Brilliant, or bright sound

[Derek Reaban]

Trumpet_Mom,

I see that you’ve chosen your words related to sound very carefully (i.e. brilliance or brightness). It looks like you had a chance to read the link that I gave you in the topic “What does core sound mean?”. Everyone that has responded so far has given you very good advice (one piece at a time). Please consider this post as a compilation of those ideas (and some others) with some links to important reference material.

Since your question is related to brilliance or brightness (what I like to call Resonant Sound), I have some very specific suggestions. If you’re interested in reading about these ideas, Bob Findley has a fantastic description in his book Bob Findley on Trumpet (he calls it Finding the Slot) which will give you some important points to consider. Roddy Lewis also addresses this topic very well in his book, he focuses on Pitch Center, and he also talks about finding the blow (related to "developing" a good center). Essentially, playing to the center allows you to find more resonance and vibrancy in your sound (the brilliance or brightness that you mention). Centering allows for enhanced projection with less effort, requires LESS air to achieve MORE sound, allows you to achieve more clarity in articulated and rapid passages, and allows more overall control (subtle dynamics and finesse) leading to the ability to express yourself more musically.

I’ve talked about this topic in detail on the TPIN list as well as here on the Trumpet Herald. I have done a lot of investigation to discover more resonance in my sound. Instead of covering all that ground again in this post, I will provide you with some links to read about these things offline (much of this is in other TH folders, but I’ll include it again since it’s in several pieces, and this allows me to group it together).

I wrote an article called Resonant Sound, which can be found, at Ole’s web site. It contains some personal stories about my experiences with Resonant Sound and some details about the mechanical aspects related to producing this sound on the instrument, and thoughts of prominent educators and performers on this topic.

Listing the main points of that article here is simply for anyone who didn’t click on the link. The tools to achieve a sound that is vibrant, colorful, resonant, and centered include:

A) A Strong External Sound Concept
B) Immediate Response
C) Strong Vibration Quality
D) A Strong Internal Sound Concept
E) Resonance Matching
F) Concept of Relaxation
G) Breath Support
H) Visualization

Additionally, find and read the book Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner. I would have included it in my article in the Strong Internal Sound Concept section, but I hadn’t read the book when I wrote the article.

Recently, a player on TPIN asked some questions about "numbness" in his lips. While this isn’t related in any way to your question, I put together a post in response to his question and outlined how I find the center of the instrument that should be very interesting to you. The post is found here.

A brief summary of that message would read as follows:

1) Spend several minutes each day playing the mouthpiece/leadpipe combination (with the tuning slide out of the instrument) using breath attacks (Bill Adam). – Identical to the advice you received from dcstep.

2) Apply this feel to the instrument to find the "center" using the 6-Note exercise while applying breath attacks (Caruso/Findley). – Identical to the advice you received from jhatpro.

It seems that as time goes on, and I think about these topics more and experience their evolution in my own practice, I have more to add related to "pitch center".

Now, and this is VERY important, once you understand the concept of "pitch center" lets consider how to move forward and continue to maintain some positive results from this advice. My pursuit of playing to the center of the instrument was to find more resonance in my sound (very similar to your question about replicating brilliance or brightness in your sound). There is a great article by John Hagstrom (from the CSO) that I will reference, which will give you a lot to think about. He says,

• "Progress is the result of new awareness in balance with repeated experience. The first step is to be aware of what improvements you are looking for and having the intensity of concentration to sustain that conception as you make repeated attempts. When you are successful and are able to recreate your success over and over again, new habits begin to form, but they are crude at first. It generally takes a year to take yourself from crudity to mastery when forming a new habit. Mastery is what is needed to be professionally competent and competitive. It is when you can perform a given task consistently well under pressure – without having a second chance."

Those are powerful words! By asking your question on the Trumpet Herald, you have taken the first step of "awareness" related to these concepts, especially the idea of playing to the center of the instrument to achieve brilliance or brightness. However, "having the intensity of concentration to sustain the conception as you make repeated attempts" is the real challenge here. You conceptually understand that playing to the center of the horn is beneficial and provides you with the improvement that you are looking for (developing a good center on your horn). But how do you maintain the "intensity of concentration to sustain the conception"? The problem with getting advice (on the Internet, from a method book, or even from a teacher) is moving from understanding it to making it an integral part of the fabric of your playing (that’s a HUGE jump). As time moves on and you forget reading these words, your "intensity of concentration" related to this concept will also fade away. That’s why it’s so important to drive yourself through practice to establish a positive new habit!

Consider this example about understanding a concept versus "knowing" something so well that you can provide the answer consistently and immediately "under pressure – without having a second chance". We all know our multiplication tables. I think I made one when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. I remember we were required to make a 10 x 10 matrix but I decided to make mine 12 x 12 (I guess I always did a little more than was required). Think about how well you know your multiplication table. Some answers are immediate and require absolutely no hesitation, (i.e. 2x2, 5x5, 10x10). There are some combinations, however, that you may pause for a moment before answering, because you are applying more steps of mental activity to arrive at the answer. For instance, consider 8x7 and 9x6. The answers are 54 and 56, but which is which? I always pause and think of the little trick that all numbers multiplied by 9 will lead to a product where you can sum the numbers and get to 9. So 9x6 is 54 because 5 plus 4 equals 9. Therefore, 8x7 must be 56. The thought process isn’t nearly as clean as just knowing the answer like 5x5 equals 25.

