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Daimbert
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Joined: 21 Oct 2002
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Location: NYC
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 Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 4:02 pm Post subject: Beginner guide to James Thomspon Buzzing Book??? |
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Hello guys...
I"m posting this subject again mainly because since the website got rebooted I never had the chance to look at it and I think it would be a great place for people who do buzzing basics to go for advice (especially beginners like myself). Along with my question it would be very beneficial that anyone whois done them to impart any knowledge, tips, advice concering this books and the exercises therin. I think if there were a place for people to get advice said a little differently thats what on the book it can spark their rapid progress. I've always gotten great advice from this site and I want to thank all. Now for my questions.
1. Do you guys do buzzing basics as a warm-up/seperate period of practice? Or do you do them after having a warm-up of stamp, etc??
2. Do all of you go back to correct mistake or do or do exercises over? Or do you run them straight through?
3. With or without the CD??
4. Should a mirror be use while doing these exercises to insure the emborchure is not moving? Thompson I understand wants us to keep a middle register setting as low as pedal c to high c above the staff. But its hard for me to get notes to speak when I try to keep the same emborchure setting (say g) when I go high or low. Should I keep at it and it will start "happening" or am I worrying to much.
5. How many of you use either the Berp or Buzzing Aid? Do you find them beneficial or do you prefer to hold the MP in your hands while doing the exercises?
6. James Thompson recommends nose breathing while doing these exercises. How many do so. In my case I find it extremly uncomfortable in fact it causes me to feel an extrem amount of tension in the middle of my chest. Any advise in overcoming this sensation durring nose breathing?
7. How long does it take you all to do these exercises. Should I stress about miss or non-responsive notes and go back or just do them without regard and just let daily practice improve them?
8. In combination with the nose breathing I find it EXTREMLY hard to get a decent response on these exercises. What I end up doing is forcing a little more air out to produce the notes. Is this bad or will it just get better. If it is how do I practice on the response issues so I do not have to " force the notes out"?
9. Is it best to do these exercise with tongue attacks or breath attacks??
Will one produce better result than the other?
10. For starting out should the dynamics posted on the page be met or should a softer or more medium of the rode dynamic be kept. For instance my hardest exercise is No.2. I can't never get the first note to speak and then the glissando/cresedo goes out of wack as I creasendo.
Getting that off my chest feels better  . Feel free to express your experience while doing these exercises. Like I said above it very different reading words form a book which is meant to respond to a wide group of people than hearing from each person. One thing said different can light up the perverbial light bulb.
Thanks |
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SinfonianTrumpeter
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Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 630
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 5:22 pm Post subject: Re: Beginner guide to James Thomspon Buzzing Book??? |
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1. Do you guys do buzzing basics as a warm-up/seperate period of practice? Or do you do them after having a warm-up of stamp, etc??
varies from person to person. experiment with your routine. I would recommend not starting with it. Perhaps at the end of your warm up.
2. Do all of you go back to correct mistake or do or do exercises over? Or do you run them straight through?
what kind of mistake? sometimes the sound isn't quite right which means you probably aren't ready to go on to other exercises. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS THAT JT PROVIDES 
3. With or without the CD??
with...no question...
4. Should a mirror be use while doing these exercises to insure the emborchure is not moving? Thompson I understand wants us to keep a middle register setting as low as pedal c to high c above the staff. But its hard for me to get notes to speak when I try to keep the same emborchure setting (say g) when I go high or low. Should I keep at it and it will start "happening" or am I worrying to much.
Yes, let it happen...don't force. A mirror might be a good idea..I don't think it would hurt
5. How many of you use either the Berp or Buzzing Aid? Do you find them beneficial or do you prefer to hold the MP in your hands while doing the exercises?
I use the BERP...but either or neither will do
6. James Thompson recommends nose breathing while doing these exercises. How many do so. In my case I find it extremly uncomfortable in fact it causes me to feel an extrem amount of tension in the middle of my chest. Any advise in overcoming this sensation durring nose breathing? Breathe through the nose. Remember, he's Jim Thompson and you're not  ....He know's what he's talking about
7. How long does it take you all to do these exercises. Should I stress about miss or non-responsive notes and go back or just do them without regard and just let daily practice improve them? All of them or just the first 4?
