Posted by Andy on May 20, 2003 at 10:26:48:
In Reply to: hot air revisited posted by GC on May 20, 2003 at 09:27:29:
Bravo. It is always exciting to realize improvement when you work on making changes in your playing. A couple of thoughts that might help top further clarify things for you.
If one thinks of the air stream for a brass player as being analogous to a bow for a string player, think of the speed of the air as the cause for the change in dynamic. The louder we play, the faster the air moves and the softer we play, the slower the air moves.
However, whether loud or soft, fast or slow, the air is always under very low pressure. Think of the air stream moving across the lips like the string player lightly resting the bow on the strings. The problem we usually encounter is when trying to play louder, we drastically increase the air pressure, resulting in less efficient vibration in the lips, and amore strident tone quality. In other words, move the bow fast, but don't grind it into the strings with a lot of pressure.
The CSO brass players were tested years ago and found that the air pressure in their mouths was the same when playing the same pitches, regardless of instrument. Mr. Jacobs and Mr. Herseth both registered the same pressure when playing the equivalent of middle C on the piano. As a result, Mr.Jacobs always said that as tuba players, we shouldn't be working hard when the trumpet players are goofing off.