Buzzing

[scottinvt]

I know C.G. was against buzzing because it was his opinion that it made the lips stiff. Did he ever elaborate on this or explain it further? I would like to know why he arrived at this opinion, considering so many other great teachers (Stamp for one) advocate it.
I've been using the B.E.R.P. to warm up with for awhile now and it really seems to have helped a lot with improving my tone, so I'm reluctant to give it up. So, that's why I'm asking what CG's reasoning was regarding this.
Thanks

[jazz-o-matic 12]

Different people will always advocate different things. CG obviously got no benefits from buzzing, yet a lot of players out there have had great success with it if not because of it. I happen to find it vital to my playing seeing as though when I get too tight I normally buzz some arpeggios extremely soft and then im right back on track
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[David Roberts]

If you look on page 31 of Brass Playing Is No Harder Than Deep Breathing, CG states that it is a “waste of time” to practice buzzing the mouthpiece. In the next paragraph he states it’s a “waste of time” to practice free buzzing. Simply adding that both practices do not duplicate the “feel” of playing the instrument - which is what we are all trying to discover for ourselves. By his own writing, I take it to mean that he was against “wasting time.”

If you practice buzzing, be sure to follow the instructions completely (from the great teachers you mention), and remember what Herbert L Clarke stated: “A drop of medicine may cure, whereas a spoonful may kill.”
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David Roberts

[crzytptman]

I truly believe in Claude Gordon's approach and work out of his Systematic Approach regularly. I have not studied with him or any of his students. What I have found is in buzzing the lips in the manner that Pops McLaughlin describes, it is the inner lip tissue that buzzes in a way that directly relates to trumpet playing. When I have my students practice this, I tell them that they are not to replicate the "face" of the buzz, only the feel of the inner lip tissue response. This is also very similar to what happens in the pedal tone exercises, but without all of the air. I don't view free buzzing as a replacement for anything done on the horn, but merely as another thing one can do to condition the response of the embouchure that can be done anytime and anywhere throughout the day. For students who don't practice 3+ hrs a day, it's something they can do before school and between classes that's productive and will help them make good use of their playing time. It's all good.
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[scottinvt]

Thanks for the responses. Another thing about the B.E.R.P. device I use: it's helpful not just for chops but musically. It helps me to "hear" the pitch of the notes. I try and buzz slightly more challenging things than the usual diatonic scale: whole tones, diminished whole tone scale, etc. Just wanted to mention this.
I guess we all have to find out what works and what doesn't work. For now I'll stick with using the B.E.R.P. SPARINGLY along with the Systematic Approach exercises.

[David Roberts]