Joined: 03 Dec 2001 Posts: 2681 Location: Queens and upstate, NY
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 8:13 am Post subject:
Yeah man, I think you should work with that MF piece. I see where you’re comingg from. It took me a couple of months to learn to play that style of piece. What I think it will do is teach you to learn what muscles to relax and will build the muscles that are needed to play in this relaxed fashion. I would recommend just spending as much as your practice time as you can on that piece playing fun music that you enjoy - the beauty of this approach is that the mouthpiece should just automatically adjust your playing mechanism as the days pass. If you are gigging, of course you want to keep your balance on your main mouthpiece - especially if it’s a 1C.. That’s a big diameter change so, not to lose your chops on that big diameter, you want to keep your chops up on that piece. I would think the relaxation factor and shift in embouchure would take effect on that piece. For years, Lynn played a diameter that was way too big for him. It caused him an injury eventually, but he still could play it and do lead stuff and what he needed to do. So I wouldn’t try to play lead or loud high note stuff on a 1C style of piece.. but if you are a classical player and/or are playing soft, small group jazz without using the extreme high register - I think you’ll notice all the good benefits transferring over to that piece for those styles of playing. Hope this helps! All the very best, Lex _________________ Mpcs: Jim New-Manley Jazz1/Jazz2/Jazz4/Lead3. Legends MF1. Reeves 39EX/HV. Frost 39MVD. Flugel: Jim NewMF3. Jim New-Manley F1+F2. Pickett MF. Reeves HF.
Trumpets: THE LYNNZHORN!!/Stomvi Forte pocket
Flugel: Manchester Brass Pro Model
Www.LexSamu.com
Joined: 03 Dec 2001 Posts: 2681 Location: Queens and upstate, NY
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 8:15 am Post subject:
Trumpetingbynurture - also wanted to thank you for writing in...I picked up Lynn's Xpiece this morning as I'm practicing.. I forgot what a challenge it is to play compared to even the other MF pieces.. I think Lynn designed it this way to train for maximum efficiency..I'm gonna start using it in my practice sessions and see how it translates over to my efficiency on the gig with my normal pieces. Best, Lex _________________ Mpcs: Jim New-Manley Jazz1/Jazz2/Jazz4/Lead3. Legends MF1. Reeves 39EX/HV. Frost 39MVD. Flugel: Jim NewMF3. Jim New-Manley F1+F2. Pickett MF. Reeves HF.
Trumpets: THE LYNNZHORN!!/Stomvi Forte pocket
Flugel: Manchester Brass Pro Model
Www.LexSamu.com
Joined: 03 Dec 2001 Posts: 2681 Location: Queens and upstate, NY
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 8:16 am Post subject:
Yes, you can get the piece - it's called 'Mindless Hardware Technology' click down below on the left on the video tbnurture sent.. I think you just email Lynn and he'll get it out to you. Best, Lex _________________ Mpcs: Jim New-Manley Jazz1/Jazz2/Jazz4/Lead3. Legends MF1. Reeves 39EX/HV. Frost 39MVD. Flugel: Jim NewMF3. Jim New-Manley F1+F2. Pickett MF. Reeves HF.
Trumpets: THE LYNNZHORN!!/Stomvi Forte pocket
Flugel: Manchester Brass Pro Model
Www.LexSamu.com
I finished my daily routine's about an hour ago and just unboxed the Xpiece and reversible rim.
I had already seen several of Lynn's videos. I also just now read the one page "users manual" that came with the piece.
Next, I put the piece to my chops and pretended to know what I was doing by blowing into the piece trying to mimic Lynn on those videos.
Guess what happened first:…… nothing..... not a darn thing, except a lot of hot air🌪coming out of the peace.
I then relaxed for about 30 minutes drinking a Rocky Mountain spring water created Coors 🍺
Then I tried it again while keeping an eye on the tuner. I took a deep breath and "let her rip" ..........woooow ...... the tuner said...... drum tool please ...... G
No, it was not just G above the staff it was double G above the staff. The last time I was able to do that (on occasion) was 25 years ago, when I was still strong and pretty (now I am just pretty; at least that is what my wife tells me. )
Conclusion: To get that first screamer out of the Xpiece requires chugging down a Coors banquet 🍺
Then I tried it a second time. Nothing. So maybe I need to chug down another Coors banquet......🍺
All kidding aside, that one lonely double high G sure made me excited.
So I decided that for now the best thing to do is to just hit the sack as soon as I am done with writing this post from my iPhone.
I will start tomorrow morning seriously doing the MF protocol following Lynn's recommendations and adding my own methods in the form of drinking Coors banquet 🍺🍺🍺
Trumpetingbynurture - also wanted to thank you for writing in...I picked up Lynn's Xpiece this morning as I'm practicing.. I forgot what a challenge it is to play compared to even the other MF pieces.. I think Lynn designed it this way to train for maximum efficiency..I'm gonna start using it in my practice sessions and see how it translates over to my efficiency on the gig with my normal pieces. Best, Lex
Sounds like I'd better get myself one too!
