Posted by Stefciu on May 04, 2003 at 02:10:19:
This is probably just too dumb, but... After a lesson with John Richards of Portland, OR, I have the information about tongue shape and placement for playing in different registers, as such: for the lower notes, use an "ooo" shape, and for the higher tones, an "eee" shape. This is REALLY valuable information, a it made a HUGE difference in my reange and tone, but since then, I've been struggling mightily with the actual practice. Without the instrument, I can feel perfectly well the placement of my tongue, and make the oo or ee beutifully. As soon as I put the instrument to my lips, that sensation seems to be gone! I'm right back to smashing the mouthpiece into my face to get to the upper registers...sigh... If I "feel" my tongue in the proper eee position, I get an ugly "quacking" tone.
My question is: Can any one offer any advice or pointers on "getting the hang of" the "tongue-as-venturi" idea that John was talking about?? It makes perfect sense rationally, but I can't seem to get the hang of it in practice!
Stefciu (I've seen there's already one, so I won't use my regular name) Stefan Puchalski