Being persecuted for the Truth

[nvidal]

Did Mr. Adam ever discuss the backlash created by his, at the time, controversial way of looking at the trumpet?

As I continue on my personal chop journey, constantly striving for a more beautiful, bigger, opulent sound, I find the random Bill Adam tips to be startling in their accuracy, but things that are the result of having a beautiful sound, not the cause.

Examples
1. Absolutely no need to correct pipe length via triggers even on small trumpets. "Something" in the soft pallet absolutely can tune every note, but it's a passive tuning, really impossible to explain the sensation. But I do know people reacted negatively to this, saying, oh, Mr. Adam's students have bad C#, Ds, Low G, etc, because they don't use the trigger

2. The use of Copius amounts of air to blow the embouchure into place. I've heard this reflected negatively by saying kids who try the Adam Routine/Method play too loud.

3. The Firmness outside the corners of the mouth. This was a really strange one, but then you can much better see physical tension, even in some of the pros that we all admire

I mean, based on the quality of Mr. Adam's students as well as his long life of dedication to the Art of Trumpet, people react very positively when they hear the name Bill Adam, assuming they heard of him at all, which happens more than you would think when asking some of today's pro's.

I truly love hearing any and all stories about Mr. Adam and his lessons, the creativity in his teaching devices (the 3 ps, the F card, etc.)

Thanks Mr. Adam. RIP

[oxleyk]

Do you know that he WAS persecuted or are you just being offended on his behalf?

All I know of Mr. Adam is what I've read here on TH and I've never read any of these things.

[Mike Sailors]

"Persecuted" is an inaccurate way to describe the situation you're discussing.
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www.mikesailors.com

[tommy t.]

"Bill Adam is one of the most esteemed trumpet pedagogues in the last half century. His students are playing and teaching throughout the United States and around the world. His arrival onstage was marked by an extended standing ovation from the large crowd, paying tribute to the master teacher. ITG President Steve Chenette took the opportunity to thank Mr. Adam for his contributions to the trumpet world, and presented him with the 2004 ITG Award of Merit." (From the transcript of the ITG presentation of its highest recognition.)

Jokingly accused of using the "Think System," Prof. Adam retired as "professor emeritus" and his students are widely seen on the professional stage and populate quite a few university trumpet studios. I wouldn't worry about how he enjoyed his life and how successful his methods were.

For you who don't know what this is all about. Prof. Adam didn't discuss the mechanics of the horn or the physiology of the chops. His basic approach (grossly over simplified by me - who was never his student) was "blow through the horn and listen until you hear something you like and then concentrate on playing that way." He never wrote a method book and his guidance of students progressed by directing them to blow something that, when it sounded good, would be a good exercise.

That was sometimes a kind of controversial approach among some at the IU music school, but my understanding has always been that even those who disagreed with his method were more "humorously tolerant" than they were "persecutional."

Tommy T. (a failed trumpet student from another institution who hung around IU long enough to get a degree in government)
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Actually, I hate music. I just do this for the money.

[nvidal]

[trumpet_cop]

Maybe we could hear some of these things better explained from a student who directly studied with Adam in regards to not using the slides. Any player who is going to play efficiently will tell you that using your body in order to some way manipulate pitches in tune is a waste of energy when the horn can be adjusted to make the note not only in tune, but still RESONATE as well.

The embouchure cannot be properly formed and used efficiently without air, which I think most people will agree on. the lips being brought together after being blown apart by the air is what causes the vibration. Make sure you avoid tensing up though, as it will be evident in your sound.

[razeontherock]

Mr Adam's ideas re: intonation might be summed up with the suggestion that whatever notes naturally play out of tune, that's caused by something we do. Notice that another way of saying that same thing is to adapt to our horn's quirks via PRACTICE. He said mostly 0 about using tuning slides in performance, this was primarily a practice room thing. Also, embouchure is only one variable; all sorts of other things can be 'adjusted' to affect intonation. I think a big part of his statements on this point had to do with the mental approach: if we suspect our A on top of the staff to be sharp, will we react by playing it even sharper than we would otherwise? Trumpet players are far more prone to these sorts of issues than we are to ANY problems in normally manufactured equipment.

The concept itself is benign; its the application of it ...

[nvidal]

From an article in the sticky on this forum

"You have to pronounce the pitch. And you have to pronounce the freedom and flow of the breath through that sound. The air must flow freely through the horn without you restricting it, to the point where you don’t have the feeling that you’re making the note, but you’re floating the note. The trumpet then becomes an extension of your thoughts. All this time, we’re trying to increase the ability, not only to hear the note, but the ability to have the breath be free. When you develop the long tones that way, the embouchure and breathing should develop naturally. "

From an old TPIN? Tip 4 in particular.
4 "Something" happens at the back of the soft pallet to assist the changing of the pitch

I have found this soft pallet observation to be spot on. I feel when I am floating my tone properly, which comes through truly relaxed and full breathing, everything is exactly where I "think/sing" it, to the point where on even an Eb and Piccolo trumpet, all one needs to do is really sing it and blow through all the notes ala Vincent Czicowitz flow (sp)? And likewise, when my sound isn't right, then things are more pitchy (but everything is off, tonguing, slurring, fingers, hearing, etc.)

To me, this soft pallet feeling was a very liberating day, one that has helped me to really reduce any tension in thinking about equipment.

What I am working on most of all, is not consciously think about anything but the blow, but that can be very challenging when my mind is anything but peaceful.

Is this what some of the Adam students reading this can relate to?

[Dan O'Donnell]

HHHmmm...

I think there are plenty examples where Chris Botti does not play too loud.

I sat just a few feet away from him while he was playing the intro to "Embraceable You" at New York's Blue Note Jazz Club.

He forgot to turn on his wireless mic and I could barely hear him.

I was not a student of Mr. Adam however, I continue to have the uttmost respect for him and his teachings.

I've tried to learn many of his concepts and principles in order to apply them into my playing.

Just one example is his simple approach to "blowing the leadpipe" which has taken my tone quality to the next level.

I recently used this and other concepts (exercises) of Mr. Adams during a (2) hour lesson with a 13 year old young lady who was getting ready to audition for Advanced Band in her school when playing in a middle chair in the Beginning Band.

After several weeks of "smart" practicing and "feeling" her music; her audition landed her on 1st Chair 1st Trumpet.

Mr. Adams legacy and positive impact to Trumpet players will live on forever!
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God Bless,
Dan O'Donnell

"Praise Him with the sound of the Trumpet:..."
Psalms 150:3

[razeontherock]

[Crazy Finn]

[Daniel Barenboim]

I heard someone doing the Bill Adam warmup once. That's A LOT of volume for the first notes of the day! Not even George did that when he was in Chicago.

DB

[Don Herman rev2]

On intonation: A few years ago at the ITG conference after Mr. Adams spoke I had the audacity to question him on the intonation bit. I noted that the physics of the horn dictate that some notes will be out of tune, no way around it, but agreed we needed to play them properly. I just wondered why not use the slides? His answer, after a quasi-pitying, quasi-knowing look (I am sure he'd heard it before!) was simply "hear them in tune, play them in tune". He said a few more words of explanation, and showed an understanding of the physics issue I raised, but the simple concept of proper (mental) sound models, listening, hearing, and playing, stuck with me.

Now if only I was as good at practicing what he preached!

He was an amazing person and player.
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[razeontherock]