It's odd, I was tooting away a fair bit on the MF yesterday and there was initially a 'woah, my face is tired' and then as I played more, somethings changed a bit and it became not really fatiguing to play on at all.
The catch is that as with a lot of lead mouthpieces I'ver tried I get to a certain point and I just get no vibration at all. It's normally around High E. I got a Curry 50M today, and that doesn't have that problem at all, which is awesome.
But in terms of using the MF as a training tool, I wonder if that's something that matters, or if that's something that will change over time. I guess only one way to find out!
I just have to wait for my next pay check so I can hit Lynn up for the x piece.
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 10:39 am Post subject: Follow Up - MF Protocol
Thank you all for the comments/input. I would add this as a very zen summary. Maynard was extraordinarily successful because of this:
He took the apparent liability of chop weakness, and turned it into an asset.....
Everyone has enough embouchure strength to play whatever is required in the world of trumpet. This includes my wife and small children. If you doubt this, ask anyone, trumpet player or not, to form an embouchure. Then, squeeze same laterally with your hand (if they let you.... ). It's pretty strong, yes? However, if you rely on chop tension at the vibrating surface to produce the pitch, you're in for a world of frustration. AND you're destined to thin out as you ascend, due to the increased chop tension employed by this approach.
All of this works best with a small v-cup, but implementation of the MF Protocol is dramatically accelerated with the Mindless Hardware Methodology. Look carefully at my chops here through the Reversible Rim. What do you see? My chops look virtually the same on each note, always vibrating all the way across. Looking at my chops alone, without hearing the pitch/sound, you would be hard pressed to tell me which note I'm playing. More importantly, when I had Maynard buzz on a rim in 1974, he did the same. Hmmm....
There is virtually no difference in the relaxed vibrating surface produced by a 5 hour hard blow, than there is by 5 days off..... And I will again remind everyone that air carries the day, not chops.....
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 4:44 pm Post subject: An unexpected welcome advantage of the XPiece
Second day ....... I am using the XPiece per Lynn's recommendations ...... it is progressing better than I had expected ....
A pleasant extra is that I am finding the relative intonation on EACH of my horns has noticeably improved. This includes the typical sharp notes C#, D, E (below) and the typical flat E (above).
I am curious if anybody else has experienced this as well?
Joined: 13 Nov 2001 Posts: 9830 Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 9:38 pm Post subject: Re: Follow Up - MF Protocol
lynn9544 wrote:
And I will again remind everyone that air carries the day, not chops.....
Amen to that!
I'm reminded of what my teacher Claude Gordon used to say: "Let the air do the work. Let the air save the lips."
Hey Lynn, My wife Anne and I had Pete Bresciani and his girlfriend Lori as guests here in Chicago for a week - it was Pete's first time here and we had a blast! When we were talking trumpet stuff and you came up, Pete said to me words to the effect of, he'd heard just about every high note player live, in person, and of all of them, you and only you have the exact sound Maynard had. I loaned them our Cherokee for the week (no reason to waste money on rental cars!) and I knew he'd be familiar with it as he used to have one. He told me YOU got him into Jeep Cherokees and you used to take him out racing in the desert in yours. Cool stuff!
Joined: 26 Mar 2002 Posts: 397 Location: The Great White North
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 7:41 am Post subject:
I continue to tinker with the Protocol. In the video Lynn says you need to "aggressively experiment" to find the ideal set-up that works for you. I think that's very true. Everyone has unique physical characteristics, e.g., lip shape, jaw, teeth, etc. The Protocol provides a general set of guidelines, but each player needs to find the precise way to adapt it to their unique set-up. It evolves over time as you make slight changes, finding things that work a little better, then more change that builds on it further. Over this past week I changed the approach to how I was unfurling and have realized a step-change in results. When employing the Protocol notes above the staff are coming out at a volume of triple forte. I'm playing notes I've never truly played before, sustained and loud up to A's and B's above high C, it's almost too hard to believe. This step change was spontaneous, but required my searching for the ideal set-up that works for me. I find my corners are getting a huge work-out and are the weak link at the moment. I also think I need to find a way to relax the the center a bit more so I'm not having to put so much air through the horn, it takes a lot to initially break through the resistance in my chops when they are set via the protocol. I'm also finding that the following day after fully recovering that my non-protocol playing is more open and vibrant and notes in my non-protocol range come easier. Still not playing melodies up there like Lynn so famously does, but blasting out high A's tells me I'm on the right track. Again, I play maybe 1-2 hours per week, so none of this is a function of building strength per se in the traditional sense, though I think my corners have gotten stronger and that is an important part of the puzzle. Developing the ability to seamlessly connect the protocol to the rest of my range will likely take a lot more time. _________________ MF Fan
__________
L.A. Benge 5x
Holton MF3
Lead Trumpet - My Basement Jazz Orchestra
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). It's pretty strong, yes? However, if you rely on chop tension at the vibrating surface to produce the pitch, you're in for a world of frustration. AND you're destined to thin out as you ascend, due to the increased chop tension employed by this approach.
