Herbert L. Clarke did TCE!

[oj]

Clarke indicates in his book "How I Became a Cornetist" how many methods he tried.

Would you be supprised to find out that he also used his tongue in the way described in Trumpet Secrets?

An why not. Jules Levy did. One would expect that Clarke learned from Levy (he was older than Clarke).

In a letter from Clarke to Fred Elias dating 10/11/1940 he says:

Dear Fred:
Up to your old tricks again with your betting on high tones. I wrote you last Monday from my country home in in Garden Grove, posted it in Santa Ana, where we had dinner, and found yours of the 4th when I returned Tuesday at Long Beach.
So you still want to increase your range of the cornet: Especially at your age. Well, there is a trick I used to practice when travelling with Sousa, when my lips did not seem to respond after being up all night with local town bands, and playing my usual solos the next day. You know the condition, eh? Well, by practicing this "stunt" carefully, knowing just how to get each interval, correctly from high "C" up, I have often reached two octaves above "G" in the top space of the scale...Sometimes higher.
This takes no strength, power nor strain. It is so simple that one is astounded at the results. Of course one must have a good embouchure and control of thde lip muscles. It is difficult to explain, but easy to demonstrate, and is scientific.
When you form your lips to porduce the above "G," just touch your tongue, very slightly, to your bottom lip, the tip, which throws the tip of the lower lip up towards the tip of upper lip, using much power. The tone is produced to the inside of upper mouthpiece at an angle of 45 degrees, instead of blowing straight into the throat of the mouthpiece as one does in playing the cornet.
Try it, after you have gotten the idea. I can do it without any embouchure, any time. But it must be practiced to get results.

More about Fred Elias here:

http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/articles/elias/

Ole

P.S.
In his older days Clarke also did buzzing a'la Elias.

[Trptbenge]

So, are you saying that Clarke invented TCE or just came across it by accident? Clarke was a remarkable player and director. His Clarke Technical Studies are something a player can use in his/her practice every single day they practice and come away with something positive.

Mike

[Lex Grantham]

<<The tone is produced to the inside of upper mouthpiece at an angle of 45 degrees, instead of blowing straight into the throat of the mouthpiece as one does in playing the cornet. >>

I am supposing that HLC was saying that he was blowing the air stream toward the bottom of the mouthpiece cup???

<<Try it, after you have gotten the idea. I can do it without any embouchure, any time. But it must be practiced to get results. >>

And here...what does he mean by "without any embouchure"...confusing???

Sincerely,

Lex Grantham

[oj]

Who says anything about "inventing"?

Read Clarke's autobiography - then you will see that he tried everything. He was really a self-taught player. It is possible that he got this idea from Jules Levy (see his book from 1895), but it could also be "floating around".

If he call it "no embouchure" or "a trick", that is what he felt it was. The tongue was a much greater part of the embouchure. It was Civliletti who termed it TCE. But Callet and Civiletti clearly state that they rediscovered this (see the foreword in Trumpet Secret), or my interview with Civiletti (here is a quote:)

Jerome had been planning to write a new book for some time. After years of drawing side views of the embouchure with his free hand and writing explanations of the Tongue position in relation to the teeth and lips, he realized that he had found the Secrets of the great players. The sub-title, “Secrets of the Tongue Controlled Embouchure” came to me while waiting in an airport in Germany and re-reading the drafts. I realized that the Tongue controlled the entire Embouchure.

Ole

[ This Message was edited by: oj on 2004-03-02 08:46 ]

[goldenhornplayer]

All that is being discussed here goes right along with things Jerome has told me himself. He has been reluctant to take full credit for developing the tongue-controlled embouchure. He is quite the historian and has studied diligently to discover how many of the great players really played. He is convinced, and I believe he is right, that the forward tongue was used hundreds of years ago by many great players. While Jerome doesn't claim credit for this, I believe he has taken this approach to new levels with his own daily practice and experimentation. We would probably all be surprised to learn how many of today's great players use the forward tongue approach. I'm convinced that many of these greats don't realize how they play and simply can't explain it. Jerome says he can tell by the unique sound when a player is using the forward tongue. This kind of expertise comes from years of study and listening to literally thousands of players. Further, I think it's very possible that Jerome won't receive the credit he really deserves until after he's gone. That it so often the case, it seems.

[tptguy]

Great post. There is still so much to uncover about the greats. So often what people do, think they do, and say they do are all different.

<<When you form your lips to porduce the above "G," just touch your tongue, very slightly, to your bottom lip, the tip, which throws the tip of the lower lip up towards the tip of upper lip, using much power.>>

When I first started TCE I was very worried that the technique would spread my lips apart. Jerry said that the result would actually be just the opposite and I've learned that's true. As Mr. Clarke is pointing out, the lips actually are "thrown" together when TCE is done properly. Concerns about Open vs Closed just take care of themselves. Best regards, Kyle