Posted by Howard on February 14, 1999 at 17:13:14:
In Reply to: thin tone posted by joe on February 14, 1999 at 15:40:18:
Many years ago, a bass trombone player from the Warner Bros. studio orchestra told me to hang an 18" piece of heavy paper from a fully-raised music stand, and from a distance of about 12" blow against the bottom of the paper. The goals were to keep the air stream full and steady, and to keep the paper blown back for as many counts as possible without letting the paper come back towards me. I was playing trumpet in those days so he suggested I use the syllable "TU" to open the throat while blowing on the paper. He then told me to use this same air stream in blowing THROUGH the trumpet. He suggested I have a mental image of the air stream going through the horn and out across the room. With rigorous follow-ups at each weekly lesson (he was a nasty, mean SOB!), I was able to make gains in overall playing more rapidly than with any previous teacher. After more than 50 years of playing all the brass instruments, I still include the paper-blowing routine in my practice schedule. (I use the syllable "TAW" for the big tuba air stream.)