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Efficiency Correlated to Range.....
Most people when learning, start at Low C on the horn right away. I have mentioned elsewhere in the EMBOUCHURE ENHANCEMENT book, that I believe this to be detrimental to quite a high proportion of people seeking to end up with a range which goes into the altissimo register with ease. Let me explain...
Low C as a starting point for beginners has too much scope with which to allow the production of a good sounding note B U T albeit arrived at by undesirable methods.
[too open an aperture / mpc. pressure / blowing hard / puffing cheeks etc..]
At Low C [with a moderate dynamic] the basic resonance of the horn does not have a very large impedance and is a less stable note. It is due to this fact that it`s easier to distort it or achieve it by a variety of extraneous lip motion. This is why kids find it an easy note to get on the horn to start. And as long as they get it most teachers are happy that they have achieved what they perceive as the first rung on the ladder of range extension step by step.
In my opinion this is bad news further down the road for the student.
Much better to start the student off on lip buzzing then mpc buzzing at a `second line G` pitch and eventually giving them the trumpet as a special treat for doing the buzzing well. If we then start the student off on second line G on the horn and work towards third space C, I think we would have less embouchure problems occurring in general at a later stage. Let me explain further.....
When we think about the air column exciting the lips into a vibration of sound in the harmonic series structure of the trumpet, the second line `G` is THE most easily obtained note at a soft dynamic level due to the greatest impedance [or soundwave feedback] which is shown at a maximum when plotted on a impedance frequency / pressure response curve graph.
This note has a faster horn-response time to control at a softer dynamic, but not as the dynamic increases, and for these two reasons alone is more difficult for the beginner to obtain when compared to trying a low C.
The beginner [in his naivety] wants only to do 2 things...
1. to get a clear sound out, paying no attention to extraneous lip motion of which he has no experience of course [much easier to do on `C`]
2. blow quite hard, like bugs bunny on the cartoons etc... [easier to do on `C`]
The teacher [in an effort to get another pupil on board] wants to hear a clear/loudish sound coming out and does`nt mind whether it a low c or second line g.
This means that right off the bat the pupils are learning "non-control brute force blowing" starting on low C which will only get you so far depending on your personal physiology / will power.
If we tried more patiently with making them start on a second line `G,` we would`nt have SO many maverick embouchures and lip manipulations for higher notes. Then when ready on the horn and at a soft dynamic they would learn to control the notes out FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!!!
This is why in the past teachers have taken the easy path of using Low C. Physics and human nature are BOTH against them!!!
If you can accept that it is possible for a student to arrive at a fairly good sounding
Low C inefficiently by using bad habit[s] as described above, indulge me a little while we extend this concept to other notes. Let`s say [ on a scale of 1 -100 ] that Low C production is easy to obtain by just about any old method and scores a 100 because of that fact. Put yourself in this players shoes and indeed some of you may already be in these shoes....This is why gaining pitch "note by note" feels like "brick wall time" to some.
Let`s now assign values of `difficulty` to each "milestone note" the way that lots of people think of high register note gaining is obtained. We have to allow for a certain margin for skill / luck other variables...
....hence the difference you`ll notice on the chart below between G second line = 80 and third space C =60. Mathematicians would express this better I`m sure.
However.... see if this chart coming up helps you visualize my concept ......
#1. Here`s what a Low C beginner FEELS [in terms of difficulty] up through the registers.
The numbers represent the level of effort required in attaining a specific pitch ie:
100 = easily obtained // 1 = enormous effort or difficulty
Difficulty level numerically shown in obtaining a given pitch WITH bad habits:
Low C =========== 100 --- Inefficiency doesn`t matter in gaining this pitch.
" D =========== 99 -- blow harder
" E =========== 98 -- ditto
" F =========== 97 --ditto
Second line G ===== 80 --- Bad habits start to matter because of physics of `the tube`.
Third space C ===== 60 --- a little more difficult to control
Third space E ===== 50 --- ditto
Top staff G ======= 30 --- the pressure is on! : )
`A` first leger line ==== 35 --- depends on how he copes with the last pitch.
High C ========== 15 -- bad habits affect consistency here depending on last pitch
High D ========== 8 -- where he finds out whether he is a lead player or not
High E =========== 6 -- bad habits REALLY affect him now!
