Questions

[fitzy64]

Hello again,

Before the Questions:
I'm not sure if there is a forum post quota or anything but I hope I'm not doing anything bad by posting a lot in this forum.

Anyway, I've noticed that when my normal playing reaches two criteria:
1. ability to chromatic down to pedal G and maintain the tone
2. ability to play C scale at pp and sustain high C at pp without tone going bad or falling off the note...

...I am able to hit notes in the areas of Double G and Double A fairly well.

I was wondering if this is just coincidence or if I'm onto something, something to do to make those criteria more consistent, and something to reduce the need for those criteria.

Thanks,
Fitz
_________________
Somewhere University, Southeast US
10 Years Experience

1967 Bach Stradivarius 37
Yamaha Eric Miyashiro 1

[deanoaks]

The reason for this is fairly simple. It has to do with the balance between lip tension and air support.

When you play in the low and pedal registers at a reasonable dynamic with the low register beginning approx E sitting at the bottom of the staff, you are developing aperature control and strength. You have to blow a large amount of air volume to get the note to speak and a large and specific amount of lip tension to prevent the embouchure from blowing open.

When you play softly throughout the instrument, you are training yourself to play with a controlled and small aperature but applying a different set of muscles than when you are playing in the pedal range.

When you combine these exercises the result you get is a strong and precise embochure. The way to play high notes well is to find that proper lip air balance and the higher you go, the more narrow your margin for error becomes. Rather than the air volume you are generating in the low register, you are generating air velocity which also wants to blow the aperature apart but with proper training (most easily accomplished in the lower register or through soft playing) the upper register is played with more ease. The more you practice these things, the more you will engrain successful habits but there is not a substitute for low and slow exercises.

Does that make sense?

[JayKosta]

[Brad361]

[kalijah]

[deanoaks]

I do not care to defend my point but I feel I need to at least respond. I do believe you have completely missed what I am trying to say and stand by my statement.

[kalijah]

It's not that I don't understand your point, it's that I don't agree with it. The effort at the embouchure does not change much with increasing dynamic. This has nothing to do with blowing the lips apart. The rising pressure in the instrument with increasing loudness helps prevent this from occurring. You're not blowing into free air, you are blowing into the tone in the instrument and the instrument impedance.

As an example, I can play pedals almost continuously even four hours if I wanted to. The higher the note the less endurance one has. That is because the higher the note the more embouchure effort that is required. if you are using a lot of embouchure effort to play pedals you're going to run out of effort pretty quickly on higher notes. Regardless of loudness.

[Lionel]

[trumpetmandan]

[deleted_user_48e5f31]

Deleted by dfcoleman

[lexluther]