I`m an alto saxophone player trying to learn trombone. I`m having problems...and lots of them. The biggest of these is understanding the "buzzing" concept. I just don`t understand. Can you guys please help me? Oh...and one other thing. Please email me your replys...I`m not on this site very often. Any help is appreciated!

I`m no t-bone expert... but "buzzing" as i interpret it, is simply playing a note through the mouthpiece while its not attached to the actual trombone. The sound you get is a funny buzz, hence buzzing. Its good for practicing and strengthening your lips, and i find it good to do a bit of "buzzing" before i play as it nicely warms the mouthpiece and my lips up.

in my opinion i think buzzing is only good for pitch. When you actually play into the trombone you dont really JUST buzz into the horn. How the sound is made is through blowing and backpressure blah blah gets the soudn going. If your learning how to play trombone focus on getting a good sound and make sure your blowing right.

ill save you the time of reading how soudn is made.

please...help me understand how the sound is made...that is another big problem...

Ok. I guess I should have been more specific. What exactly do I do with my lips? Whatever it is that I am doing, I`m not doing what I`m supposed to, and it`s not sounding right. Thanks to anybody who helps me understand.

every person plays trombone a bit different. my advice to you is to find a teacher because advice over the internet will only confuse you more. my best advice is to find a teacher.

the best way to know what you do with your lips is see it in action - i.e. get a teacher, or a very good video, but obv. a teacher will help you make it better, quicker.

pucker up like your about to kiss a hot chick

or guy...

yes...i would be kissing a guy...because i`m a girl...

Best way is for a teacher to show you...eh....its so hard to describe in words...

yea...well think of it this way:u kno how wen u were young and u made all those annoying farting sounds with ur mouth by putting ur lips 2gether and blowing thru it?yea,just THINK OF IT that way.i`ve got a younger brother who does that every day to annoy me,and i know hes got a real knack for a brass instrument.

ok your a sax player... you understand that the reed vibrates producing sound and i bet you know that if you "bight down" on your reed you can go up the octive with out using the octive key right.

Your lips are just like the reed. a good thing for a beginner to do is to immatate the snorting sound a horse makes just relax your face take a good deep breath through your nose and blow it out your closed mouth. let your lips flop around now try to do it while pursing your lips just a little you can here them vibrate much faster try to get diferent pitches

Now buzz with the mouthpiece just bearly let ti touch your lips and do the same thing the pitches are noticibly clearer and even are starting to have some tonality to them.

Good luck

the whole horse-comparasion helped..thanks! i have a good understanding...i think!