It's a simple equation, isn't it???
There are a lot of things that affect the sound. Certainly the equipment that we use will help to shape our sound. Mouthpieces and bells, lead pipes and bore sizes all have some influence on the sound. I’m not a big equipment guy myself, but I do try to get the equipment that makes me sound and feel the best about my playing. However, I’m not sure that this is really the bottom line on what we sound like.
Another thing that can really affect the sound is our own personal concept, or what we want to sound like. That is usually formed by who we listen to and what our tastes are. My own concept was formed largely by listening to the Montreal Symphony recordings with James Thompson playing the principal trumpet part. I love his sound on those recordings. It’s big and powerful, but incredibly refined. It really had a big influence on what I wanted my sound to be like. But while I think that concept is an important part of developing a great sound, I don’t think that is the bottom line either.
What is the bottom line? Think about where the sound actually comes from. What is the very first thing that sounds when we play? If you guessed lips you are correct! Way to go! Now we have the question of what makes the lips vibrate? If you guessed air you are correct again! How the air gets to the lips and how they subsequently vibrate is really the bottom line in sound for me. I spend a lot of time every day working on this very thing. I do that by spending time on mouth piece buzzing, and also some time every day free buzzing. Both of these things really help me to focus the vibration of the lips while also trying to maximize the area that is buzzing. It’s very important for me to get the air to the lips at the right speed and volume without forcing or adding tension. This leads me to the title of this blog.
As a general rule I don’t like math, however in this case I make an exception. Here is what I try to think about in order to keep my sound healthy.
Here is my equation:
V x V x E = note/sound
These letters stand for Velocity (how fast the air is moving), Volume (how much air is moving), and Embouchure Strength (how close the lips are together). If these three things are in balance you can play any note you want with a great sound.
So that’s the blog this week. Please feel free to ask any questions. I know this is a fairly big topic and it’s hard to get everything in one blog.
Also check out the studio corner. There are some updates on my GGS studio class and Eric Ruske’s master class review will be posted soon.
Lastly I want to point out that Joe Alessi , principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic will be here in Toronto giving a master class at the Glenn Gould School on February 14, 2010 at 10:00 am. If you’re in town please come and visit us.
Best,
Andrew
Is a good summary of my last lesson ! Lesson that helps me a lost be the way, Thanks !
I may have misunderstood. There is something about this that I don’t want to believe. It seems that through everything I have read, that this is the backwards approach, but I am interested in what you are saying.
There was a study done a while ago put out by associated press that found that professional instrumentalists played their instrument, their auditory cortex was engaged. For amateur instrumentalists it was their motor cortex. So it would seem that it is the other way around, not thinking about the mechanics, but the sound.
This evidence from that study seems to corroborate such books as the “inner game of….” as well as “psycho-cybernetics”. I know inner game talks about quieting the mind that analyses and letting the other voice speak. In gereral, it seems that these books talk about a more ‘goal oriented’ way of performing physical tasks. Which I will go into further detail with the next example.
Not only that, but it seems like the Chicago School, a la Arnold Jacobs, seems to think in very similar terms. I know in a masterclass with John Hagstrom when he came to our university (and a variation can be seen on the yamaha podcast), what he talked about was again a goal oriented approach. He said in the yamaha podcast “i don’t want to say it’s all about mechanics, in fact, its completely the opposite.” Basically this was said in his metaphor of trumpet playing to learning how to speak. “You invest time in the vocabulary, then it is so deeply ingrained, that all i have to do is speak [think of what it is i want to sound like, play like] and it happens even though it takes physical action.”
To go on with the arnold jacob book, I know one thing that really jumped out at me was “sound good, then you’ll feel good.” This along with the rest of what is written leads me to believe that he taught with this goal oriented approach. “SOUND good, and the mechanics will follow.”
You yourself said that James Thompson had a big influence on your sound. You may have, but to me i don’t think you asked.. what is the volume and velocity of your air and what’s your embouchure like… it is just a concept.
And I know personally through my experience, if I am having a tough time with mahler 5 and I put on that recording of herseth laying it down… all of a sudden my playing is better. I didn’t practice 2 seconds longer, all i did was listen and carry that concept in my head, and held on to it for dear life.
When I talked to phil smith about this, he said its about the singing sound in his head that is the driving force behind his sound and music And i can only imagine.. that a really great performer of trumpet is not thinking on the opening of Mahler 5… ok, velocity this much, embouchure… set… but rather just playing it like it is in their head… not worrying about all the mechanics. It seems unfocused for me.
For me Note/Sound DOES NOT EQUAL V x V x E… but rather SOUND is the cause for correct V, V and E.
I may have grossly understood your point though.
I do want to know of what your thoughts are on this though.
Thanks and keep them coming!
Hi Alex,
Thanks for the interesting comment. I’m not sure what to tell you. This has worked pretty well for me so far.
Best,
Andrew
Haha,
Well, I guess that counts for something…. you aren’t principle because you can’t play.
Thanks,
-Alex
Hey Alex (no, not you, Andrew),
I can’t remember who told me this (clearly my notes aren’t as well annotated as yours), but I once heard someone speak about four stages of knowledge: unconscious incompetence, which is not realizing your inability to do something; conscious incompetence, which is realizing your inability; conscious competence, which is actively understanding your ability; and ultimately unconscious competence, like the famous story about Maurice André saying “C’est automatique!”
I think that the key to reaching this last stage is training your habits in the ‘conscious competence’ stage, and I think that is what Andrew is talking about. You don’t drive a car with the hood up, but high performance machines require constant tweaking and adjustment to function at the highest level. In the practice room we find what works and do everything we can to make it our default habit.
To me, a key to performing is knowing what I need to pay attention to at any given time. Ideally I’m thinking musically and my playing is happening in the fourth stage, but there are times when I know I’ve got to peek under the hood and make sure things are running smoothly.
Hope that helps,
Adam
Hello Adam,
I completely agree and that is how I function to get better at trumpet playing. However, the title of the post is “Want a Great Sound…”
In this particular instance, where we are trying to achieve a particular sound… it seems odd to think of air and chops when it is usually a concept we are trying to achieve, that probably is best achieved in a goal oriented approach rather than a mechanical approach.
I in no way said that you should just go through life not trying to get better in a practical efficient manner, but to get a good SOUND, I don’t think there should be such a focus on Velocity, Volume, and especially embouchure.
Hope i cleared myself up,
Alex