Missing on Intervals

[Terry]

A phrase I read often in this forum is "Don't fix anything consciously."

Well, often when I play the intervals, I overshoot the descent and land on the lower partial. This happens most often with Seconds in the higher register. Should I still keep blowing on the wrong note without lipping it back up?

[_bugleboy]

Terry: A phrase I read often in this forum is "Don't fix anything consciously."

CR: That is a context statement. Can't be applied literally in any context.

Terry: Well, often when I play the intervals, I overshoot the descent and land on the lower partial. This happens most often with Seconds in the higher register.

CR: Try focusing more on your timing and subdivision.

Terry: Should I still keep blowing on the wrong note without lipping it back up?

CR: No. Lip back to the correct note

[PH]

In my mind the "don't fix" part of the instructions have to do with consciously manipulating the physical process.

If you go to a different note than you intended (or the note doesn't speak or any one of a dozen other "mistakes" you might make), then you should just keep blowing and move to the right note by any means necessary. Fixing means that you should not consciously let yourself manipulate your body by moving the mouthpiece placement, changing your lip position or anything else. This does not mean that you won't find your unconscious mind doing these things for you in order to get the note. It means that you go for the timing, blow steady, and "use the force" to make the changes that will move you to the right note.

The unconscious mind might manipulate the body, but the conscious mind just subdivides the beat and observes the activity.