High F ========== 4 -- he`s definitely a lead player - OUCH! ..get a sizzler mpc.
High G [4 legers] == 2 -- any bad habits here GREATLY affects future range
High A ========== 1 -- stands a small chance of only "hitting" pitches here
High Bb ======== 1 --ditto
High B ========= 1--ditto
Double High C === 1 - a highly wished for note, only to be gained by squeezing.
DHD =============0 - zilchville
DHE==============0
DHF==============0
DHG==============0
DHA==============0
DHB==============0
Tripple C =========0
Quad C ===========0
So now let`s flip the coin of history and reverse time, he starts with lip/mpc buzzing and he/she has some aperture control and finesse before even getting on the horn and realises that to change pitch requires finnesse, not brute strength, or left arm or mpc pressure.
His teacher starts him on G even to buzz. And he gets it focussed, time constraints and pupils boredom threshold being a very important factor of course. He now plays second line G on the horn and quickly makes it his start point to which all other pitches relate, up and down.
Let`s see how on the next page this compares to our table of performance above...........
#2.Here`s what a SECOND LINE `G` buzz / beginner feels in difficulty levels as they ascend.
Difficulty level shown in obtaining a given pitch with FEW / NO BAD HABITS.
Second line G ===== 100 ----START POINT--EASY --uses air not chops on up
Third space C ===== 100 --register is in chunks not steps [same aperture/faster air]
Third space E ===== 99 -- no problem...
Top staff G ======= 95 - hardly any different to start point second line g
A first leger line ==== 90 - fine..
High C ========== 87 - can`t figure what all the other kids fuss about.
High D ========== 85 - consistency so good lead trumpet is assured now!
HighE =========== 80 - faster air!
High F ========== 80 - not much diff. to High C except for internal compression
High G [4 legers] == 70 -- plays this no problem [ consistent, rarely fails]
High A ========== 50 -- needs to be efficient, little mpc pressure important.
High Bb ======== 50 -- ditto
High B ========= 50 --ditto
Double High C === 45 - can do it consistently with control.
DHD =========== 45 - upwards depends if any bad habits picked up on the way
DHE=============== 40
DHF=============== 40
DHG=============== 35
Tripple C ======== 20
Quad C ========= 10
If you disagree with the numbers that`s fine, put your own in there that you think suitable. I fervently hope you have understood my thinking on this.
What I can assure you however, is that if YOU happen to be student number one and started on Low C, built up note by note, gathering bad habits along the way, at some point problems will, or already have begun to manifest themselves certainly in your range technique and, if bad enough will also show up in a lack of musical expressiveness [flowing lines/dynamic control pp etc..] at an earlier point in the register.
The biggest misdemeanour shared by ALL in trumpet playing, is mpc pressure. If you imagine student number one our low c starter as having `mpc pressure` as his primary bad habit, this will affect him from day one in his effort to build upwards, note on note, or step by step.
If with student number two [`g` buzz starter] the usual `early onset` of too much mpc pressure is avoided, then he does`nt suffer the note on note building approach, and will proceed to climb the registers in chunks as opposed to the incredibly inefficient way of one step at a time.
It`s said by some players that high g [4 legers] involves not much more lip engagment than second line g. I would like to confirm this myself here and now. It is a matter of air control. If your a high g [4 leger] player....try this...
You see, if you`ve gained the range properly you have "in sections" like student number two
[`G` starter] in our hypothetical test, these intervals are MUCH less of a problem, which in turn means that range and endurance are less of a problem freeing you up to make MORE music without worrying whether you are gonna make that interval or not.
If your a high `g` player who is either stuck at high `g` totally, or a high `g` player who only has minimal control over high g,a,b,DHC you need to look at what bad habits you have formed on the instrument. Also if you found the above test slow , hard or inaccurate then I would suggest you use too much mpc pressure and this is preventing you in going any further. If you are in this situation go read the chapter entitled: "stuck at high g"
For the people who were nowhere near this test anyhow,recreate it using the Arban pg125, it should flow easily and the intervals should mean nothing in terms of lip engagement provided that your lip set/aperture point is close enough to cope and not too closed to choke off the sound [air.]
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