mouthpiece buzzing

[cheeky chops]

Hi All
I have been learning to play the trumpet for over 3 and half years now .
I have followed Pop`s principles for almost as long .
I have been in an improver band for almost 8 months and a few people have commented on how good my sound is .
The one thing i haven't been doing is mouthpiece buzzing (big mistake )
For the past week i have been mouthpiece buzzing for half an hour and i am amazed at the difference to my sound and less tension has made in such a short time .
I reckon i am one of the least experienced in the band and my timing lets me down big time which is something i am now getting better at because of the confidence i have gained in producing a good solid note and sound .
My main reason for posting this is in hope that any learners out there will read it and carry on practising and introduce mouthpiece buzzing into there routine sooner rather then later .

Thanks for reading .
John
PS excuse my grammar i didn't have the best education .
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John

[Craig Swartz]

Most people find it best to play the mouthpiece as you do the instrument rather than "buzz" it. The actual buzzing can be a tremendous detriment. Semantics, but there is a difference. Glad you've found something that helps you.

[Billy B]

If it works for you, fine; but I wouldn't recommend it.
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Bill Bergren

[cheeky chops]

[1jazzyalex]

There's a book called The Buzzing Book you may find interesting.

Opinions seem to vary from "don't do it" to "do it lots" so .... if it works, great.
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Yamaha 8335LA with Blessing 3C, 5C, Schilke 11A4A

[dstdenis]

[cheiden]

James Stamp is often quoted as a major proponent of buzzing. But I have it on good authority that he only ever advocated for just a few minutes of buzzing, executed in a very specific way. Any more than that he thought would be counterproductive.

My teacher told that he's had to fix a good number of players that were the victim of too much buzzing.

If lots of buzzing seems to help, great. But be on the lookout when you reach the point of diminishing returns, or worse.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart

[JoseLindE4]

Most of my practice time is sing/buzz/play and I've never run into trouble with too much buzzing. It's a very tiny wind instrument (so are the lips), so focus on the free and relaxed use of air. That doesn't mean you have to blow a ton of air, but rather you focus on wind rather than forcing your lips to make buzzing noises (they'll still make buzzing noises though). It's an issue of conception and frame of reference.

[Nonsense Eliminator]

Broadly, "I did a thing for a week and got better so that's the way to go" is generally not sound reasoning.

If there's something wrong with your playing that buzzing for a half an hour a day is fixing, great. But most people -- even people who incorporate buzzing into their everyday practice and advocate it and write books about it -- would find that to be way too much. Be cautious.
_________________
Richard Sandals
NBO

[JVL]

Mcgovnor that unfortunately passed recently (requiescat in pace), posted here on TH his experience about mpc buzzing. It was very interesting to see his opinion s evolution according to long term, how many hours a day, etc.
I am not able right now to put a link to that thread, but will do it if nobody can remember it.

Otherwise, i agree about not blowing/buzzing loud the mpc otherwise you disconnect your playing from the way of playing the trumpet.
Will try to post Mcgovnor link about it.
And of course, make your own expeience and opinion.
Best

[Mzony]

Link

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Zony

[JVL]

hello

here's the link :
http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1278113
Let's have a thought for Mcgovnor
Best

[cheeky chops]

Thanks for the comments and links .
It seems to work for me and i will be keeping mouthpiece buzzing in my routine .
Parp


John
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John

[PayDayCon92]

It all depends on personal preference. I only buzz for about 5 minutes a day on the stamp exercises.

[kevin_soda]

I used to do some mouthpiece buzzing every day after a brief warm up. I was doing pattern C-D-E-F-G-F-G-F-G-F-E-D-C and I would proceed upward chromatically as high as I could without straining. I was trying to improve the quality of the buzz to make it more tone and less raspberry.

I believe that there can be value in it but I eventually found that it's too far removed from actual trumpet playing. Playing the mouthpiece/leadpipe has been more effective at improving tone production. You can hear the resonance and it's easier to connect with the sound. It's too easy to do it "right" on the mouthpiece and wrong on the horn.

It is a valuable test for aperture control though and it's helpful in understanding how close our notes really are. Proceed with caution.
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Kevin

[Pops]

Buzzing should be done in short spurts. 15-30 seconds then play the same thing on the trumpet.
Even I would never just buzz as long as you said.

Bud Herseth used to say that he played the mouthpiece an hour throughout the day. He said that he played a section of music on his mouthpiece and then he played that same section on the trumpet (maybe even several times). He might go 10 minutes or he might go an hour before he played anything else on the mouthpiece.

Done in short spurts you get by far the best results.

Long sessions are for very special reasons and NOT for everyday practice.
_________________
Clint 'Pops' McLaughlin
You can always Google me.
50 years Teaching. Teaching and writing trumpet books is ALL I do.
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