Irons vs. Brandt or Clarke

bophead · Posted: Mon May 12, 2003 9:34 am Post subject:

I've had the Irons etudes suggested to me & have never worked out of them. How do they compare to Brandt or the Clarke Studies?
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_trumpetgod_02 · Posted: Mon May 12, 2003 10:33 am Post subject:

Hey,

Irons is flexability studies. Clarke and Brandt are both Etudes. If you get the Clarke's Characteristic studies that is....

Nick
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AverageJoe · Posted: Mon May 12, 2003 11:30 am Post subject:

Irons is a wonderful collection of flexibility (lip slur) exercises with some multiple tonguing stuff at the end. The flexibility studies are progressive, and each section contains notes on approach and performance. These are akin to the Colin Advanced Lip Flexibilities, but they are more accessible to the developing player, where Colin's book starts at a higher level. Clarke Technical Studies do not utilize lip slurs as much (except the third study). Clarke is more devoted to breath development (playing long phrases) and finger dexterity. Most of the exercises are scale-based, and Irons is based on the overtone series. Help me out here, guys, if I missed something!

I use the Irons exercises in my own practice and with my students to work on keeping a fluid sound from low-to-high-back-to-low (in technical terms, a relaxed airstream and responsive embouchure through the range of the instrument). When my students begin to "get it," they will typically go through a period of rapid improvement.

These exercises are FANTASTIC!!

Paul Poovey

[ This Message was edited by: AverageJoe on 2003-05-12 14:35 ]

DaveH · Heavyweight Member Joined: 20 Nov 2001 Posts: 3861

It seems to me that Clarke is more about fingering exercises and finger fexterity, while Irons is more about lip flexibility. I think many of the Irons exercises are played from a single valve position(typical lip slurs), relying on the movement of the lips and tongue - the position of the tongue being responsible for pitch change.

mafields627 · Posted: Mon May 12, 2003 3:07 pm Post subject:

In addition to finger dexterity, and I believe moreso than that, Clarke Technical is about air flow. That's why you're supposed to do them at pp-ppp volumes. You have to have a constant, steady air stream to achieve the true purpose of the exercise. Once you get into the fourth and fifth exercises, they become difficult to play if your air stream isn't working properly. After a while, the fingerings become automatic but, the airflow changes each day. That's why I always go back to Clarke Technical Line #37 when my tone is off.

In regards to the Iron's, I always go back to exercises #7, 8, and 9. I've found that those are the ones that help me best maintain my flexibility. The Brandt etudes are great for working on tonguing. There's one particular exercise in the twenties that's a killer. I believe almost the whole thing is octave and a half slurs.
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