Hi Elgin, thanks for your message. I am intrigued and will have a listen. I know Peter so it will be interesting to hear.
I feel taking the word “wind” out of one of the most respected brass approaches misses the intention of the “Wind and Song” concept BUT I might be misinterpreing what Peter means.
If he is alluding to people overblowing, then I totally concur this is a problem. However the words “blowing like singing” can create the same psychology causing over-exertion.
As I say many times, the psychology of blowing (candles or nose etc…) can engage unnecessary musculature. This in turn creates a process of forcing against resistance which in turn creates unnecessary back pressure in the Body’s Concert Hall; to quote Mr Jacobs, “danger lies in blowing against the resistance of the instrument”.
“Blowing like playing the trumpet” suggests constant active engagement of the breath support musculature therefor negating the importance of PASSIVE REDUCTION.
In essence, what he is saying is fine and it aligns to a degree with my approach but the above statements ironically could possibly set the same psychology of “wind” that it seems he has issues with.
I know for a fact that Peter is a killer player. I also know for a fact that he “never talks to his students about breathing” – I am guessing because it might encourage over exertion which of course “can” be a problem.
The singing approach is definitely the way to go as long as the singing process is pure. Watch the 1% Rule Video.
Beyond the “feeling” of it, check out the Sound Column and Body’s Concert Hall videos again to see how a relaxed and resonant body positively affects our playing; there is a bit of physics involved.
Speaking of physics, did he happen to mention anything about the trumpet in the upper register, he has a particular interest in that…
I will be explaining this in detail in the forthcoming Ultimate Level of WindWorks.
At the end of the day, I’m sure the intention of the comments is to encourage efficiency and freedom of playing which is all any teacher can do.
My concern is always ‘what psychological impact does a statement have on a student’ and getting a point across to everyone is near on impossible 🙂
Cheers,
Greg