The same situation exists for some of the other "more difficult" answers. Instead of practicing to the point of "knowing" the answers, I ended up developing a longer thought process to get to the answer. Let’s say 12x9. I would simplify the problem into several pieces and then apply this thought process: 10x9 is 90 and 2x9 is 18 so 90+18 is 108. That’s three steps to get to the answer. I would think that those extra steps really don’t take that much time and that I really know the multiplication tables well because I can get to any answer in less than a second or two. However, the whole point of this example is that understanding the concept versus "knowing" the answer will be VERY quickly uncovered when you find yourself under pressure. Check out this link to get a feel for experiencing this high-pressure environment through the use of these concentration charts and a metronome. By increasing the metronome tempo you will quickly understand that "pressure" will force you to rely on what has been programmed into your subconscious. You don’t have time to go through extra mental steps when the pressure is on!

To move from understanding the concept to "knowing" the concept of playing to the center of the instrument so well that it is deeply ingrained in my playing, I have chosen to use the James Thompson Buzzing Basics exercises on a daily basis. These exercises are extremely well conceived and allow me to rely on someone else to provide "the intensity of concentration to sustain that conception". For about 20 minutes everyday (after the Adam and Caruso exercises that I described to you), I spend time finding the center of the horn via the Buzzing Basics exercises. By doing this, I have essentially made a commitment to myself that this concept is vitally important to the way that I want to approach the instrument so I must spend about a year to move from "crudity to mastery". In the 7 months that I have focused my mental efforts on this aspect of my playing I have found that playing to the center eventually leads to enhanced vibrancy that is nothing short of magical!

The whole point to practice, as far as I see it, is to break the different aspects of playing into small enough pieces so that the focused conscious thought that I apply during the practice session will drive that "correct" desired result deep into my subconscious. With enough repetitions, the subconscious will then be in control with respect to those aspects of playing that should be on auto pilot so that I can focus my conscious thought on more important things like making music!

If you’re interested in reading about my experiences with Buzzing Basics, check out a conversation that I had with Roddy on TPIN related to vibrancy.

Also look at some of my comments in the attached link about the successful implementation of the Buzzing Basics exercises

There is a quote from James Stamp that really makes great sense here. "Stamp believed that one of the keys to a good upper register was to play the middle register in the center of the horn and to not allow a large amount of accumulated lip and body tension to creep into the middle register." The way that Jim Thompson has structured his exercises makes this happen without me even having to think about it. That’s pretty amazing to me!

In case you are interested in Buzzing Basics, you can find it here

Scroll down and click on THOMPSON James. After his bio you will see in red letters at the bottom of the page "see all works of this composer". Click on that and then choose TP 216.

I hope this will give you some tangible ideas to allow you to make this change in your playing permanent! In addition to these ideas listen to as much live and recorded music as you can to increase the clarity and intensity of your mental sound image.

On a separate note, my Wife’s Family is from St. Charles, so I know Geneva very well. I think my coldest outdoor playing experience was on New Years Eve 2000 when I did fanfares down by the Fox River after a huge fireworks display for an ecumenical church service. Yikes! I’m not signing up for any jobs like that again!

Best of luck to you!


_________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona

[Chaser]

My first private instructor (9th grade) asked me in our first lesson exactly what my goals were, what types of music I enjoyed playing AND listening to the most, and who my favorite players were. When I told him that I detested Symphonic Band and wanted to be a good lead player, he steered my listening and thinking habits in that direction. He had two very different sounds that he could produce with equal ease a darker, orchestral sound (he called it the 'German' sound) and a lighter, bright sound (which he called the 'French' sound.) He believed (and it sank into my thinking) that what we wanted to sound like (and the sound we admired most in other performers) would eventually become our sound. His setup was a Bach Strad and 3C, but he could play Orchestral excepts one minute then sound as bright and lazer-like as Wayne Bergeron the next using the same horn and mouthpiece and playing the exact same piece of music.
This is why he always told me to be very careful of the artists that I listened to (which in high school, I listened to Maynard for hours and hours each week.) I (without even realizing it) started getting reckless and "bull-in-a-china-shopish" with my playing. When I heard recordings of our band, I couldn't believe how loose that I had become. I started listening to another lead player who played surgical, brilliant lead, and over the course of about 6 months, without actively trying to do anything, my playing was night and day cleaner.

Your mileage may vary, but I went through it, so to me, I know how impotrant good listening habits are.

[_dcstep]

WOW! Thanks Derek.

Dave
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

[DaveH]

The concept mentioned above regarding the centering of pitch is, IMO, significant. A centered sound is in tune, projects, has resonance, and brilliance(not sure if I want to use that specific word, but I will...).

