Joined: 07 Jan 2005 Posts: 127 Location: Queensland
Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2019 9:43 pm Post subject: How to learn, whistling and playing and some 60 second ideas
Hi THers, long time no chat. I am flat out with a bunch of different initiatives and looking at even just the first two pages of post topics here I know I can address a lot of the issues. If you are interested check out:
How to Learn AND the Alexander Technique (forgive the blur, I didn't realise...lucky we listen with out ears not our eyes.
#wihsc - The WindWorks International Harmonic Slur Challenge. The relationship between whistling and playing. Here is Day 1 of Week 2 to give you an idea but please start at Day 1, all of the videos are on the 1st page.
It's FREE to take part but you must register for the Practice Progress Charts (PPC's) to store your progress from one day to the next. It's easy, effective, fun and FREE to get cracking.
That will keep you busy. Please come and join the #wihsc, the results I am getting even after one week are obvious and you will have fun and improve your efficiency, I guarantee it.
I’ve viewed only the “Alexander” video, so my comments do not pertain to the others.
I know Greg and I know that many in the trumpet community have issues with one thing or another (or everything) about his teaching, and I just don’t get that.
Maybe it’s his unbridled enthusiasm which might appear to be self promotional.
Maybe it’s that he’s trying to make a legitimate business out of his teaching and materials.
Maybe it’s his integration of established concepts/methods by antecedent teachers without explicit acknowledgement
? ? ? ? ? …
I’m a fan of the Alexander Technique. I’m glad that someone pointed out to Greg that his approach to having to unlearn before we can learn anew has been put into print in fairly modern times.
Whether it’s phrased as breaking a bad habit or something else – we have to unlearn our current (unsuccessful, less than optimum, could be better, not efficient, …) way of playing the trumpet, or certain aspects of our playing, before we can learn a better way.
During the years that I was active – I’ve dropped in and out of music and retired a couple of times – I played OK and was hired and re-hired and offered positions by classical and commercial organizations and individuals who would be recognizable to some of you. I’ve had lessons with some great teachers – including Greg, and, it’s likely that everyone one of them mentioned or alluded to the concept of, “if you want to do it differently (better), you’ll have to stop doing it the way that you’re doing it.”
George Rawlin, in his AirPlay videos, gets to the points that we need to develop as an efficient player but his videos are not as well produced or as deep and as wide as are Greg’s Mystery To Mastery/WindWorks. Like Jeff Smiley’s BE exercises (and explanatory text) and some of the Adam teachings, George and Greg use very specific physical/mechanical methods to begin unlearning old ways to make way for the new.
A fairly recent post from Jeff on the BE Forum – The best thing to do with BE is to learn how to do ALL the exercises exactly as described in the book. In striving to do the exercises correctly, you will be forced to try some things that you have not done before. In this limited experimentation, you will figure out how your embouchure responds, and where to go from there.
Another teacher who goes into the concept of “letting go” is Roddy Trumpet. His writing is arduous and repetitive but at its core is extremely solid. Larry Meregillano might come off to some as a cocky trumpet jock on his youtube videos but he’s not that way in person and his book is solid, too.
There will be – as there always are – naysayers and contrarian internet experts because Greg, and others that I’ve mentioned, don’t teach it the way that they were taught, and that is a shame. My shameful interaction with Jerry Callet comes to mind – he tried to impart some trumpet wisdom to me 35 years ago but “I knew more than he did.”
Listen to Greg read the preface to the Alexander book in the video.
Buy into WindWorks
Buy into BE
Buy into AirPlay
Get a Skype lesson with Greg or George or Jeff or other meaningful teachers on the forum and elsewhere but keep an open mind and be a considerate thinker and an intentional actor who can humbly learn and benefit from others – not pick arguments.
Joined: 07 Jan 2005 Posts: 127 Location: Queensland
Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 8:02 pm Post subject:
Hey thanks Denny, I'm a little shell shocked to be honest...
Quote:
I know Greg and I know that many in the trumpet community have issues with one thing or another (or everything) about his teaching, and I just don’t get that.
I'm not actually sure why I offend. I would love to know so I can explain my motivation. I'm still just a frustrated 15yo who is obsessed with learning and passionate about sharing.
Quote:
Maybe it’s his unbridled enthusiasm which might appear to be self promotional.
I'd be MORTIFIED if this is the case. To be honest, when I perform, like I did last night, I am totally threatened by the "Look at me" mentality hence why I have cut right back on my performing.
I feel my value is sharing what I have learnt. There are millions who can do what I can do on the horn so I often feel I have nothing to offer whereas as a teacher, I have had amazing experiences that most others haven't and can explain things in a way most others can't.
I get far more satisfaction helping out people, especially frustrated professional players than I do performing in front of thousands of people.
Quote:
Maybe it’s that he’s trying to make a legitimate business out of his teaching and materials.
I spend hour upon hour upon hour releasing FREE material to help people, in fact I have been criticised for putting out TOO MUCH free stuff.
All of the options above are FREE and I can say with total confidence that if people were to engage in it, they will improve their playing.
