shortcutting:

Is your discomfort with the 4th YM piston causing a hidden tension in you, Rick? One test could be to tune the YM up to your Grand piano and then have your wife repeatedly strike an F major chord starting an octave or two over your low F (right pedal down). Then try to play, together with the piano, the low F using your right index on the 4th valve. If you can make the two of you feel like sitting in a cathedral, I might have been right in my suspicions.

The remedy then will not only be to find a device to bring the 4th piston touchpoint closer to the touchpoint of the 3rd piston.

In a previous thread, dont remember when, a number of us, including you and me, discussed diverse add-ons like glued coins. As long as they do not touch each others, there is a great deal of freedom to place such add-ons so that the combined spread of the fingers 1 through 4 will be minimised. And then there even is some freedom to find the best angle of the wrist and of the elbow. If that means moving the thumb ring, then you will have to do that.

I should make a living writing bad novels! Thank you for descending this far.

Klaus



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