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my lesson with pops



 
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chuck in ny
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Joined: 23 Sep 2006
Posts: 3597
Location: New York

PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 12:51 pm    Post subject: my lesson with pops Reply with quote

well. the man himself addressed my playing. i fully expected that this or that would be wrong, and need a tweak, but was unprepared for what the deal really was.
at some point early on i had found my aperture was too large, and then tightened things up and was able to play higher notes more easily... and in doing so i kept the lips close to the teeth, maintaining the tension to deal with the aperture. lo and behold i have just found out that you are not supposed to play that way, that your lips are supposed to pucker, roll out i suppose, extend into the cup somewhat.
we have had numerous discussions on playing technique, lip position, half the stuff about how the tongue cures all, and in all this fury of condensed information, this fundamental stuff never got my eye or ear. i have been playing in a substantially unsound way.
it is completely humiliating. and it's all right. it's always small things that make the difference, and excrement makes a nice facial, and all of that.
pops has set me to mouthpiece buzzing which i have not done before, buzzing on pitch, and using the new lip set position. thence to the horn with increased resonance.
new procedures bother me not at all with trumpet playing. many express fears of making this or that change. no matter what you do, you need supreme confidence that you will be able to work things out, and for that matter you need supreme confidence that you will be able to play trumpet well. you are the person, the trumpet is hardware.
a big thank you to clint.
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Pops
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Joined: 14 Sep 2002
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Location: Dallas (Grand Prairie), Texas

PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are very welcome.
I enjoy every lesson I give. (I hope they do too. LOL)

It isn't a matter of puckering as much as not using a lot of muscles to fight and hold the lips tight against the teeth. I said to not fight the lips on Low C. Let them move into position when you blow.

I did say that vibrating the tissue between the lips allows for more vibrations and more resonance. But how much we need varies from player to player. Some do this and really have no pucker at all and some look like they are doing monkey kisses. (The why is complicated.)

The embouchure is a dynamic thing. It needs the ability and flexibility to change and move.
An example is me.
My lips blow into the cup from Low F# to the top of the staff. From there they are starting to make a slight hint of a curl. Then lip compression forms a tiny bit more curl up really high. (I never get really curled.)

Had I seen you when you were playing really open, then the advice would have been vastly different from what I said today. Today you were closed/curled so much that you choked the notes. So you needed to uncurl.

Every player is different and in a different part of their journey. So every lesson is different.
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Clint 'Pops' McLaughlin
You can always Google me.
50 years Teaching. Teaching and writing trumpet books is ALL I do.
7,000 pages of free music. Trumpet Books, Skype Lessons: www.BbTrumpet.com
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chuck in ny
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Joined: 23 Sep 2006
Posts: 3597
Location: New York

PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 3:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah. it isn't really a matter of extending the lips into the cup, more to have them blowing out in a steady whistle as you suggested. i played some after the lesson and in a relatively short time the new position started to feel the natural set. it needs another 20 hours of course. it is also <really> helpful to blow notes to pitch into the mouthpiece, and then blow the note plugged into the trumpet.
in the end and the funny thing is that it now feels like a small position change. it is a small enough thing that i haven't taken a hit in playing save whatever discomfort and befuddlement for an hour.
no two ways about it, i need help in life, and it has its comical aspects.
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chuck in ny
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Joined: 23 Sep 2006
Posts: 3597
Location: New York

PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

going a bit further with this. i am acclimating to the pucker or smooch position and it is not that radical or daunting a change. the vibrating surface must be slightly further back in the mouth/lips. it is a more natural blow insofar as the sensation of just blowing and sound coming easily, doing more on a light airstream. there are another couple of partials available playing this way although it will take more practice to find and control the final one. then the lack of tension and all makes it a good deal.
from the brief period i tried balanced embouchure the approach to the higher register was to roll in. not out. i have decided that it's not completely necessary to penetrate this mystery may the BE crowd go in peace.
the mouthpiece buzzing is its own revelation, playing against a digital tuner and getting a better ear for pitch.
all good stuff and taking the time to enjoy the journey.
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Richard III
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Joined: 22 May 2007
Posts: 2611
Location: Anacortes, WA

PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 3:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds like stuff I'm finding in this book by John Daniel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuqNl13_iHI

I'm really enjoying his method and getting good results.
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Conn 22B Trumpet
York Eminence Model 4028 Cornet
1903 Conn The Wonder Cornet
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chuck in ny
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Joined: 23 Sep 2006
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Location: New York

PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 6:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

john's book is on my list to get. trent carries them.
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