8. In combination with the nose breathing I find it EXTREMLY hard to get a decent response on these exercises. What I end up doing is forcing a little more air out to produce the notes. Is this bad or will it just get better. If it is how do I practice on the response issues so I do not have to " force the notes out"? Cresendo through the glissando (when applicable)...don't ever ever ever ever force the sound. Also don't play too loud. Just let the note happen.. read the instructions
9. Is it best to do these exercise with tongue attacks or breath attacks??
Will one produce better result than the other? I use tounge
10. For starting out should the dynamics posted on the page be met or should a softer or more medium of the rode dynamic be kept. For instance my hardest exercise is No.2. I can't never get the first note to speak and then the glissando/cresedo goes out of wack as I creasendo.
use the supplimental exercise in the back until you get used to the routine. Dynamics are realative. Always play with a good sound
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swthiel
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Joined: 02 Apr 2005
Posts: 3967
Location: Cincinnati, OH
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 6:28 pm Post subject: |
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OK, I'll play. Just remember that I'm a comeback player, not a conservatory-trained pro -- judge my comments in that context.
| Daimbert wrote: | | 1. Do you guys do buzzing basics as a warm-up/seperate period of practice? Or do you do them after having a warm-up of stamp, etc?? |
I usually start my playing day with some leadpipe buzzing, do the DiMartino warmup/routine, take a break. When I come back after a break, I'll often go straight into the Buzzing Book stuff -- depends on the the practice priorities that day. I'd be comfortable going straight into the BB stuff after blowing the first few notes of the day.
| Quote: | | 2. Do all of you go back to correct mistake or do or do exercises over? Or do you run them straight through? |
Straight through -- "mistakes" are problems with response that work themselves out over time. Also, these are long setting exercises, so if you go back, you have to go all the way back to the beginning of an exercise.
| Quote: | | 3. With or without the CD?? |
With.
| Quote: | | 4. Should a mirror be use while doing these exercises to insure the emborchure is not moving? Thompson I understand wants us to keep a middle register setting as low as pedal c to high c above the staff. But its hard for me to get notes to speak when I try to keep the same emborchure setting (say g) when I go high or low. Should I keep at it and it will start "happening" or am I worrying to much. |
I never NEVER NEVER NEVER use a mirror when I practice -- when I have in the past, I have tended to focus too much on mechanics. Pick up your horn and play. Your embouchure may shift some, you're learning to control your playing so that the shift will likely decrease over time. Focus on doing the exercises as Thompson says to do them.
| Quote: | | 5. How many of you use either the Berp or Buzzing Aid? Do you find them beneficial or do you prefer to hold the MP in your hands while doing the exercises? |
I use a BERP, at my teacher's suggestion. I think there's some advantage to holding the rest of my body, and the horn, close to the way I do when playing the trumpet.
| Quote: | | 6. James Thompson recommends nose breathing while doing these exercises. How many do so. In my case I find it extremly uncomfortable in fact it causes me to feel an extrem amount of tension in the middle of my chest. Any advise in overcoming this sensation durring nose breathing? |
You might spend some time practicing nose breathing until you can do it without tensing up. If you just can't get a good breath through your nose, poke around in the Caruso forum -- I think there's some advice there for people who have trouble breathing through their nose doing the CC work.
| Quote: | | 7. How long does it take you all to do these exercises. Should I stress about miss or non-responsive notes and go back or just do them without regard and just let daily practice improve them? |
It takes me about as long as it takes to play the CD, plus maybe a minute or two if I need more rest than the example tracks provide.
| Quote: | | 8. In combination with the nose breathing I find it EXTREMLY hard to get a decent response on these exercises. What I end up doing is forcing a little more air out to produce the notes. Is this bad or will it just get better. If it is how do I practice on the response issues so I do not have to " force the notes out"? |
I think I experienced the same thing -- I just let it work itself out.
| Quote: | 9. Is it best to do these exercise with tongue attacks or breath attacks??
Will one produce better result than the other? |
When I do these exercises, I always use breath attacks for the first note after a rest. I don't know for sure which will produce a better result, but I suspect that using the breath attacks might be advantageous. I'm open to arguments to the contrary.
| Quote: | | 10. For starting out should the dynamics posted on the page be met or should a softer or more medium of the rode dynamic be kept. For instance my hardest exercise is No.2. I can't never get the first note to speak and then the glissando/cresedo goes out of wack as I creasendo. |
I play the "soft" stuff as softly as I can and still get the notes to speak, and have been working to get them softer. It's the same strategy I use on long tones -- I start as softly as I can, but no softer ...
| Quote: | Getting that off my chest feels better . Feel free to express your experience while doing these exercises. Like I said above it very different reading words form a book which is meant to respond to a wide group of people than hearing from each person. One thing said different can light up the perverbial light bulb.
