Adam's approach to air

[NCTrumpet]

One of the first things pointed out to me in my introduction to Bill Adam's routine and philosophy was that I lacked the proper "fullness" in my sound (gee...I thought I always sounded pretty good). My instructor and I did a LOT of talking. I quickly learned that there are two things responsible for mistakes on a trumpet: lack of concentration on the music; and poor breath support. And I had both.

After I learned to quit analyzing the physics of my playing, I began a regime of playing where each tone I produced was a study in 'fullness.' (Let's avoid the word 'loud', eventhough that was my initial take on it.)

It took about five days (about six hours a day) for my entire approach to the trumpet to change, radically. Developed a lot of power in my sound. Breathing was never better. All aspects of my playing reached a new level. After a month of this, holy cow.

But I am now out of that educational environment, temporarily, and I think I have lost my perspective on just what 'fullness' means. I'm back to the old grind for a while. Nobody around town seems to be trying to move to the next level. It is rare that I have a good 'room' to practice in. And I'm trying to rely on my memory to keep things at the top. Not practicing six hours a day might have something to do with it. But I do get 1-2 hours daily outside of gigs.

Enough rambling.

With what degree of volume do you guys play/practice? Do your collegues think you're nuts? How about breathing exercises? I know there are some people who put a lot of stock in AIR, and I'd just like to hear. Thanks.

JC.

[Yoinks]

Well, when I start routine each day, I try to start out pretty medium volume or soft, but it often ends up getting pretty loud, because that is my natural volume when I just relax and let the air pour out the horn. However, it is important to play as much soft as you do loud everyday. You are right though, fullness and volume are not the same. One thing that helps is to listen for a full set of balanced overtones in your sound. If you have ever heard Mr. Adam play in person, he practically breaks your eardrums with the overtones he produces.

[Emb_Enh]

JC WROTE>>>

>>>With what degree of volume do you guys play/practice?

....mf+
[meaning that it's a little louder than mezzoforte, but not forte]

>>>Do your collegues think you're nuts?

...what's it got to do with them??

>>> How about breathing exercises?

....I never do them [you might need to]

>>> I know there are some people who put a lot of stock in AIR, and I'd just like to hear.


.....AIR support is VERY important to me at ALL volumes as this helps me to keep the mpc. pressure low.....including in legit/classical playing. I've just put up a clip of Cicowicz flow study #30 @

http://www.r-o-d-d-y-t-r-u-m-p-e-t.cc/legit.html

Remember to keep your sound centered at ALL volumes!!!

Roddy o-iii<O

http://www.R-o-d-d-y-T-r-u-m-p-e-t.cC

[PH]

Mr. Adam has his students play at varying volumes and even gets them to aspire to different tone colors according to what they need at their present stage of development. This is a very subtle process and one that even only a very few of Mr. Adam's students understand.

That being said, Mr. Adam's students do tend to play considerably fuller than most other trumpet players. When one of my best students was first making the rounds subbing and doing rehearsal bands after she moved to New York she was often asked, "Why do you and all of the other Adam disciples play the loud passages so big?". Her response was, "Because we can"!

There certainly is some truth to that. Adam students sometimes play so full (and high and with a beautiful sound) because we can (and so many others can't)! When you have a Porsche the temptation to exceed the speed limit is great.

However, the main issue in the way Mr. Adam & his students approach breathing and dynamics is a question of resonant tone, relaxation, and air flow.

Karl Sievers, one of the best teachers from among Mr. Adam's former students, posted this on the Bach website a few days ago in response to a question about dynamics when practicing. I couldn't say it better myself, so I won't try.

"At first, it is very critical to establish the free delivery of a great sound. Therefore, one should enter this experience by playing on the mf to f end of things. As time goes by and skills are mastered, it is time to be more demanding of one's self by shaping the music more and more, and by doing everything across an increasingly extreme range of dynamics. My advanced students play from a whisper to a roar and everything in between, but at first it's a fairly narrow dynamic range, as it is so important to have the delivery
flawlessly and consistantly established.

You won't be a masterful player if you don't practice the full (dynamic) spectrum of course, but first things first."

