Are Some Approaches to the Trumpet Better Than Others? No Wa

[Quadruple C]

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-09-24 14:08 ]

[Emb_Enh]

I TOTALLY AGREE!!

Even with a simple action like tonguing there can be a minefield of info to cross ----

The reason people argue over tongue position is because it depends on what method of playing they are using to deliver the air to the instrument.

Most methods require their own specific tongue position to allow the rest of the method being learned to work properly as the author intended.

Some students advocate letting the tongue support the lower lip probably because they tongue through the teeth [or very close to the aperture ] thereby taking up aperture space, and in effect, close the aperture up a percentage by doing this.

Anchor tonguing or K-tongue modified tonguing is a forward tongue postion, again, helping to reduce the size of the aperture, allowing the player to use a lesser quantity of air. It basically takes up some space and closes the aperture.

Tongue Arch or using syllables [Tu, taw, tee ] to raise / lower the middle of the tongue, adjusts the size of the oral cavity and is a way to increase air speed for gaining higher notes. It is most desirable to try and use as low a tongue position ["aaaaa" or "ah"] for as long as possible, in ascending to your high register on the horn, leaving your sound as full as possible until you finally use the "eeeee" as your secret weapon as late in your high register as possible. Some people use it far too soon thereby having a pinchy thin reed like sound even in their middle register.

Personally I find that the tongue position that works well for me is the one where the tongue should be behind the upper teeth at different points on the upper teeth depending as to what register I'm in.

Simply...the higher the register, the higher up the top teeth the tongue is...the lower the register...the lower the tongue position is behind the top teeth. This works for me and a lot of my students, however, I would like to say again that the reason trumpet players cannot agree on where the best position of tonguing is we all have different oral cavities / teeth and jaw structures / air flow considerations and variables and also
to repeat my previous statement, it depends on what method of playing they are using to deliver the air to the instrument.

The tongue is obviously involved with playing the trumpet. However, a very difficult concept to grasp is whether the tongue, the lips and the manipulation of "AIR", can, in fact, be correctly isolated as to precisely, what does what, and to what extent to whom, and is always a hotly debated subject.

What goes on in one person's oral cavity cannot be directly transferred 100% to someone else. Although this is where trial, error, SMART practice and not OVER analysis should come into play.

AND TO COME TO YOUR POINT MR QUAD C

ALSO IT IS NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE TO MIX AND MATCH DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES FROM DIFFERENT METHOD BOOKS. YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT, FINDING OUT WHICH PART OF WHICH METHOD WORKS FOR YOUR PHYSIOLOGY.

LET THE SOUND ON THE HORN BE YOUR GUIDE!!
_________________
Regards, Roddy o-iii RoddyTpt@aol.com

"E M B O U C H U R E___E N H A N C E M E N T"
BOOK 1 also... BOOK 2 + demo CD

[Self Analysis and Diagnostic Trumpet Method]

[Quadruple C]

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-09-24 14:08 ]