Thanks |
I think it's important when doing exercises like these to trust the process -- at some point you have to have faith that the exercises will take you where you need to go, even if you don't know or understand why they work. Caruso strikes me as having the same underlying philosophy, that if you do these exercises you will get these results.
Hope this helps ...
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mattdalton
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Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 462
Location: Newcastle, Washington USA
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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FWIW, here's what works for me.
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1. Do you guys do buzzing basics as a warm-up/seperate period of practice? Or do you do them after having a warm-up of stamp, etc??
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I either do a very small amount of mouthpiece buzzing or leadpipe playing before starting the exercises. However, I don't think it matters much where in your day's practice you place the exercises.
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2. Do all of you go back to correct mistake or do or do exercises over? Or do you run them straight through?
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Straight through, for the same reasons others mentioned above, and to force myself to stay in "present time."
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3. With or without the CD??
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With - the pitch and time references the CD provides are essential to making the exercises work well.
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4. Should a mirror be use while doing these exercises to insure the emborchure is not moving? Thompson I understand wants us to keep a middle register setting as low as pedal c to high c above the staff. But its hard for me to get notes to speak when I try to keep the same emborchure setting (say g) when I go high or low. Should I keep at it and it will start "happening" or am I worrying to much.
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I try not to use a mirror because it's usually more a distraction than an aid. However, I will go to the mirror if I catch myself cheating and need to visually remind myself not to reset the embouchure within a particular exercise. Once I fix it I move away from the mirror again.
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5. How many of you use either the Berp or Buzzing Aid? Do you find them beneficial or do you prefer to hold the MP in your hands while doing the exercises?
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I both own a BERP and BuzzAid. The BERP works better for me but I generally use neither of them. Instead, I use an extension pipe (some might call this a leader pipe) to lessen the difference in resistence when playing on the mouthpiece vs. playing on the trumpet. [It's a 5" pipe made out of brass tubing from a hobby store, with a 3/32" hole drilled 2" from the mouthpiece end.] Holding the mouthpiece with both hands as James Thompson recommends yields a better result for me.
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6. James Thompson recommends nose breathing while doing these exercises. How many do so. In my case I find it extremly uncomfortable in fact it causes me to feel an extrem amount of tension in the middle of my chest. Any advise in overcoming this sensation durring nose breathing?
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This sounds like something that might require a teacher to help you figure out. You'll need to get rid of the tension to make the exercises really work for you and improve your response. All I can reasonably suggest online is for you to aim for a continuous in-out movement of air - pace your breathing so the note starts at the end of the inhalation.
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7. How long does it take you all to do these exercises. Should I stress about miss or non-responsive notes and go back or just do them without regard and just let daily practice improve them?
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I play them straight through, so it takes as long as the CD tracks take to play, unless I get interrupted and need to pause.
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8. In combination with the nose breathing I find it EXTREMLY hard to get a decent response on these exercises. What I end up doing is forcing a little more air out to produce the notes. Is this bad or will it just get better. If it is how do I practice on the response issues so I do not have to " force the notes out"?
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In general, I think it will get better if you stick with it. If you solve the tension problem mentioned in question #6 you'll likely get away from that feeling of "forcing".
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9. Is it best to do these exercise with tongue attacks or breath attacks??
Will one produce better result than the other?
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Tongued.
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10. For starting out should the dynamics posted on the page be met or should a softer or more medium of the rode dynamic be kept. For instance my hardest exercise is No.2. I can't never get the first note to speak and then the glissando/cresedo goes out of wack as I creasendo.
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Your idea of using more modest dynamics to get the feel for it is good, especially if it is the only way for you to play the exercises while staying in the center of the pitch. Once you gain control, keep working to get good response at even softer dynamics. To keep the crescendo from going out of whack on number 2, think of using the same air speed but adding air volume/mass as you get louder.
Finally, I think Steve is right when he says "trust the process." It may take some time to get the exercises working well, but the results will certainly be worth it.
