Pitch at the END of the note!

It has been a real pleasure listening to many horn players over the last few week who I don’t get a chance to hear on a regular basis! Such a wide variety of styles, sounds and techniques has been really fascinating. One thing that happens a lot is lack of attention to the pitch of the note at its end, both when the note connects to another and when it is the last note of the phrase. Even if the basic sound is efficient and good, when the pitch changes at the note’s end, especially when it happens on every note in a sequence of notes, it can ruin anything good that is happening in the phrase.

Watch for 2 things (these are usually the culprits):

  1. As the mind’s attention goes to the “next thing” (note), the foundation of air flow and pressure wanes, resulting in a fall in pitch (just like a balloon that loses air).

  2. Watch if you can the movement of the tongue at the end of the note. Sometimes this is such a habit that it is impossible to feel. Any extraneous movement of the tongue in unconscious preparation for another event (note) can alter the pitch. Wait until the last possible instant to prepare the tongue for the next note, focusing on the solidity of the air flow as a means of solidifying this attention.

What if my chops are not feeling right?

It’s one of the most uncomfortable realities that we have to live with: for whatever reason, be it overplaying the day before, dehydration, sunburn, swelling, or any other cause, our chops, the lips that vibrate, don’t feel right. What can be done (that doesn’t involve an anti-inflammatory medication)? Well, sometimes, but I’ve found very rarely, only time is the answer. But most times, this works well enough to get us through the challenge: see the aperture clearly in combination with a very strong visualization of the supporting muscles of the embouchure system (the orbicularis and its companions). I sometimes see clearly 4 “dots” of focused compression, lines of force moving to the center of the aperture, one over and one under each of the corners of the mouth. Remember, usually we don’t have to execute perfect embouchure support to sound good. But when we are compromised and swollen, real awareness of the function of each of the component parts of the embouchure’s vibration system can be a big help!

The importance of Air Pressure in regards to PITCH

In observing tendencies among young players, it’s easy to see the correlation between lack of PRESSURE in the air column and the inability to keep the pitch of any given note steady. A telltale sign of lack of a pressurized air stream is a diffuse sound, without any core. An almost perfect synonym for CORE in the sound in this case would be steadiness of pitch. A great sound, no matter if you play a bright or and dark instrument, is always accompanied by steadiness of pitch. Why? Because both happen naturally when the center of the airstream is highly pressurized (by your body)! More on this next time!

The most important thing you can do

This week I’ve been thinking about the importance of balance in your playing.

There are two main aspects to balance as horn players:

  1. Forward motion of air vs backpressure of instrument

  2. The two part system in the face, i.e. the supporting muscles vs the muscles that control the actual reed/aperture which creates the vibration

Actually finding balance in these aspects is extremely difficult to sense and achieve without being in shape.

So… you have to trust the process of playing a lot and getting in shape first, before you can enjoy the groove.

Once you’re in shape you will much more easily understand the two main balances, and be able to implement them.

So what are you waiting for? Go practice!