Re: Resonance


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Posted by Steve Oberheu on October 31, 2000 at 05:11:50:

In Reply to: Resonance posted by Tim C on October 25, 2000 at 22:36:34:

Hey Tim!

What I found to work wonderfully for me as far as a more resonant sound, see if you can get a mouthpiece rim (like the mouthpiece visualizer that Arnold Jacobs used a lot...or just saw the rim off of an old mouthpiece).

After you warm up a bit on the horn (say, 10 minutes), do some buzzing just on the rim (scales, triads, any kind of pattern) and really focus on the vibration of your lips. There's no need to do more than 5 minutes of this at a time to get the result you want. If the vibrating source (your lips) is producing a good pitch and is steady, it will sound that much better going through the horn. Think of your horn as an amplifier that just carries the sound you make with your embouchre instead of what makes your sound.

Also, of equal importance, make sure you're playing with an open oral cavity. For instance, an "oh" (as in "o-cean") will produce a more resonant sound than an "ah" or "ee." And, surprisingly, is more flexible.

As with any recommendations of this variety, be sure to do plenty of experimentation and not just take my word for it. Take the info and do your own calculations on how much you need to do to get the result you want.

Best of luck!

Steve Oberheu


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