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Matt Dalton |
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ADziuk
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Joined: 21 Mar 2004
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Location: Twin Cities, MN
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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| I don't buzz my mouthpiece, basically ever. Just take it easy on that book, don't consume all your practice with it. Anything to the extreme is usually not good for you in trumpet playing. |
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SinfonianTrumpeter
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Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 630
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 9:42 am Post subject: |
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| mattdalton wrote: | How long does it take you all to do these exercises. Should I stress about miss or non-responsive notes and go back or just do them without regard and just let daily practice improve them?
I play them straight through, so it takes as long as the CD tracks take to play, unless I get interrupted and need to pause. |
Matt, do you play the whole book or just selected exercises?
Carl |
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mattdalton
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Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 462
Location: Newcastle, Washington USA
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| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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Carl -
Sorry that wasn't as clear as it could have been. The time consumed by Buzzing Book exercises is as long as the CD tracks take to play for the exercises I'm playing. I usually play 1-4 + 9 (or only 1-4 if I'm short on time), but occassionally work on other exercises.
Generally 1-4 + 9 gives me what I want from the book and I move on to other practice materials for articulation, dexterity, flexibility, etc. It's simply what fits best into available practice time for me.
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ChrisVenditti
Regular Member
Joined: 10 Mar 2005
Posts: 64
Location: New York, New York
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| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2005 8:25 pm Post subject: BB |
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Hey,
If you have serious questions about BB you should thououghly read the text and then if you have more questions I would email or call Thompson. You can get good ideas and stuff online but it you really want to know all about it, I would get the info from the source, Thompson himself. If you have questions, or need his contact info...PM me.
Chris |
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TWEAK
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Derek Reaban
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| Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 12:59 am Post subject: |
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Daimbert,
I was hoping that you would bring this topic back! I had responded originally (prior to the site restoration) and wanted to put my thoughts together again. It looks like you’ve received lots of great responses already.
1. I like to do Buzzing Basics for my morning session. I do a short “warm-up”, prior to playing the first note with the CD, that I will describe in Number 8 below. I definitely consider this to be a stand-alone practice session.
2. After a certain amount of time doing the exercises you will find that you simply don’t make mistakes. Until you find that balance point though, it may be useful to return to Number 2 after you have played through the first four exercises. I know that I used to do this during the first 3-4 months after I began working with these exercises. There was something extremely important about getting the right feel to Number 2 after I had experienced resonance in the low register in Number 4. This would transfer to my next Buzzing Basics session (the next day) and over time Number 2 continued to get better and better.
3. ”With or without the CD”? Surprising that you would ask this question. I “almost” always do these with the CD. The only time that I don’t play them with the CD is when the battery runs out on my portable CD player. If it’s time for me to go to work, I will simply complete the exercise I’m playing without the CD player. 99.9% of the time, however, I play with the CD.
4. The only reason that I have ever used a mirror in my practice is to observe when I am taking a full, relaxed breath. After watching several of these relaxed breaths to see how they “look”, I can periodically look in the mirror during my practice session to see if I have changed my breathing (I did this years ago, and find that my breathing is now full and complete all the time). With respect to your question about the middle-register setting, don’t worry about it. It will eventually just take hold. I’ll address the part about how it’s hard for you to get the notes to speak in Number 8 below.
5. When playing these exercises I prefer to just hold the mouthpiece in between my thumb and index finger just like the picture in the Stamp book. I’m sure that others can mention specific benefits for using a BERP or Buzzing Aid, but for me, I find holding the mouthpiece works just fine. The reason that I like buzzing the mouthpiece in this way is something that I read in an article by Sam Burtis. “Connecting” to the horn in this way (without the presupposed position of the instrument) is an important part of my playing day and would not be possible using a BERP or Buzzing Aid. It certainly couldn’t hurt and may actually be extremely beneficial.
6. I like breathing through my nose to play these exercises when I’m not congested. This is a quote from the ITG clinic that I attended with David Krauss.
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He said, “most of the progress that I have made lately in my playing is directly related to watching singers breathe. You never see a singer take a big gulping breath.” He said that when singers breathe their breaths are varied in speed and are generally slower than those of instrumentalists. Then he made a reference to Enrique Caruso and said Caruso would advocate nose breathing because not only does it slow the inflow rate, it puts the air in a better place, setting up a Superhero pose. So, in essence, this posture allows you to take a good breath, and this type of breathing sets up good posture! I think that is a HUGE concept! Everyday that I have practiced since the conference, I have been very conscious of breathing through my nose and envisioning Superman. I am literally putting myself in a position to arrive at some of my very best sounds!
