Bo,

When you say “A and Bb in the second staff”, do you mean above the staff (i.e. A and Bb just below High C)? I presume so.

It is difficult to explain–you’re right. At times, I feel foolish to try but something compels me to make the attempt. I suppose it’s because I was lost for so long and finally feel like I found my way.

The “risky…[Read more]

This is neat, thanks for posting.

Conversely, is it true that if we practice bad process that we can go backwards or it can adversely affect our ability?

I have struggled in the past going from a dedicated focus on Process, which successfully increases my range and ability to focusing on Results and using that new range and ability but…[Read more]

You’re welcome. Good luck.

The “more tension is less” that you mention isn’t quite what I wrote.

What I wrote/meant is that the tension is in the aperture corners, not the middle of the lips–which is the area that interacts with the air and must be left free to vibrate as fast as possible.

And the tension os only as much as necessary.…[Read more]

You’re welcome, Eric.

I did have the feeling that I was fortunate to have been playing somewhat open to begin with, at least up to a point on the staff. I think I’ve always played that way. My problems started probably at about E on the staff and got very worse very quickly.

I don’t mean to contradict anything Greg recommends or WindWorks,…[Read more]

You’re welcome. I was just thinking about this thread as I was playing Clarke’s Second Study–I caught myself blowing rather than releasing air. Things were not feeling well, I felt like I was inefficient and things weren’t feeling good, I was feeling tired. I realized I wasn’t releasing the air; re-focused my attention to what I was doing, and…[Read more]

I think I can relate to that a bit. I’m a trumpet player, but I experienced something similar to what I think you’re describing.

For me, I think it was more about the air–it is a very subtle thing, almost imperceptible at times, especially when playing music and trying to read music, get the fingerings, articulation, dynamics, etc. right and…[Read more]

The movement is somewhat of a subtle thing and should only be as much as necessary, determined through experimentation. Less is more.

The corners of the mouth don’t seem to move much to me, there is more of a sensation of engagement/tension in the corners while the middle part of the lips are free to vibrate.

To me, it feels more as if the…[Read more]

Thanks Jutta. It may depend on the mouthpiece and lips. For me, I play a Bach 3C and my lips aren’t thick and it feels like my lips are able to stay within the diameter of the inner cup at both extremes–wide open low notes and very small diameter high notes. Might be different for others. Would be interesting to hear others take on this. I…[Read more]

You might also want to check out even some Bach or other brass quintet hymns. Those are simple, mellow, lyrical but pleasing to play (in my opinion) and allow us to focus more on sound production.

The Pacific Symphony recently posted a streaming concert of one of my favorite pieces of music and, even better, it was arranged for brass. The…[Read more]

Hi Jutta,

Can you elaborate further about what you mean “the lips slide over the mouthpiece cup”? You don’t mean the rim of the mouthpiece (mouthpiece winds up inside your mouth).

You mean your lips come out of the cup when you engage the aperture corners?

If that’s what you mean, I’m not sure that would make sense as the engagement of the…[Read more]

I bought a pTrumpet C trumpet and flugelhorn…do not buy either…

Got it, Philip.

Spending all your time in the technical circle will, in my opinion, not produce results. In my early “comeback” and experience with WindWorks, I tried that to expedite my development and it didn’t work–in fact, I believe it held me back for quite some time and almost led to my quitting for good.

In my opinion, it is…[Read more]

Welcome. I would go with a Yamaha over the ptrumpet.

I think it’s great that you’re focusing on these sensations a bit.

Assuming you’ve got a slight overbight, like most people, then in theory I think you’re right–that your jaw should probably stay more forward.

However, I would avoid trying to make that determination objectively in a vacuum. I think it’s much more important to learn what…[Read more]

Great question Philip–I myself struggled with the balance between being too obsessive with the elements of playing and playing exercises and playing music.

What I have found useful for me is to make sure I spend time on both.

In hindsight, I spent way too much time earlier in my “comeback” a couple years ago wasted on endless harmonic slurs…[Read more]

Thanks Greg, you’re very kind. I was thinking more would chime in… 😄 Things have been going great, thanks in large part to you and WindWorks and others on this forum who’ve helped me with their tips. Just started a renewed focus on WindWorks exercises again. I think this will be a great year.

Got it–I’ve been there as well. Be patient with yourself. What helped me the most was focusing intently on using Passively released air. I actually took sort of an extreme approach and didn’t play the exercises as suggested, alternating between Active and Passive air. I suggest following the WindWorks course closely, more than I did, but…[Read more]

Great posts, gents. J.Gardam, I need to structure my practice sessions…I must admit to playing extemperaneously most of the time. My intention was to structure things more this year, but frankly it hasn’t happened–I haven’t done it. I’ve been busy at work and other excuses… I just did a little number on my chops and had to take yesterday…[Read more]

Well said, philip. You’re right, failure is a good thing–it is how we learn. It can be frustrating when it happens, especially if we are focused on Results and do not have the mindset of being an objective observer. And if we don’t do anything to experiment trying something better, refocusing on better process and what it means to play open,…[Read more]

Thanks Greg! Another great video full of truthful insight, this one with a concise overview and a lot of specific guidance on how we can “check in” on the various aspects of playing.

I think the concept of “Illusion of Competence” is a great one.

What are we doing when we start our day playing?

Do we go through a warm up routine someone…[Read more]