Of course there is a paid option, I need to make a living just like everyone else. I don't know many people who teach at institutions or at home or on skype or facetime and do so for free. I don't know many people who write books or run schools that do so for free.
Sadly I do have to promote in order for people to know about what I am doing. It is not pleasant but must be done. We all have bills to pay.
Quote:
Maybe it’s his integration of established concepts/methods by antecedent teachers without explicit acknowledgement
I am constantly referring to and giving credit to methods of the past and current teachings. I call out, with utter respect, things that I disagree with and the reasons behind my challenging of traditional ideas.
It is not just to be different for difference sake but to shed light on what is often very confusing and we only need to look at the questions asked on the threads here to discover the huge amount of confusion that abounds in this game.
I would ask people who are frustrated to checkout what is on offer and they might be surprised that the answers to their questions exist in a different place to what they expect.
Denny, I thank you for taking the time to write this response and allow me the opportunity to explain myself.
The essence of my teaching is to be open minded and experiment, not to consciously control the body encouraging manipulation and negative tension.
As some on here know, I am open minded and happy to change my approach if I discover I am wrong or if there is a better way.
This little ditty sums me up. I said this at a masterclass:
"If someone said to me 'Hey Greg, you've got it all wrong, you just need to put your instrument to your ear and squint, it will sound better and be easier to play!' I would be the first to try it. And if it worked I would delete all of my videos and start again...
Hi Greg,
thanks vor giving such a fervent plead in favour of Alexander technique. I appreciate very much that such a famous player and pedagogue tries to give an insight into the technique. I would like to go back to your starting point the Alexander technique.
In my opinion the Alexander technique is the most misunderstood technique especially by people looking for a shortcut or some kind of trick to deal with their playing issues. I think it would be helpful to read the story of F.M. Alexander „inventing“ the technique to understand how long it takes to establish any changes to our habits. Trumpet playing is only a small part of a bunch of habits to change, a part that cannot be looked at an isolated issue. You have to deal with your entire „use of the self“ as Alexander calls it.
I'm doing Alexander lessons on a regular basis for 4 years and it was the best discovery of my life in getting a better use of the self. I began to take lessons because of lower back pain and attacks of lumbago and problems in head neck and shoulders due to my demanding job as endoscopist in a large hospital. At the same time I began to play the trumpet on a more regular base. I read a lot and observed the great players (e.g. Marsalis Hardenberger) who by the way have a very straight embouchure and position of the horn which could be easily identified as „good primary control“. I found a way to adapt to this position (whisper tones etc.) and go improve my breathing in a more natural way following singer's masterclasses (Thomas Hampson, Joyce di Donato). With trumpet playing getting more and more easily I took my horn to the Alexander lessons. There I tried to play „Badinage“ by Eugene Bozza, the beginning was always a nightmare for me, most of the time I failed. My Alexander teacher commented: „every time I look at your feet I can predict your failure, pass through your directions in your mind and keep concentrated on your feet.“ That made me succeed. It illustrates the fact that your entire self is involved in a process as playing the trumpet. You cannot isolate it, it is always the whole body and mind involved. There are no short cuts. And it is true changes need time.
You should spend time in Alexander lessons, the technique has the potential to solve a lot of your problems, so that the improvemens in trumpet playing are just nice side effects. Maybe better than most of the trumpet lessons you ever had.
Best regards Thomas
Hi Greg,
thanks vor giving such a fervent plead in favour of Alexander technique. I appreciate very much that such a famous player and pedagogue tries to give an insight into the technique. I would like to go back to your starting point the Alexander technique. It illustrates the fact that your entire self is involved in a process as playing the trumpet. You cannot isolate it, it is always the whole body and mind involved. There are no short cuts. And it is true changes need time.
...
You should spend time in Alexander lessons, the technique has the potential to solve a lot of your problems, so that the improvemens in trumpet playing are just nice side effects. Maybe better than most of the trumpet lessons you ever had.
Best regards Thomas
Welcome, Cavaillé -- glad to hear your good report about success with Alexander lessons.
As Greg made the point in the top video, he doesn't teach the Alexander Technique, per se, but has been shown that his methods and approach are well aligned with "letting go" and unlearning to allow new learning and in letting the body do what it was meant to do, without straining or forcing.
Greg teaches -- and this is not necessarily unique to him -- how to think of the body-air-instrument as one big machine rather than three separate things.
There is none other than the tongue moves. You are drawing false conclusions that it has something to do with oral "resonance".
The tongue has a comfortable and natural position for the particular embouchure effort one is using at any instant. That is all. There is no "coordinated resonance" that exists or is even required. The resonance is the instrument and the standing wave ends with the antinode in the mouthpiece cup when playing any tone.
Significant efforts are needed to master these techniques. But thank you very much for the good recommendations.
As soon as I finish writing a review of one book, I will try to master this technique! By the way, I have not previously written reviews of books, but I came across https://ourculturemag.com/2020/12/23/how-to-write-unique-book-review-in-4-steps/, where briefly describes how best to do this. I will tell you that after such advice, the tasks became much faster and more enjoyable. So I recommend that you get acquainted and try if you have the same problem.
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