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Acoustics and its Relationship to Playing Brass Instruments, Part 1
©2002 Ron Nethercutt, Lecturer, UP-Diliman College of Music
Components of Sound
All sounds has following qualities:
Intensity (loud-soft)
Timbre (tone quality)
Pitch (high-low)
Pitch
Pitch is determined by the frequency of vibrating column. The higher the frequency, the
higher the pitch. This is referred to as Hz; formerly cps, or cycles per second. The following factors affecting pitch:
The length of the vibrating column
The shorter the column, the higher the pitch
The tension of the vibrating column
The greater the tension, the higher the pitch
The diameter of the vibrating column
The smaller the diameter, the higher the pitch
The density of the vibrating column
The greater the density, the higher the pitch
Each of the aforementioned factors act independently. For example; a long vibrating column may
produce a high pitch if the tension is great. A large diameter column may produce a high pitch if its length is short, or very dense.
Relationship to brass performance
As the aperture of the lips is made smaller, the length of the vibrating column is shortened, thus producing a higher pitch.
As the tension of the lips is increased, a higher note is produced.
The lips are a muscle and when ‘flexed,’ the density is increased which produces a higher pitch.
When the mouthpiece is pressed harder against the lips, it decreases the diameter of the vibrating, thus creating a higher pitch.
This technique should not be used since it creates fatigue, stops the vibration of the lips, and is detrimental to the embouchure.
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Acoustics and its Relationship to Playing Brass Instruments: Part Two
©2001 Ron Nethercutt, Professor, UP-Diliman College of Music
1858-B Gumain Street ; Redwood Villas ; Clarkfield 2009 ; Pampanga, Philippines
Range
Remember that range - both upper and lower – is primarily an acoustical phenomenon. There is no
magical instrument, mouthpiece, or even lips! Larger or smaller bore instruments and mouthpieces primarily affect timbre (tone quality) and not range. It is vitally important that the brass
performer develops:
Breath Control
The air stream through the lips, and thereby through the instrument, can be compared to the bow on
string instruments. It must move in an even and consistent manner in order to produce proper vibrations and achieve a desirable tone. I find that yawning before the following helps relax the body and opens
the throat. It also helps relieve nervous tension and is helpful just before walking on stage to perform. Try it!
Special Exercises:
Hold a sheet of paper by the upper corners about one foot (30 cm) in front of you and blow a steady column of air against it and try to change the angle of
the paper by about 10 degrees. Imagine this is mezzo forte. Then blow faster so that the angle is increased to 20 degrees and imagine this is forte. Finally increase the angle to 30 degrees to
produce fortissimo. Once you achieve the desired angle, maintain it with a steady airstream. Do not let it waver.
Place a piece of paper against the wall and stand six to eight inches from it. As you remove your hand from the paper, try to hold it against the wall
with your breath. When you run out of air, take a very fast gasp breath and attempt to continue holding the paper in place for at least three breaths. You will find the paper falls to the floor until you
develop the technique of taking fast breaths.
This last exercise develops the diaphragm control of the airstream. It is very tiring and should be done seated and not standing. It is easy to
hyperventilate and should you become dizzy, stop and rest. I also suggest that it is only done about two to three minutes. I call it ‘super soft’ playing and the instrumentalist must produce a tone
in the middle register so soft it is barely audible. The performer must strive for a steady tone. At first you will find that the tone stops and starts. Use the diaphragm to maintain just the
correct level of air to support a tone. Someone 10 feet (3 meters) may not even be able to hear the sound. I repeat, do this seated, and stop immediately should you get dizzy. You will find
that the diaphragm support required is exactly what is required for extending the upper register, yet does not tire the embouchure.
Flexibility
False tones are an excellent way to develop flexibility of the lips and better embouchure
control. The more flexible the lips, the less air required for tone production and vibration is more easily achieved. False tones are those notes that acoustically do not exist on a brass
instrument. They represent the tones between the fundamental and the first overtone, or second tone in the harmonic series. On trombone, a second line Bb is played and the lips are relaxed to produce an
A, then Ab, G, Gb, and finally F. The concept is on of relaxation. Slightly dropping the jaw will help. Strive for as good a tone as possible on each note. The final objective is
to slur from Bb down to F, then A to E, Ab to Eb, etc., until finally F to CC. The slide must be slightly lengthened for each lower tone. For trumpet the concept is the same, except you begin with C
below the staff and while playing the C, lip down to B, then Bb, A, Ab, and finally G. Then do the same thing with second valve, then first, etc.
