Posted by Cliff on November 15, 2001 at 20:34:53:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Practicing Highnotes with a Trumpet MP posted by Scott Mendoker on November 14, 2001 at 11:50:03:
While we're talking about high notes... I now play very little, but am trying to get my chops back into shape (at least so I don't embarass myself). Something Scott said made me recall something from the Farkas book. I think it went something like this "higher pitches are achieved by shortening, and thickening of the lips". I put it in quotes, but I'm sure that it is not a direct quote. In fact it may way off base. I was also thinking that direction of the air stream played a role in playing higher notes. Should it play a role, or should the air go straight in and lets the lips do the work? And is this air stream direction the theory behind the pivot system? Should the jaw recced some to let the upper lip go over the lower? i'm sorry if I ask simple questions, but my private instructor in college wasn'rt estremely verbose about such things. All he really told me about shifting embouchures was do it as little as possible. Seemed to work fine, but I would like more learned input from all of you good folks. Replying to this post some a somewhat logical place to present these questions. BTW, I recieved no instruction on how to play the tuba until college. I had many bad habits. One was a smiling embouchure. I tried everything to break it. Trying some Inner Game techniques, I started hanging a shaving mirror on the stand whenever I played. After seeing the contortions, and looks of pain on my face, I gradually changed my embouchure to what I assume was more correct. This is probably a common technique in the tuba world, but I never heard of it before. (North Georgia English coming thru).
Cliff