[TPIN] Articulation for project

[Daniel,John]

This is an area of trumpet pedagogy that is ripe for 
oversimplification and misapplication of what works for 
someone else.  For example:
1. a player or teacher may not be doing what they think 
they are doing (visualizing an extreme position to affect 
a small change of habit),
2.  they may not be properly describing what they think 
they are doing,
3.  a student may misunderstand what the player or teacher 
says or thinks they are saying,
4.  a student might understand perfectly what a teacher is 
saying and still manage to apply the information in a 
different manner, for better or worse.

Additionally, we can't help but notice the different sizes 
of noses, ears, lips, hips, feet, hands, mammaries, etc. 
evident amongst the population.  The same is true of the 
tongue and oral cavity.  WHAT WORKS IN THIS AREA OF 
PEDAGOGY IS ABSOLUTELY FOR CERTAIN NOT GOING TO WORK FOR 
EVERYONE.

Also adding to the confusion is the fact that as we mature 
as players, we tend to get very particular about this 
aspect of pedagogy.  We know it is a key for our own 
personal improvement, and we tend to want to share our 
findings with others, without bothering to figure out the 
principles involved.  We just teach our own specific way, 
or try to, and depending upon how far from the median our 
particular anatomy resides, our teaching methods may be 
WAY OFF BASE FOR MOST OF OUR STUDENTS.

I can't imagine a space in my mouth the size of a chicken 
egg being helpful, pedagogically.  Maybe a quail egg at 
the most, but really, that's a not a shape that I would 
consider efficient or useful, with my anatomy.

I do think that Vic's assumption that oral cavity 
space/shape dictates how we articulate rather than vice 
versa is absolutely dead on accurate.  Most players tongue 
with their embouchure and oral cavity in a compromised 
position compared to the way we play when we don't have 
much tonguing to do.

If we play a note with our tongue level way too high, it 
is obvious, not easy to do, but obvious.  As we drop the 
tongue level, the tone improves.  If we drop it passed a 
certain point, it has no more effect whatsoever for me, or 
most of my students.  I don't play with my tongue levels 
any lower than they have to be, because that requires 
greater movement between the registers.  I approach the 
space in the front of my mouth, controlled by the tip of 
my tongue, the same way.  Drop the tip as far as is 
beneficial to the tone and not one micromillimeter more 
because that just slows down articulation.

I know there are players who can drop their tongue levels 
as far as possible and only benefit, but these players do 
not represent the median.  Herseth very well may have been 
one of these folks.  Ghitalla most certainly was not. 
 Herseth said to keep the tongue as low as you can get 
away with, and Ghitalla said to keep it as high as you can 
get away with.  They did have different sound concepts to 
show for it, but they were talking about the same thing, 
just different ends of the useable spectrum.

My articulation choices are dictated by the oral cavity 
shapes and jaw positions that I need to get around the 
horn efficiently.  They work for many others, but not all. 
 I use the tip of my tongue for light, fast tongue 
strokes, like legato tonguing and very fast single 
tongueing/triple tongueing.  I tongue behind the tip for 
all marcato playing and most playing in general.  In the 
upper register the tip of my tongue is way forward so I 
have to use the middle of my tongue when tongueing high 
G's etc.

Playing scales from pedal f or e is a good way to sort all 
of this out, if you can play those notes with a normal 
trumpet embouchure.

One other thing I've noticed over the years;  folks who 
play with exaggeratedly open oral cavities tend to 
constrict in their throat for interval work and upper 
register work. You can hear them grunting to play octave 
slurs, for example. Sometimes the overall result works OK, 
sometimes it doesn't work at all.  Sometimes folks say 
that keeping the tongue as low as possible will promote an 
open throat.  I think that is tuba pedagogy and is the 
opposite of the truth for most trumpet players, not all.
John





On Sat, 3 Nov 2007 19:47:13 -0500
  "James Klages" <james.klages at gmail.com> wrote:
> In my opinion --- Each vowel has it's own character. A, 
>E, I, O, U, and all
> the permutations. Long and shot and compounds. It is 
>smart to systematically
> practice them - with the intent that you don't have to 
>think about them It
> is musical "syntax." Much like speaking in complete 
>intelligbl sentences.
> Jim Klages
> 
> 
> On 11/3/07, Vic Haskins <vic.trumpet at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Alright, let me kick off the discussion I use the shape 
>>of the mouth
>> 'Oooo', like there is an egg in the mouth to get an 
>>Ooooopen sound and good
>> tone.  That is the basis.Then I use 'Doh' most of the 
>>time for regular
>> tonguing.  I use 'Toh' for accents.  I use a very soft 
>>'doh' for legato.  I
>> use an abrupt 'Do-' for staccato. Always ending in 'Ooo' 
>>to keep the tone
>> round and dark.  'Ooo' in the low low notes to the 
>>middle register to the
>> squealer notes for consistency of tone in all registers. 
>>That's all I can
>> think of for now I guess. I know other people have 
>>different methods and I
>> would like to hear about those. Sooo, there we go. Its 
>>kicked off.  -Vic
>> Haskins
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Dr. James L. Klages
> Professor of Trumpet
> School of Music
> University of Central Oklahoma
> Edmond, OK 73034
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