Time to Make the "Reed"

Many years ago, when my son was getting into the oboe and he was learning how to make reeds, he came up to me one day and said,"Dad, you are so lucky. You can just pick up your horn and start playing without having to worry about making reeds!" I said, "Excuse me, but what do you think I am doing when I am playing slow slurs, gradually getting higher in range, then going down into the low range, then playing scales in different articulations, all this lasting 90 or more minutes? I am making my reed. That is how brass players make their reeds. Their embouchures are their reeds and some peoples reeds take longer to make than others."

Warming up and maintenance practice, I feel, at least for myself and other players that I have seen, are vital to feeling ready and provide a platform of stability. A good warmup/maintenance routine can act as an excellent diagnostic tool to monitor the 'health' of ones embouchure and support systems.

Life is ever changing for a person, at many levels, and sometimes we need to modify certain approaches physically and mentally to adjust to natural changes as they occur in one form or another. Having a basic, steady routine that one feels good with, and that also covers an extensive workout into a variety of playing aspects, can keep one informed and in tune with ones playing apparatus. The regularity of the routine offers a reliable point of reference for sensing any changes and gives a person time to make any adjustments. I think a good regular routine is excellent for maintaining greater longevity in ones playing life.

Today I had so many errands and household things to catch up with that I couldn't do my routine at my preferred time. So, I did it late at night and it felt very productive and set me up well for tomorrow's sessions. It's never to late to make the reed!

Tribute to My Teachers: The First Four

My first teachers are not known in the music world. Some people might think they shouldn't be called musicians. But this depends on what you think music is and, therefore, what you think a musician is. Lena Neren, Herman Neren, Shirley Baker and Charles Bolter are not famous musicians but they were great musicians in my eyes.

Lena Neren was my grandmother. Now, this marvelous woman could take away my headaches singing a song. My grandfather, Herman Neren, was a self taught violinist from Poland, a real Fiddler on the Roof. He would play songs on his violin that would connect him to the 'old country.' He would be transported to another time and another place. I could always see a tear come down his cheek when he was playing his beloved songs. My mother, Shirley Baker, took away my fear by singing the song, "Whistle a Happy Tune," from "The King and I." My father, Charles Bolter, first introduced me to multiphonics when he would imitate an outerspace ship by whistling and singing at the same time.

These people showed me that music could heal, change your state of mind, transport you in time, and inspire your imagination with magical sounds. So, when I got my trombone, that's what I thought music was about and that's what I wanted to do--and still do. For them, it was a natural part of their lives. They didn't worry whether they had "chops" that day or not. Music just flowed in and out of them whether it was happy times, sad times, religious ceremonies, or just to have fun. It was a natural expression.

They gave me the inspiration to first see music as a living thing.

The T-horn, Not a Tenor Horn

I've been playing around with just the bell section of the trombone ever since I was a kid. And then, I realized it had a very very unique sound, almost like an ancient instrument quality. I played it outdoors in Wales at an ancient Roman site and you could feel the battle that may have happened there, just from two notes. (You will hear these two notes in the beginning of the sound clip included below.)

Interestingly, in Wales, I started out by trying to play my trombone at that site and the sound didn't match what I was feeling there. So, I detached the slide from the bell and just played the part that I later named the T-horn.

Oddly enough, nobody has ever inquired about what a T-horn is, even though it's listed on the CD in the instrumentation. So, we think people assume T-horn is short for tenor horn, but now you know the rest of the story....

Here is a sound clip using T-horns: "Persian Immortals" from my "Occurrences" CD. It is also avaiable as a single track MP3 on the iTunes page for this CD.

By the way, this piece was written several years ago and was inspired by an ancient legend. It has no relationship to any current world events.

Rhythmic Breathing Exercise

In my Preview, Review and Video Too post, I said that I'd write more about breathing in a later post, since it's mentioned in the video with John Peter. So, here it is! This is the same exercise I gave John but you don't see it on the video.

This breathing exercise was given to me by one of my principal teachers, former principal trombonist of the Minnesota Orchestra, Steven Zellmer.

Over the years, I have found a deepening value for this relatively simple exercise and have developed a number of variations myself, some of which I'm including here. It is excellent for locating tension that might exist in the stomach, chest and especially the shoulders.

Done on a regular basis, this exercise helps in the economy of breath. While doing the inhale for six counts, one needs to measure the breathing, making sure not to take it in too quickly or you can be full well before beat six!

Practicing the three count and the two count variations, one can feel the breath at faster speeds. These variations are excellent for monitoring any tension that could enter your body when air speed is increased.

Here is one way to use this exercise in a sequence:

1. Focus your eyes on something straight ahead of you.

2. Do the exercise three times consecutively with the six counts at a moderate speed.

3. Repeat using three count variation.

4. Repeat using the two count variation.

Oftentimes, players already have too much air in their lungs, so it can be useful to exhale for a count of two before starting the inhale.

There is so much that can be said about breathing. Find your own ways with this exercise and be careful not to overdo it so you don't hyperventilate.

By the way, this exercise is good for relaxation too!

Update

Click here for "before" photo.

Trombone Sci-Fi

"After carefully setting the dials to the metrotune, Oscar was ready to practice his trobo slide exercises that his 7th degree mentor had assigned him.

'OK, I'll start with the 4 octave D flat quarter tone scale sequence.

Ooops! I forgot to connect my air tank to the mouthpiece funnel! Oh boy, that is my 3rd demerit this practice session! One more and I'll have to clean the entire theater again! So here I go.... Hmmmmm.

Clip the downward pointing nozzle into the funnel; hook this into the chamber at the end of the mouthpiece bowel; now gently bring the connecting hose into the left side of my mouth. Whew, got it...'

The metrotune was set at quarter note equals 4. Oscar needed to hold each tone 64 counts at this tempo, all at a dynamic of forte to the 25th power. This was in preperation for his weekly promotional. He was actually on probation for the past two weeks and if he did not pass this promotional, he would be expelled from the Academy of Sonic Scieneces.

Oscar was just beginning the 6th tone in the scale sequence when his friend, Dobey, interrupted him.

'Oscar, your release time of the previous note was early and you lost 38 vibrations in sonic stability!'"

This is a small portion from a book I'm current writing, "The TAC Legend Writings, Book 1: Journey to Freedom." Two hundred years in the future. Just a possibility....

If the Shoe Fits...

Fashions come and fashions go.
Stay in tune with what you know.
Water your root and watch it grow.
Know thyself and you will flow.

A full sound is maximum vibration in a particular space or body (human acoustic). Fixed ideas about what a full sound (or anything else) is can cause conflict in a person if they compare themselves to others without enough broader understanding, i.e., take into consideration the fuller context and value of individual uniquenesses.

You can learn from the current style, but that doesn't mean you have to become it to be whole. Otherwise, how will you be able to fulfill your own destiny--or even find out what it is?

If you wear a shoe size 7-1/2 C and your foot fits that shoe fully, then why would you insist on trying to wear a 12-1/2 D shoe? Even though what you "can do" might seem "smaller" sometimes, doesn't mean it is lesser--and it doesn't meant you can't grow.

Here's a story: A student asked me if I thought they had a big, full sound. My response was that they had a medium, small size sound but it was very full within itself. They were very upset with my response! And that's when I gave him the analogy of different shoe sizes.

Many times brass players play equipment that is too big for them. They think this will help them get a fuller sound. But they only are thinking of size, not quality of resonance, which, in the end result, creates the effect of fullness.

I've also seen many people damage themselves as a result of trying to broaden their sound too far away from their natural physiology and nature.

Better to be yourself (and know what that is) so you can discover the fullness of your potential in music--and in life.