Questions about new Reinhardt book

[markp]

I got the new Reinhardt book and have been working out of it. Some questions have arisen:

1) I don't know how long I've been "flapping" my lips. You know--making the horse sound. Bobby Shew is a big proponant of doing this, and I've used it for years to get the blood flowing through the lips. As I went through the studies in the new Reinhardt book, I was doing it at every resting point. Is that okay?

2) I use two different mouthpieces with the same rim, but different cups. Lately I've heard people say that you should play on the more shallow cup as much as possible. By doing so, you are teaching your chops to be the most efficient. I play about 80% of the time normally on my larger mouthpiece for a warmer jazz sound. The other 20% of the time, I use the shallow mouthpiece for a more commercial sound in pop bands and commercial settings. The bigger mouthpiece is my main one, but which should I use for the Reinhardt studies?

3) Can anyone recommend a Reinhart teacher in the Southern California area, where I live?

4) The markings for most of the studies are quarter note equals 50 beats per minute. I took this to mean that all unmarked studies should be the same. But when I got to the tongued arpeggiated studies (#7,8 and 9) of the second day, pages 8 and 9) that tempo seemed way too slow.

I'm guessing that these studies can be played a good deal faster. Am I correct?

5) The book reminds you in many places to rest as much as you play. Does this mean between each two bar phrase--or between each numbered study? ---or both?

5) I'd also like some clarification on the instruction to keep the "weight" on the lower lip when executing descending slurs. Does this refer to horn angle? Pressure? I started getting worried that I wasn't doing this weight distribution properly. How do I know if I am?

[BeboppinFool]

[markp]

Thanks for the replies Rich. So far, so good. By the time I'm done each day it feels really good. I'll pick up the horn later in the day and it's much easier to blister some high notes, as well as cleanly slurring big intervals. That has always been hard for me. I like the melodies in the back of the book: Melancholy Baby, Stardust and Memories of You. It's nice to play them at the end of the practice session and have everything feel under control and have those high notes and big intervals pop right out. Those are just the kinds of things that I've cacked on many times.

The only question I still woul like a bit more clarity on is the one about resting as much as you play. I know that if I play a two bar phrase that takes 30 seconds, that I should rest 30 seconds or longer. But at the end of the numbered exercises, during which I rested between each phrase as I went through it, do I rest for as long as it took to play through the whole exercise? i.e. 10 minutes or so?

So far, the entire routine (although each day is different) takes about 35 to 45 minutes. That is without the Advanced Routines. Does that sound about right?

I just thought of one more: During the exercise in which you slur an interval, and then keep the horn in place on your chops in a "sphinx-like" manner while you rest for the next breath attack--I understand that the lips, hands and face stay completely still. But how do you keep the air back? Do you close your throat? Put your tongue in a place to stop the air? Or neither of these things--just use the internal muscles to hold back the air? Or just let it leak a little?

[airdyn]

[markp]

Okay--thanks. My tendency was to "shut off the hose" via tongue and/or a closed throat, and then to open it again for the next breath attack.

I suppose this is bad because it may jar or jostle the embrochure slightly, causing movement. Then, the next air attack has a slightly different embrochure setting to deal with. The idea here is to train the embrochure to be the same as much of the time as possible.

Am I barking up the right tree?

[BeboppinFool]

[airdyn]

[jerrydaz]

Shame om me for not reading the index of my new Reinhardt Routines by Rich Willey.
Lo and behold, what do I find today but the Reidhardt Warm-up #57 routines under the supplemental routines that begin on page 28.
My apologies to Rich Willey for not reading further than the Day 7 routine on page 21.
I guess the lesson here is read the index.
_________________
"All the Best"
Jerry Donato
Conn Constellation 38B
J. Marcinkiewicz E3.1 CH
Karl Hammond Design 4L
"For heights and depths no words can reach, music is the soul's own speech".

[airdyn]

Just thought of another reason for the "holding the rest" with no movements: To experience the "lips always just touching" except when "blown apart" to produce the aperture. What a great time to check on and experience your ability to keep them "just touching" when no air is passing between them. Dave s.