[TPIN] Analysis

Tue Aug 14 22:16:15 CDT 2007

Sigh...short answers NEVER seem to work, do they?<G>

  I think the points that need addressing here are several-fold:

  1. I'm sure that Mr. Jacobs adapted his teaching style to the learning needs of each particular student (as do most experienced teachers, imho)

  2. The whole point of the SCIENCE of trumpet playing, imho, is that the applied science as developed in the laboratory of trumpet playing (aka the practice room), empowers muscle memory which allows the analytical side of the brain to step back and allow the creative/interpretative side of the brain to step forward in performance (the ART of trumpet playing).

  3. Without adequate practice, anxiety can creep in because the muscle memory/learning process is incomplete.  An inability to make use of analysis WHEN NEEDED leads to the crash and burn syndrome.  We've all seen this and many have experienced it: a player makes one mistake and gets so rattled that they spiral downward into chaos.  If instead they make a quick analysis/correction, that one mistake can often lead to an even BETTER performance.

  4.  The level of a student determines how ready they are to focus *just on the musical result*.  This requires sufficient practice (lab work, if you will) to *program* the human machine before the artist is ready to emote.  (think, if you will, of someone attempting to solo in jazz who hasn't spent enough time learning the changes and gets lost in the process of soloing...)  

  5. This isn't to say that students can't or shouldn't focus on musicality at EVERY stage of development, but that the anatomy (structure) and physiology (function) of the body must also be developed in order for the full process to work.

  6.  If everything is working well, you don't need to see a doctor....except MAYBE you might want an occasional checkup to be sure you haven't missed something. ;^)

  YMMV, 
  Take Care!
Jeanne

Tim Phillips <iplatrpt at unifourbrass.org> wrote:
  I am just responding to this little bit that Jeanne quoted, because I 
feel there is a lack of information driving it. The correct way of 
looking at what Mr. Jacobs taught, according to my limited understanding 
is that the muscular movements/coordinations involved in brass playing 
are much too complex for us to try and micro-manage the process when we 
are performing. It's like any physical endeavor such as running, 
walking, a golf swing, or typing for that matter. In golf, we must 
stand up (a feat mastered early in life - though it's fun to watch a 
child learn to do it), properly grip the club, align the feet with the 
target, have the proper posture, bring the club head straight back, 
twist, not let the elbows break at the top of the back swing, not let 
our feet come off the ground, start the club head in an arc towards the 
ball, strike the ball with the club head at the perfect point in the 
swing, follow the club head through the swing and continue twist the 
torso around so that the belt buckle faces the target at the end. Now.. 
everything I've said there is a concept - not control of a muscle 
movement. If you were so tied up in thinking about how to hold the 
club, the rest of this process would fail. (Anderson has probably 
laughed himself into the floor having seen my flailing at the golf ball). 

We play/walk/run/jump by programmed response. We have a desire to do 
the thing, and we do it. This does not mean that knowledge of the 
process and how it works is not useful to both the teacher and student. 
Knowledge is absolutely crucial to fixing problems that are happening in 
the process of playing. How this knowledge is applied in most, if not 
all cases, will determine the success of the teaching/practice. Many 
times I went in for lessons and wanted to know the nuts and bolts. Mr. 
Jacobs was very patient in explaining it to me but ultra clear in 
stating that knowing it and thinking about it serves a diagnostic 
purpose in the teaching and practice and must be forgotten about once 
the error is corrected. The less we have to think about while playing, 
the more concentration we have to think about the music - which is THE 
most important thing! IMO - YMMV (but I wouldn't want to hear you play 
if it's not).

Once I went up for a lesson at a time I was having a rough time 
personally in my life. Mr. Jacobs stopped me after a few minutes and 
asked me what was going so wrong in my life. Thinking about too many 
things can stop us from being effective performers - and this includes 
thinking about HOW to play when we are trying to perform.

Generally speaking, a teacher of this approach who is chanting the 
mantra, "analysis leads to paralysis", is directing that toward a 
student who is so caught up in the /how/, they cannot do the /what/. 
It is analogous to trying to hold a pencil in a different manner and 
then trying to write with your usual penmanship. The going would be 
very slow until you relearned how to write. The process of playing a 
brass instrument is much to complex to micromanage the muscular 
coordinations all at once. The other problem is... one must be REALLY 
careful not to screw something else up in the chain of events while 
focusing to fix a single problem. I think this is another reason why he 
tended away from trying to correct errors by concentrating on anything 
other than a desired musical result so that the "whole" can be addressed 
and not just a part. The sound is the key. If you know how to listen, 
it will tell you everything you need to know about what someone is doing 
to handicap themselves as a musician. As a teacher, I am still 
learning to listen and coming up with new and creative ways at getting 
problems corrected as quickly and musically as possible. This is also 
why it's nearly impossible to learn to play the trumpet by reading a 
book or posts on TPIN. None of these can take into account the sound by 
their very nature.

FTR: I agree with you Alan. It's also probable that a little knowledge 
is a dangerous thing. Without comprehensive tools to deal with all 
aspects of the playing apparatus, using a little knowledge to attempt to 
fix an error usually results in misdiagnosis, the wrong prescription for 
treatment, and heightened problems for the patient/student :). Remember 
blood letting?

Tim Phillips
iplatrpt at unifourbrass.org
http://www.unifourbrass.org

> Alan Koenigsberg wrote:
> 
> I've heard that aphorism, and disagree. My version goes like this: 
> " /*Over */analysis may lead to paralysis---appropriate analysis leads 
> to understanding."
>
> Alan Koenigsberg
>
> 
>> Mr. Jacobs always told me "analysis is paralysis." Herseth said the 
>> same thing. 
>> 

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                          Jeanne Gabriel Pocius
  Author of *Trumpeting By Nature, An Efficient Guide to Optimal Trumpet Playing*
  Published by Outskirts Press (available at www.amazon.com )
  360 pages of information on embouchure, musicality, pedagogy and more!
  (978)317-4731
  Email: jgpocius at yahoo.com  
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