importance of tongue

[Mattk0]

I was with my lesson teacher who is a student of Claude Gordon, and I got about 1 1/2 lesson yesterday instead of my 1/2 hour (although some could get bored after 1/2 hour I could listen to lil tips all day!!, anything that helps) anywayz, he was telling me the complete importance of the tongue, which I have disregarded as well as so so so many other books and people out there....I've never used my tongue to this extent and never realized what compression I could get...it's awesome...just thought I'd share...Anyone have to add anything?

[dbacon]

Relax the muscles at the base of the tongue. This can be a choke point for your air flow. With the front tongue arch that Claude advocated, the back of the tongue can swell with tension and defeat the tongue syllables. Think of the lips as being the first and only point of resistance to the air flow. A relaxed tongue works better for playing the trumpet.


Dave Bacon

[Quadruple C]

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-10-02 15:02 ]

[dbacon]

That's an excellent analysis, David. I learned something! Thanks!

Ties together some stray concepts I had.


Dave Bacon

[_londonhusker]

Amen, Quadruple C!

Claude Gordon's approach to problem diagnosis and subsequent corrective practice points to his most valuable contribution to trumpet teaching.... that of helping students learn to systematically identify and solve their own problems in the course of becoming well-rounded musicians. This is of far more lasting value than all of the "lift fingers high, strike valves hard" stamps found scattered throughout our well-worn exercise books. I think he would be pleased to be remembered more for his inspirational legacy and lasting musical contribution to those whose lives he touched.

I firmly believe this can be said of the other great master teachers as well. Although I did not personally experience the zest and charisma of Caruso, the dynamic vision of Callet, the passion and vitality of Herseth, Reinhardt, Adam, Stamp and others, it is love of music and the passion for the instrument found in each of their disciples that speaks volumes about the depth of their influence.

Often, discussions about the varied approaches to trumpet teaching and learning get bogged down in the zealous dogma propogated by the adherents of each system. There are a host of quality players, each arriving at their current status in the profession via their own path. As students, each brought with them varying degrees of musical aptitude, affinity for psychomotor development, varied physical characteristics, as well as passion and desire for their own personal improvement. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to have had our lives touched even once by a great teacher hopefully recognize that the teacher's efforts were directed toward helping us as individuals, by identifying what they felt we needed to concentrate on the most. I believe Claude's preoccupation with 'forgetting about the lips' grew out of a desire to help us mentally combat obsessions that he believed could paralyze our musical progress, and not out of a question of physiological understanding.

Like all of the great teachers, Claude Gordon gleaned what he felt was the essence of his own teacher's approaches and put them together the way his experience told him made the most pedagogical sense. He presented this "circuit-training" approach to his students and readers as the basis of his system of instruction. For the individuals who walked in his studio door, he did his best to apply his knowledge of brass pedagogy, thereby adapting his instructional methods to meet the specific needs of the individual.

Dave
londonhusker

[LFRoberts5]

I heard Arturo Sandoval gave a clinic one time and the whole time he talked about the tongue. I have found in my own playing that the more correctly positioned and relaxed my tongue is the better I play. Jerry Callet has a new book called Trumpet Secrets and alot of it involves the tongue.

[Redlips]

Hi all,

I plant my tongue down as low and out of the way as possible... all the time... I believe it is much better to just concentrate on building strong, tight corners (of your embouchure), and simply rely on your air/compression.

My 2 cents worth!
_________________
Regards,
Dale