further thoughts on bai lin flexibilities

chuck in ny

bai lin is my entire daily practice. i am sold out to this seeking endurance and range which it is good for. it isn't fast but it's not that slow either and it works. the lack of endurance and range is very upsetting as you are not a real player until you get some. staying with this book for a while now i feel good about my playing... a genuine student of the instrument.
this basic aspect of trumpet, the strength and accuracy of blowing it, is number one mission. down the road i can work on tonguing and my inaccurate sense of time and whatever else needs polished.
our own pops gave me embouchure correction which straightened things out and allowed progress to occur. as with using the bai lin book, i don't think that i am the only one who used a counter productive lip set. a lot of people have these problems that go unaddressed and give up the instrument out of supreme frustration despite their love of the trumpet.
master lin goes up to E over high C in this study and it made me thoughtful. my previous goal was to play the G, and wonder if americans are addled with range and that having an E would do as well, not planning to use more than the C in normal playing.

cheiden · Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 6:38 pm Post subject:

For a time I tried to rely on practicing only flexibilities which seemed to work for a while. Eventually things started falling apart and I found I needed a more balanced approach.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart

chuck in ny · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 1:27 pm Post subject:

charles

certainly all else is going to go to crap. i am selling out with this approach for strength and range.
i don't know what state of repair you were in when you tried this. all i can say is not having endurance is absolutely humiliating.
being happy in life is predicated on feeling good about yourself. this business is what it takes for me. i am stepping from misery to reputability. it's a factor of strength, and it's a factor of knack, and that's blowing the trumpet in a nutshell.

Andy Del · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 2:20 pm Post subject:

I sort of suspect, putting it gently, that to focus on one only one or two aspects of playing and ignoring the rest is an exercise in futility which will lead to only more frustration in the long run. To admit this will happen to one's playing while following this course of action is... I can't describe how foolish it sounds. Seriously.

Having ignored aspects of playing for years (or even decades) I know first hand it is far better to have a balanced point of view WRT one's playing.

Flexibility is a vital skill in brass playing. Range is needed, and as we play a far more range limited instrument than most, we need to put more emphasis on it than say, a pianist or bassist. But so too is tone quality, articulation, valve technique, multiple tonguing, dynamic range... and whatever else hasn't come straight to mind.

Endurance particularly is not just a simple case of mere strength in order to develop it. Efficiency is key. So too is brain training. I strongly suggest the OP go online and try to find a TV docco series called 'redesign my brain'. There are two seasons and much of what is explored is directly applicable to playing a musical instrument. (I actually felt rather chuffed that a lot of my work with kids encompasses the host's experiences in brain training).

I may be wrong, but have this feeling...

cheers

Andy
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so many horns, so few good notes...

VetPsychWars · Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 7:38 pm Post subject:

One thing for sure that lips slurs do, they will focus your embouchure into its more efficient place, and you ignore that to your peril.

Clearly too much of anything can wear a person out.

Tom
_________________
1950 Buescher Lightweight 400 Trumpet
1949 Buescher 400 Trumpet
1939 Buescher 400 Cornet
GR65M, GR65 Cor #1

Grits Burgh · Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 6:24 pm Post subject:

chuck in ny · Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 11:34 am Post subject:

cheiden · Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 1:20 pm Post subject:

For all my years of lessons, my daily routine covered all aspects of playing. But at the end was always a pile of Earl Irons flexibilities. My teacher made clear that this is where a lot of the heavy lifting/building took place. No argument there.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart

Andy Del · Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 1:41 pm Post subject:

chuck in ny · Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:50 am Post subject:

andy

i am assuming that everything else slides and doesn't get better while i chase the goal of strength and endurance. it doesn't bother me. another half year of embouchure development and i can work on the many other areas that need it.
i am the customer and need to please only myself. this is a personal thing as well as a musical one. i admire and chase strength. the instrument itself makes you chase range to play it at all. it isn't like a clarinet. which is cool. i love difficult and lengthy pursuits. best thing you can do, put the time in to become a trumpet player.