[Cozy]

[rhodf]

I have questions regarding the air stream. I have been recording myself in an effort to work on my sound. While listening to my previous practice sessions, I noticed that my upper harmonics sounded somewhat flat. I knew the fundamental was in tune because I was using an electronic tuner at that time of the practice session. While trying to produce a sound that had upper harmonics more in tune, I noticed that I was changing the way I used my air as a result of trying to produce that sound. What I observed is that I had been playing with what I call an “air stream” approach, but then changed to what I call an “air reservoir” approach in an effort to improve the sound. I describe the “air stream” approach as follows. Imagine that the inside of your mouth is like a large cave with a river representing the air stream. The river flows at different speeds and intensities, but never touches the roof of the cave or very high on the sides of the cave walls. The river flows only on the cave floor. Contrast this with the “air reservoir” approach. In this case imagine that your mouth is a tank that is completely filled with water. The nozzle for this water tank is the aperture formed by your lips. The tank is always completely filled with water from another source (analogous to your lungs) as the water is let out at the nozzle. I apologize in advance for the need for an analogy, but I thought it would be the easiest way to convey the different way these two approaches feel. I am well aware that this does not illustrate what is actually happening, but I hope that it conveys the idea regardless.

While using the “air reservoir” approach, the upper harmonics seem to be better in tune. Although I understand that we must be careful not to over think this and keep our mind in the sound, I would like to know if you think that “air reservoir” approach is more in line with how Adam would have you use your air to efficiently create a good sound or if there is an even better way.

Thanks.

[_Don Herman]

Not an Adams student (though admire many of 'em) but can't resist puttin' in my 1/2 cent...

I respectfully suggest that, in your "airstream" approach, you are partially starving the lips for air, leading to a bit more tension in them to play the notes. The tightness doesn't allow nice, relaxed, full vibrations and throws the harmonic series off. In contrast, your "air reservoir" approach puts a nice available mass of air behind your lips, which can now relax and do their job. Looser lips, more vibrating area available, and more air to make 'em do it, so a fuller sound results.

Hopefully this makes sense, and PH won't come down on me too hard for postin' "out of forum"...

FWIW - Don
_________________
Don Herman/Monument, CO
"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music." - Aldous Huxley

[razeontherock]

Why is nobody saying "out front" anymore? Let the horn resonate properly! The evidence is the harmonics. Don't get stuck in your throat, your mouth, your lips, the mouthpiece, or even the back wall. You can let the sound float through the back wall or drive holes through it and anywhere in between, depending on what you want. Hopefully it's tasteful.
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"And this is life: that you know the Son, and the One who sent Him." The rest is just details

[Carl_Hess]

Hello all,

I have just recently started to concentrate more on centering in on the sound and not making it too dark. For many years, I was taught, and believed, that darkness was the only way to play..haha..

My question is: when we talk about overtones and harmonics, what are we really listening for? Seems to be a bit confusing to me. I know I sound dumb, but I just want to know so I can employ these ideas into my practice.

Happy Trumpeting


_________________
Carl Hess
President, Pi Lambda Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia '03-04
Gold plated Bach Bb
Bach Strad C
Yamaha Custom picc and Eb
Piece of crap Flugel
Monette C1 1 and B1 1
Yamaha Cornet
All around nice guy

[ This Message was edited by: Carl_Hess on 2004-07-16 22:50 ]

[Billy B]

You know that sound that a cheap piano gets towards the top of the keyboard? There are no overtones in that sound.

[razeontherock]

Hey Carl -

Holy Cow - over a week and no replies to a serious question like that? This is the very basic foundation of Adam's entire approach, it seems to me. W/o understanding this, his approach would be very confusing!

Overtones/harmonics are merely notes, other than the pitch you're actually trying to play, actually produced by the trumpet. This happens best when you play the trumpet 'correctly,' and was my definition of playing well long before I ever heard of Bill Adam. Every instrument has overtones; only a pure sine wave does not. (Think late 60's synthesizers) It's not always easy to hear them, especially if they're weak in your own sound. A recording of GREAT trumpet players might not make them evident either, unless you have a great stereo; that's why we have words like "audiophile."
Not the ONLY reason for playing just the leadpipe, but certainly a major reason for it is to make your overtone series not only more audible, but also more readily identifiable; i.e., which particular overtones are present, strongest, etc. If you're having trouble hearing any overtones at all a useful technique is to play the pipe into a highly reflective corner. (It's good if it hurts, but go for quiet, too) It's been almost 20 years since I've had personal contact w/ any disciples, but I doubt the basic idea has changed: you want the primary harmonic strongest. That means an octave above the note you're actually playing, strong and stable. When you can get that, KEEP IT! What you do to get it is unimportant, as is your level of playing, which is bound to decrese at least for a little while. No amount of technique is worth sacrificing this element, which is crucial to developing anything musical on the instrument. Clear anything up for you?

_________________
"And this is life: that you know the Son, and the One who sent Him." The rest is just details

[ This Message was edited by: PH on 2004-07-29 12:56 ]