Conversely, an uncentered tone lacks all those qualities. It is "flabby" and unable to project well. It lacks resonance.

This concept probably should be attainable regardless of the mouthpiece, but, for me at least, the mouthpiece has an effect on my ability to center pitch effectively. I have found that I like the feeling of a mpc in the size if a 1 1/2C or 1 1/4C, but I have much better centering of pitch on a 3C. One of my playing dilemmas, so to speak, is that I prefer the comfortable feel of a 1 1/2C or 1 1/4C, but I far prefer the tone quality of a 3C. The big cup is a little more comfortable, but far less efficient in the production of a centered tone. I find the pitch center much more readily and consistently on the 3C. On the larger cup, I can find the center, but not as consistently - in other words, I have to be more constantly conscious of centering - and I will play "off-center" much more frequently. So, in my particular case, I think that larger cup negatively affects my intonation and the my ability to produce an resonant and projecting tone. The sound becomes "flabbier" and without the penetration and projection that I want to hear and do hear mentally.

[_dcstep]

No doubt, the trumpet/mouthpiece/player interface is extremely important in maximizing resonance. However, a 3C that works well for one player with a Bach 37, for instance, may be horrible for another player with a Wild Thing, just to give an extreme contrast. For other players a 3C with a Bach 37 may be a poor match.

Dave
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

[sean007r]

Derek

Talk about a heavy weight poster!
I've started printing your responses just so I can read them when I have time because all too often I'll read them on screen and not just absorb what you've said when I need it.

Soon I'll need a file in my den just for all your stuff!

Thanks for taking sooooooo much time to help us "little fish!"

TTFN
Sean

[allstarbugler]

[jarrelainen]

Bending notes.

play a 2nd line g, then play a f# just below, repeat, BUT this time bend down to the f# and "blow yourself" back to the 2nd line g, this should get You a GREAT sounding resonant g.

Now try to keep this relaxed feeling when playing other exercises.

For example, if You practice something from Arban or whatever, do the same bending procedure with the first note that you have and then continue through the exercise with the same feel.

When You start to lose the feeling, redo the above bend procedure...

Good luck, JK

[Trumpet_Mom]

allstarbugler--

I'm currently playing on a Yamaha 6335HGSII which has a gold brass bell. I also had a 6310Z, which was a lacquered yellow brass bell. I found both to be too dark and/or too stuffy. I am switching to a Schilke B1 which I find gives me the open, rich brilliance that I am looking for. (Hopefully the trumpet will arrive sometime next week!)

[allstarbugler]

[_dcstep]

Is the Pope Catholic?
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

[Trumpet_Mom]

Yes, the Schilke is silver.
_________________
Schilke B1
Yamaha 6335HGSII

[allstarbugler]

[allstarbugler]

[_dcstep]

Genius, her Yamaha 6335HGSII is silver. So now what has she discovered?

Life isn't so simple as you'd have it.

Dave
_________________
Schilke '60 B1 -- 229 Bach-C/19-350 Blackburn -- Lawler TL Cornet -- Conn V1 Flugel -- Stomvi Master Bb/A/G picc -- GR mpcs
[url=http://www.pitpops.com] The PitPops[/url]
Rocky Mountain Trumpet Fest

[allstarbugler]

[nieuwguyski]

Allstar,

If you feel the need to brag about your IQ, I wouldn't be pointing fingers about others craving attention.

And there's no such think as being a buttinski on a public forum like this. You're presenting your opinions as gospel, so some healthy debate is to be expected.

Finally, you're guilty of some inaccuracy not befitting your near-genius. Any audible difference between silver plate and modern (as in thinner than that tested by Schilke) lacquer is debatable. But to suggest that finish would make a bigger difference in sound than *many* other design factors is...

well, it's not anywhere close to genius-level thinking in my book.
_________________
J. Notso Nieuwguyski

[allstarbugler]

John

If you think that I was bragging, you totally missed the point. And the point was that I AM NOT A GENIUS! But I do know the difference. Between genius, and non-genius - and between silver and lacquer. Thanks for your input tough guy.

P.S. Judging by your profile, your source of income is what, Unemployed?

[ This Message was edited by: allstarbugler on 2004-04-15 19:48 ]

[allstarbugler]

In addition, to both of the posts directed at me, I have reviewed both profiles and there seems to be a common thread - that of mouthpieces and horns.

Mouthpieces and horns. Mouthpieces and horns, mouthpieces and horns.

A great trumpet player and teacher once told me if you spend most of your time looking for the right mouthpiece or the right horn, you are probably not much of a player.

As for the bit about "the public forum", my question was clearly directed to Trumpet Mom.

[ This Message was edited by: allstarbugler on 2004-04-15 19:30 ]

[_dcstep]

Genius, almost everyone on this forum except you seems to realize that there's no such thing as a lacquer Schilke. Thus, I made my "is the Pope Catholic remark". I'm sorry if it set off a chemical imbalance in your enormous brain, so please don't hurt yourself trying to think of some way to insult the good people trying to be helpful around here.

Dave