Muscular Development
As the lips become more flexible, breath control more stable, and diaphragm support more developed, the
brass performer will find the need for more muscular control of the corners of the mouth. One might think of these muscles working against each other in an isometric manner. We have muscles that pull
back as we smile and others that pull forward as we pucker. In fact the brass embouchure has been described by some as a puckered smile. I refer to the following exercise as ‘pencil
pushups’ and should be done daily, but only for short periods of time. If after two or three minutes the corners of the mouth do not feel totally fatigued, you are not doing it properly. Buy a new
pencil that has a sharp edge on the eraser; do not use one with a rounded eraser. With the lips in a normal embouchure, place the tip of the eraser in the center of the lips; the area that would vibrate during
playing. Let the pencil hang downward while you are holding it by the eraser placed lightly in the lips. Tighten the muscles on the side of the lips and attempt to slightly raise end of the pencil. Do
not move the jaw to do this, only the muscles. Imagine you are lying flat on the floor and are raising you feet less than an inch off the floor. The tension placed on the stomach muscles in that
exercise is similar to that of the sides of the mouth in the ‘pencil pushups.’ Do this for only about two minutes a day. You will gradually build the muscular and embouchure support necessary to
avoid leakage of air in the sides of the mouth, and the control required in the upper register.
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Physiology and Physics:
What We Need to Know to Be Better Performers
Physiology
It has been my experience as an educator that many of today’s trombonists appear to be fighting the instrument. By this I mean that they are not
allowing their body to work in a manner that is most natural. Hand positions (both right and left) are awkward at best, and do little to contribute to making music. In fact, they frequently hamper
rendering a musical performance.
We have all seen the students grasping the slide brace with the right hand in a hammer and jerk the slide back and forth like sawing wood. It is my
opinion that this problem begins in the first months of playing. As long as the young student is playing whole and half notes, he can manipulate the slide efficiently enough to keep up with the rest of the
class. They may even make it through quarter notes at a moderate tempo. The moment that quicker movements are required however, the band director suddenly becomes concerned about his ‘lagging’
trombone section.
I suggest that if trombonists learn the following physical factors regarding how to effectively use their body, they will experience musical success more
quickly.
1) Keep the weight of the instrument in the left hand. This will enable the right hand to move the slide more
freely. The slide will wear more evenly since it is not bearing the weight of the instrument. The instrument should rest firmly in the fleshy part where the thumb meets the palm. Do not bend the
wrist; keep Yes; sometimes you may catch a small piece of skin when you bring the slide in. Even the professionals do it occasionally!
2) The palm of the right hand should be toward the player. The wrist bends back and forth naturally in this manner and
will allow movement between at least two, and perhaps three, adjacent positions.
3) Hold the slide brace between the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand. This is most natural ‘grip’ we use
when picking up a small object. Pick up a pen or a pencil that is lying on a table. You will probably pick it up in the same manner described above which represents an acceptable slide grip.
4) Use the wrist when changing positions as much as possible. Try to eliminate excessive use of the arm. This will
be beneficial to the ‘flow’ of the slide in fast passages. It can also improve pitch by not moving the slide too far between half-steps.
5) Try not to stop the slide between every position when executing rapid passages. This is especially important during
chromatic lines. It technique requires critical coordination between the tongue and the slide, but it is vital to develop technical facility.
Physics
If students have an understanding of the laws of physics concerning the production of sound, they tend to practice more efficiently. Even younger players
can learns that four ‘laws’ determine the pitch of all sound. The teacher may have to use analogies in explaining that length, tension, diameter, and density of a vibrating column are the determining
factors of pitch. Everyone has a basic concept of how pitches are changed on a string instrument, so using that example will usually suffice as an introduction to these principles of physics. Since
the lips are the vibrating membranes for brass performers, it is important that the player understands how the lips work in conjunction with the mouthpiece and the rest of the instrument. The more vibrations
per second, (Hz) the higher the pitch. Fewer vibrations result in lower pitches.
1) As we ascend, the tension of lip muscles
creates faster vibration of the lips. They work in the same manner as tightening a string.
2) Since the lips contain muscle tissue, the density of the lips
also changes when ascending, thus creating more vibrations per second. The more dense a vibration material, the more rapid its vibrations.
3) As our aperture decreases in size, the length of the vibration column becomes shorter. Like a shortened string, the pitch is
raised.
4) The diameter of the vibrating column is affected
when the mouthpiece is pressed to the lips. A smaller diameter vibrating column results in higher pitch. Unfortunately, this pressure is usually excessive and hinders performance. It is important to use a little pressure as possible in order to control the embouchure and prevent leakage of air at the corners of the mouth.
The development of the embouchure using these four elements working together will assist the student in progressing naturally. It is the combination of
performer’s vibrating membrane (lips) and the lengthening of tubing in a brass instrument that produces changes in pitch. No magic, just old-fashioned physics!
©2001 Ron Nethercutt, Professor University of the Philippines
1858-B Gumain Street ; Redwood Villas ; Clarkfield 2009 ; Pampanga, Philippines
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