Routine question...

[Tradeoff]

Pat,
When I get the Schlossberg #17 in my daily routine, I rarely am able to play the sets of fours up to the octave in one breath. It is not an air issue, but a face issue. Like I need to reset. It gets to me mentally, making the Arban's pronounciation exercises a mind game too. Long line blowing like Concone, Charlier, or Vannetlbosch are not problems at all like #17. Any help would be appreciated.

[PH]

In all my years in Adam's studio I don't think he ever had me play all of that in one breath. We always stuck at least one breath (or more) in there. You want to keep the air in motion and avoid playing so low on the breath that you approach "negative air" (the need to push the air at the end of the breath).

My advice:

1) Go slower. You might be going too fast and introducing tension in your pronunciation. Go no faster than you can pronounce every note without tongue tension. Speed will come unbidden with repetition and no tension.

2) Keep the air in motion. Try playing them a bit louder to see if the air can remain free. Eventually you can back off, but go for freedom first and control later.

3) Breathe more often than you think you need to. If you slow these down and play them fuller you might need to intersperse 2 or even 3 breaths in each key. Breathe before you get to "negative air".

4) Rest more during this exercise. Try resting a little longer before the groups of 2, between the groups of 2 & 3, and before the groups of 4.

5) There is nothing at all wrong with a brief rest and reset between each key. Try singing the key of C one then playing it. Take the horn off your face and sing B, then play it. Sing Bb, then play it. Etc. Eventually you can do it all in one set, but there is no hurry.

You may think the problem is with your chops, but I guarantee it is from some combination of air that isn't moving freely, pronunciation that isn't relaxed and to the front of the mouth, and/or inadequate resting.