I was reflecting upon an article I read entitled “How to Practice in Brass Musician by Jeff Purtle discussing practice for brass players, and found myself in agreement with many of the statements he was making in the introduction of the article.
I agree that the concept of “naturals” in terms of playing brass instruments does not have the illusions that history would have us believe. There is a conception that players are “born with it” and just can make it happen. Mr. Purtle also makes a statement that players spend various amounts of money and time in search of the “secret” to high notes, improvement in tone or other musical concepts. I am in agreement with him on this point as well; the market place is full of different products that claim to cure this or that and vast amounts of money and time can be consumed in the search for “the secret”; where in fact there is none.
He continues to speak about how brass instruments operate on laws of nature that remain constant and lists seven things that listed in the priority order as they apply to brass performance:
1. Wind Power
2. The Tongue
3. Wind Control
4. The Fingers Of The Right Hand
5. The Grip Of The Left Hand
6. The Muscles Of The Face and Lips
7. The Lips
It was at this point I must take issue with the course of the article. Elements of this list are important but I disagree with the order and their list of importance. I have learned through my study of Anatowind research that the defining element in musical performance is the individual person. Each person has an individual teeth, lip and jaw structure that presents an individual solution to the equation of brass performance. The article also discusses the lips and muscles of the face along with a passing mention of the jaw. The article also draws upon the well known teachings of Herbert Clarke and Claude Gordon.
The physiological understanding of the function of the teeth, lips and jaw has improved during the 50 years of research through the Anatowind process to allow a more in depth discussion of the comments set for by both Mr. Clarke and Mr. Gordon. Starting on page five of the Anatowind Operations Guide, it is stated:
There are three important divisions to be considered in playing instruments:
1. The physiology of the player, (teeth, lip and jaw formation for the individual)
2. The acoustics of the instrument, (laws of physics used to construct each instrument)
3. The printed page of music. (the context of individual physiological challenges set forth in the notation of the music to be performed)
THE COMBINATION OF THE THREE SCIENCES — PHYSIOLOGY, ACOUSTICS, AND PRINTED MUSIC — PRODUCES A SCIENTIFIC TONAL QUOTIENT
It is vital to understand that the proper connection to teeth, lips and jaw supersedes the study of the airstream into the head structure. The starting point to connection with one’s physiology is to locate the crown tooth on the head structure. This tooth defines the centering of the mouthpiece on the head structure and develops proper contact into the lower jaw structure. Proper connection to the crown tooth will cause the lower jaw to extend and lead to balance of contact between the upper and lower jaw. Failure to connect with the crown tooth will cause the jaw to move away from the pressure and the upper lip will bear the burden of pressure of the mouthpiece. The crown tooth also serves another purpose in addition to upper and lower jaw contact, by serving as the neural center point between the right and left side of the head structure. (For a more detailed discussion, please see Manual for Wind Instruments by James W. Simmons, pages 1 through 6)
Chapter 3 – The Preconditioned Respiratory Process of the Anatowind Breathing Pamphlet by Joseph Simmons states that “The breath at this point can only go as far as the head muscular resistance will permit.” Without the proper connection to the crown tooth to stimulate connection into the lower jaw and maintain the centering within the head structure; it is possible that the airstream may overpower the muscular formation of the head structure. Continued development of the air stream even to the deepest part of the body noted in the pamphlet as region six will not produce a proper tonal quotient until the head structure can provide the proper resistance to that level of air stream development. Quotes from the Mr. Purtle’s article such as: “Brass Playing Is No Harder Than Deep Breathing” by Gordon, p. 26 or “The air does the work.” – Claude Gordon have their rightful place in brass pedagogy as long as one takes into consideration the proper coordination of teeth, lips and jaw of the individual player.
What follows in the article concerning lips and muscles of the face are a series of quotes from Gordon and Clarke to serve as considerations for practice. Four in particular:
“Stay away from mirrors!” – CG Never mind what you look like”
- “Rest the mouthpiece rim on the red of the bottom lip”
- “Low placement tends to shut off vibration. But, moving it up always helps”
I would also request you consider differently based upon Anatowind research. Clinical Proofing Procedures (Pg 18-19 of Manual for Wind instruments by James W. Simmons) use the three vents of:
Aural – How is sounds according to the scientific tonal principals of tone using a strobe
- Neural – How it feels on the teeth, lips and jaw
- Visual – How muscular function looks in a video, photograph and/or mirror.
The summary of these vents on page 19 states:
“The three foregoing physiological proofing procedures provide a 3 way factor for the player to use in evaluating physiological growth. Any muscular growth that is visually discernible has a related sound and can be effectively related in a neural sense… any combination of these three where one facet does not prove a positive should be considered questionable growth.”Resting the mouthpiece rim on the reds of the bottom lip will not provide the connection to the muscles of the back facial muscles. As stated in page 14 of the Wind Instrument Manual, “it is necessary to place the INNER RING of the mouthpiece below the red dividing line. This will enhance the contact with crown tooth, thereby sustaining the exercising of the back facial muscles.” The next quote in the article is directly related to this concept, “Low placement tends to shut off vibrations”. That is because the player has disconnected from the muscles of the lower jaw. The upper lip muscles being in fixed position do vibrate more easily and therefore lead to this statement seeming to be a help.
What has not entered the discussion of practice is the concept of chronology; how muscular function changes over time. Wind Instrument performance exercises muscles of head structure. This exercise will cause the coordination of muscles to change as one group becomes fatigued. The occlusion of the lower jaw will change as the coordination of muscles changes through fatigue as a result of the duration of muscular functioning over time.
Following the embouchure changes across the notation being performed in an aural, neural and visual vent is the key to growth on a session by session basis on any instrument. As the player performs the musical notation presented consider the following questions:
- How does the contact into the upper and lower jaw change during the performance. i.e. does is it improve or deteriorate?
- How does this contact change according to tempo being performed?
- How does the contact change across the range (higher or lower notes) being performed?
- How does the contact change if you play the notation louder or softer?
- How does the intonation or relationship of notes to each other change according to the contact?
- How does the tonal formation of the sound produced change according to the contact?
Following your performance in this manner constitutes an example of following the neural vent.
Notice the questions presented asked HOW these factors changed during the performance of the musical notation. These musical factors will change, but are you, as the player, following those changes as they occur over time? Each of the vents, Aural, Neural, Visual can be followed in this manner to allow the player to develop a complete quotient to the practice session and evaluate progresses and an objective and defined manner.
The key to a successful practice session is the player correctly following the changes in muscular functioning and making the proper adjustments to guide the functioning on a proper path. Following that path on a session to session basis will ensure that the player can track improvements and KNOW that he or she is improving through their practice.
The above suggestions for practice come as a result of my study with The Anatowind Music Clinic in Beloit, WI where I am currently a member of the board of dispensary. The Anatowind Clinic can be located on the web at: www.anatowind.com
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