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If you can make the breath through your nose work, great! If not, don’t worry about it. If you’re getting tense because of it, forget it for now. Try it again every once in a while (every month or so) and see if you can find the benefit in breathing in this way. It may take getting more of the Thompson exercises to work on autopilot before you add this aspect. You may combine this with playing in front of a mirror to give you the positive reinforcement of seeing what a relaxed, full breath looks like.
7. To go through Exercise 9, it takes me about 45 minutes. To go through Exercise 4 with my brief warm-up, about 20 minutes. This is exactly the amount of time to play through with the CD, but I’ve been doing these for quite some time now, and they happen very easily for me. As far as going back to address non-responsive notes, read my answer to Number 8 and it will hopefully target this issue for you.
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8. In combination with the nose breathing I find it EXTREMELY hard to get a decent response on these exercises. What I end up doing is forcing a little more air out to produce the notes. Is this bad or will it just get better. If it is how do I practice on the response issues so I do not have to " force the notes out"?
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8. I thought it would be best to quote your question here because I think once you solve this one, the MOST IMPORTANT of the questions that you’ve asked in my opinion, you will be on your way to experiencing the real benefits from these exercises.
As others have already said, you must NEVER force the sound! But what should you do when you absolutely cannot get the notes to speak? I faced this same problem, and I solved it by incorporating a brief setting up drill before I begin playing.
I play the mouthpiece / leadpipe combination to begin this short routine (via Bill Adam) and focus on the immediacy of the response. This is the ideal way for me to assure that response is targeted the very first thing every day. I’ve found (over several years) that response on the pipe becomes even more immediate when I do some “que” articulations. This moves the sound more forward in my mouth and assures that my sound production is happening where it needs to. I’ll do this for 1-2 minutes to get everything working.
The next thing that I do is the Caruso 6 Note exercise with the repeat. I’ll do this entirely with breath attacks at a very comfortable dynamic level. This helps me to align with the instrument and carry that immediacy of response to the instrument. This is also very helpful for me because the first exercise on the CD is essentially the Caruso 6 Note drill. This takes me about 2-3 minutes to complete.
I can guarantee that incorporating this 5 minute routine prior to your playing day will get your response happening better than just about anything else.
9. Regarding how to articulate the Thompson exercises, I choose to begin each exercise with a breath attack and then tongue after that. Based on the reading that I’ve done, I feel breath attacks are extremely important, and this 45-minute session allows me to do many of them every day.
Carmine Caruso
The breath attack is used in this initial exercise because it is the quickest way to get the lips in focus, to get them touching.
David Hickman
One of the most effective methods of developing correct tone production is through the use of breath attacks. Commencing the tone without the aid of the tongue will require the embouchure and throat to be relaxed and efficient.
James Stamp
Learn to buzz the lips without using the tongue to start the first note.
Charlie Vernon
Use a 'ho' syllable to articulate each note. This exercise aids the lips to vibrate the desired pitch more readily.
Bob Findley
[For the exercises] All breath attacks - don't use the tongue to start or stop a note"
Donald Reinhardt
Hoo (Breath Attack) for the first exercises – Warmup #57
Bill Adam
I know there has to be a certain amount of mouthpiece buzzing to warm up the resilience that we have to have here. But, if we can set the mouthpiece and tube in vibration, the embouchure is much more relaxed. What we're trying to do is to get the air through that horn with the least amount of tension and the least amount of muscle.
10. When you first add the Thompson exercises to your routine, the amplitude of the crescendo is much less important than staying in the center of the sound and achieving a vibrant resonant quality for each note. The purpose of doing these exercises is to develop this vibrancy (via the glissandos), and over several months you will find this quality begins to creep into your sound. You can actually hurt the process by trying to crescendo too much at first. I like what Marcel Tabuteau says…
The louder you play, the less it carries! In my opinion, the quality that carries is the amplification of the dolce tone.
Apply this idea to every note that you play and eventually, by playing the exercises and focusing on the immediacy of the response, you will transform your sound, and find sound production is free and easy and extremely resonant.
I have linked all of the important Jim Thompson Buzzing Basics (Buzzing Book) posts on the Trumpet Herald in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and [url=http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24309] Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal[/url] folders where he was Principal Trumpet for most of his career. I will add this topic to those folders as well.
I hope some of these comments allow a light bulb to go on for you! Good luck!
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Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Winds / Symphony of the Southwest |
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