Posted by Scott Landry on May 27, 2001 at 14:02:54:
In Reply to: Burbling posted by Les Smith on May 23, 2001 at 12:03:42:
Les:
Pretty what everyone else has said is pretty much on target. I have experienced the same "segmentation of embouchure" phenomenon in some of my students' playing as well. From a teaching standpoint, here's my take on the subject - you may not have a "playing" problem so much as a "hearing" one. I like to think of this as a "working backwards" approach:
Arnold Jacobs still has the best solution, which is the basic idea behind all brass playing - you must be able to pre-hear each pitch in your mind's inner ear before you play it. Work with this as as simple excercise:
a. Play a pitch on the piano or some other source besides the tuba (tuner, tuning fork, etc.).
b. Intently "listen" to the pitch in your mind's inner ear. DO NOT TRY TO IMMEDIATELY RECREATE THE PITCH BY HUMMING, SINGING, ETC. Just imagine the sound of the pitch in your head.
c. After about 5 seconds of silence, reproduce the pitch by buzzing it on your mouthpiece.
Play the pitch 4 times in succession, each time taking the mouthpiece away from your face, which forces you to rebreathe and find the embouchure set (and subsequently the pitch) "from scratch". When you think you've got it, play the source pitch and check to see if they match.
d. Play the note on the tuba (euphonium, trombone, etc.). Notice whether or not the "burbling" effect goes away.
My theory simply is this - regardless of how you label "it" (burbling, rattling, lack of pitch focus, et al.] when I encounter it in my students' playing, I tend to perceive it as a "double buzz". It's as if the embouchure set is in between two adjacent partials in the harmonic overtone series and the facial muscles can't make up their mind which pitch they want to play. I usually see this in beginners the first time they attempt to make a distinction from the open F to the Bb in the staff. By hearing the pitch very clearly in your mind, you can send a stronger message to the embouchure, in effect helping the facial muscles to make a clear decision as to which pitch you want to play.
Be patient: the transfer of this concept from excercise to musical context is different for each performer. Consistent practicing, mouthpiece practice and long tone excercises will help.I hope this works for you. Good luck and keep at it. I admire you for seeking help.