Question about how to study BE

[Shinoda]

Hi guys,

I just finished reading the BE book and decided to give it a try. First I'd like to share my experience as a trumpet student: I am a self-taught student and I tried what I call my normal embouchure with flat chin and also TCE. With my normal embouchure I have been studying Claude Gordon's Physical Approach. Since I'm new to trumpet playing and I am the kind of person who believes that all methods and embouchure are valid, I decided to try different embouchures until I find the one that suits me better.

Here's my question:

I can do the first 3 Roll-Out exercises, the LC and LCS and still learning the first RI exercise.

All these exercises can be done in less than 30 minutes. After that should I practice something else like Arban's, Clarke and lip slurs or am I done for the day ?

If I can practice other material, should I use my normal embouchure or the roll-in lips ?

PS: I'm asking this because I'm used to practice 2 to 3 hours daily.


Thank you.

[kehaulani]

The answers to all of these questions are in the BE book,
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[trumpetteacher1]

Kehaulani is correct, but I'll answer anyway.

RI and RO exercise the extremes. You don't play music with either of these setups (unless you are making a direct change, which is most often not recommended). Rather, RI and RO are designed to influence your regular setup to some degree over time.

So, the material you practice in addition to BE is played normally, without the emphasis of an extreme lip position.

[Shinoda]

I appreciated your reply, Jeff; as well as kehaulani's.

I've read the book 3 times in one week and each time I understand more. As you said Jeff, I should keep my normal embouchure for the extra material, which is a flat chin kind of embouchure. Is that ok ?

I also want to say that I can play other exercises with RI. However, my tone is not as good as with flat chin.

Since I'm a beginner and don't have a teacher I use my own judgment to find the one embouchure that suits me better. And I agree with what you said.

I think impatience is the number one enemy of us, trumpeters. I've tried other embouchures and methods and BE is the one that I'm enjoing the best and having the most best results in the last year.

I'll stick with it.

Thank you, guys.

[mafields627]

In my experience, I am not using RI or RO to play anything other than those specific exercises as instructed to do in the book. The exaggeration of the motion in those exercises transfers to increased motion when I play with my regular embouchure. The RI and RO specific embouchures do not exist outside of the BE book; however, the concepts are functioning in very minute ways during my normal playing. As I ascend, my lips roll in minutely; as I descend, my lips roll out minutely. This is how the "indirect" method works for me. All of this combines to improve my flexibility. The test for me, to see if I am "balanced," is to play from low G to high C and back down. If I can do this smoothly, with no gaps in the sound - especially as I descend below the staff - I know that things are working pretty well for me.

Again, this is what works for me, but that's what great about BE!
_________________
--Matt--

No representation is made that the quality of this post is greater than the quality of that of any other poster. Oh, and get a teacher!

[Shinoda]

Thanks for your reply, Matt.

So I guess the type of embouchure we use regularly is not so important (outside BE book). But I would like to ask you if you play with flat chin or if it's ok to use this embouchure.

[trumpetteacher1]

Shinoda, don't get too caught up in how the chin looks. My comments on the chin were largely a counter-measure to the influence of teachers, especially band directors, who force their students to flatten their chins as beginners. Not every band director does this, of course, but the number that do is disturbing.

All flat chin looks are not equal. The one I don't like is the extremely downward pointed chin which coincides with mouth corners that stretch back while ascending, like in a grimace. That one is a dead end, in my opinion. And yet, I've observed band directors mistakenly interpret Farkas and teach this very thing.

Jeff

[Shinoda]

You are right, Jeff.

Sometimes I tend to analyse things too much.

Now, just an update of this topic:

I've been studying BE for 3 weeks and read the book five times. I can now answer my first question on this post.

I'm very happy the way I'm progressing on trumpet using BE. My resistance got better, my range increased by a perfect fifth and now I can see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks to Jeff and everybody that helped me on this forum.

[Shinoda]

Jeff,

I would like to ask you, or anyone else here, something about lip slurs:

When doing lip slurs from books like C. Colin, Irons or Arban's, should I make the "Snap" ?

How should I approach these type of exercises from books other than the BE book ?

Thank you.

[trumpetteacher1]

The snap is a technique to aid in your development in doing the ALS. If you feel the snap helps you in other types of slurs, then do it.

ALS is designed to be the easiest and most effective way to learn to slur, even easier than Earl Irons. And exaggerated snaps are appropriate. For more complex slurs, like in some of the Colin exercises, developing fluidity is more important.

It's a balance.

Jeff

[Shinoda]

Thanks for your reply, Jeff.

I find the ALS 1 to 5, which are the ones I am studying at the moment, easier than any other type of slurs even the Irons material, like you mentioned.

Before I started BE I could not slur from C third space to E fourth space. After one or two weeks studying BE, I could slur from E fourth space to G. But now that slur is not easy as before. I was studying Colin's lip slurs, but realized this book is too advanced for me, so I decided to stick with a easier method, like Irons and the Vizzutti's lip slurs on his book 1.

I will try making the snaps on these slurs and see what happens.

Thanks.

[Shaft]

If you want to get some big leaps and slur past many partials at once try these two things.

1-Set your lips for the upper note. Let's say a G above the staff.

2-kick your abs inward as you go from a low note like low c or even 2 octaves below at the low G under the staff as you slur up to the higher note.

Get that down and you'll be amazed at the results.
_________________
🎺