Posted by Jay Bertolet on July 28, 2000 at 08:13:28:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Leaks in the mouth area posted by Paul R. Ogushwitz on July 28, 2000 at 06:50:42:
I'm just curious Paul, you have mentioned the word "pedant" in at least a couple of your recent posts on the Tube-Net. Of the two definitions of that word that I know of, do you mean "a person who makes a show of knowledge" or "a formal uninspired teacher"? Or is it another meaning that I don't know?
I personally happen to agree with the logic Mike laid out. The best setup for me has been the straight flow of air from the lungs into the horn. I believe that the puffing of the cheeks can obstruct this but any evaluation of an individual player and their techniques should be done on a case by case basis. If we knew all of the answers about sound production, there would only be one book and one method of doing things.
Another possible solution to the air leak problem could be that the player's embouchure isn't formed into a relatively flat plane when applied to the mouthpiece. If the player has something like a severe overbite for example, this can cause parts of the embouchure not to seal properly with the mouthpiece unless the player takes steps to fix this. A useful exercise might be to take just the mouthpiece and hold it against the face and simulate playing. If the air leak is still occurring, try moving the mouthpiece around and see if the problem doesn't go away. If the air leak isn't occurring, or after moving the mouthpiece around it stops, it might be a good idea to look at a mirror at this point and see the angle at which the shank protrudes from the mouthpiece. Then you could compare this to the angle at which the mouthpiece is usually connected to the tuba when you play. If these are markedly different, it might indicate the problem.
My opinion for what its worth...