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muzak24
Regular Member


Joined: 07 Jan 2002
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am on my fourth week of the Caruso Method and have had wonderful results. I have noticed one thing that I have a question about. Near the end of my Caruso session, I notice that I have to fight to keep my aperture closed enough to produce a buzz. This never happens anywere else in my practice. I am pretty sure it has to do with the fact that the mouthpiece is on the lips for the extended period of time. Should I fix it while doing the exercise (ie. readjust my lips) or should I rest a few seconds and then put the horn back on my lips?

Another question I have concerns when to do the Caruso stuff. I usually open my day with it and close my day with it. Should I put them closer together or will this suffice? I get about 2 hours of practice a day during the week, spread out over teh entire day (20-30 minutes at a time) and a little less on the weekends.

Thanks

Matt
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PH
Bill Adam/Carmine Caruso Forum Moderator


Joined: 26 Nov 2001
Posts: 5859
Location: New Albany, Indiana

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Read the instructions in MCFB every day until the procedure clicks. HOW you do the exercises and what you think (or don't think) is what makes this stuff work (or not work).

It is very important that you DON"T CONSCIOUSLY FIX ANYTHING!

If the sound stops you should keep blowing until the next scheduled rest. This kind of thing is to be expected when doing the interval studies, but sometimes it even happens with the six notes. Don't freak. Keep on going-blowing, tapping your foot, subdividing, and expecting the sound to come around. When you get to the next scheduled rest/breath you can stop and regroup just as you would when the sound shuts off when practicing the seconds or other interval studies.
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_bugleboy
Carmine Caruso Forum Moderator


Joined: 11 Nov 2001
Posts: 2865

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pat,

I'm wondering what you mean by,

"..............and what you think (or don't think) is what makes this stuff work (or not work)."

Regards,

CR
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muzak24
Regular Member


Joined: 07 Jan 2002
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 1:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, but how close should my sessions with the Caruso Method be? Is it ok to start the day off and then close my session with it in the evening ... with a warm-down afterward.

Thanks.

Matt
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PH
Bill Adam/Carmine Caruso Forum Moderator


Joined: 26 Nov 2001
Posts: 5859
Location: New Albany, Indiana

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Charly,

I've run into so many people who don't follow the procedures to Carmine's exercises, or think that their purpose is to build a tremendously strong embouchure. Rather than focusing on timing, the subdivided beat, and allowing the system to balance itself they start thinking about "clamping" the corners, or other weight lifting kinds of ideas, in order to build strength. If I had a $5 bill for every screwed up player I ran into who got into chop trouble because they thought that these studies were about strength (rather than finding balance by focusing on timing) I could retire a wealthy man. There is a lot of misinformation out there about the method and a lot of people trying to teach the stuff who never really understood the principles.

The only thing you should think of when your doing Caruso studies is timing. Tap your foot. Subdivide every beat (mentally). Keep the blow going.

DO NOT fix anything (repetition does the fixing). DO NOT think about how it feels. DO NOT think about how it sounds. DO NOT worry about pressure, mouthpiece placement, breath support, tongue position, or any of the myriad other things you might think of. Thinking about anything but the timing and keeping the blow steady is a distraction that will (at the very least) retard progress.

That's what I mean.

[ This Message was edited by: PH on 2002-01-21 21:20 ]
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PH
Bill Adam/Carmine Caruso Forum Moderator


Joined: 26 Nov 2001
Posts: 5859
Location: New Albany, Indiana

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 6:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As for Muzak24's question about the daily schedule, I recommend looking at Charly's opening post on the "Getting Started" thread. If you do each exercise he recommends once a day you'll improve really rapidly. Don't be in a hurry to get through the entire MCFB book. It isn't that kind of method. You should do the exercises once a day for a week (or even two weeks) before moving to the next step.

Use the remainder of your practice time to work on music-etudes, solos, ensemble parts, jazz tunes, etc.
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_bugleboy
Carmine Caruso Forum Moderator


Joined: 11 Nov 2001
Posts: 2865

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 7:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pat,

I agree 100% with that post. I wasn't sure of the meaning of your sentence,

"HOW you do the exercises and what you think (or don't think) is what makes this stuff work (or not work)."

because if you remove the parenthetical expressions, which sometimes may be considered extraneous to the meaning of a sentence, it would read,

"HOW you do the exercises and what you think is what makes this stuff work."

and as you pointed out, thinking is not what you want to be doing. Nor, as you pointed out, are these exercises anything like weight lifting. Carmine used to hate any comparisons to weight lifting. He used a distance runner as one comparison. Distance runners don't need muscle mass; they need synchronized muscles.

Actually Carmine allowed me to think of one thing while practicing his stuff............my foot.

Good post!

Regards,

Charly

PS. Hey, when are we gonna get the Adam theory on sound? As I said before, I'm really out of it on that and would like to see it explained.



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Charles Raymond

[ This Message was edited by: bugleboy on 2002-01-21 22:37 ]
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