BE and Extreme High Wire Playing

This came to me in a private email from Dave Stoller who along with Andrew Joy have graciously given me permission to post it here.

"Hey Buddy, I can attest to the benefit of the RI when you have two solid hours of high A's, B's, C's, and D's. I am doing the trumpet parts along with the high G horn transposition in the big final set of choruses. It just keeps going over and over the tune and the horn part is unrelenting. Most people would do this on a descant, but the Holton works as well, if not better. Holton horns "have a high range" and it is so well in tune. Also the sound is full all over that register.
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"Without the knowledge of BE and using a very well defined RI, I would not be able to do this sort of cantata/oratorio playing anymore. They have me doing some of the trumpet parts on the choruses and this makes it really tough. Again, the BE is essential to this sort of high wire act. I tongue on my lower lip for the super soft high entrances. This concept I picked up from Andrew Joy on an email discussion with him. Also tonguing between the teeth works so effectively in this high register work. Now I could never go back to some of the old ways I was doing things.
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"Today was a great triumph for me because I have not done this much continual high playing in many years. Not even Beethoven's 7th is this strenuous. The Brandenburg and the Concerstuck are more strenuous and I would need Herculean chops for these tunes. But I can build up when needed. The program is not any big production here like other horn players are doing. But I would bet none of them are having to work this hard on their Frosty the Snow Man or the Messiah! Andy ... has given me some very precise pointers on extreme soft high entrances. He is the champ on all this stuff. Dave"
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For those who don't know, Dave Stoller is a semi retired principal horn player who had decided over a year ago that he could no longer play horn due to multiple health problems. Dave credits BE for enabling him to develop the efficiency to continue playing even with his physical limitations.
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Andrew Joy is the principal of the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra. http://andrewjoy.com/
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Both Dave and Andrew have testimonials on Jeff Smiley's website. http://www.trumpetteacher.net/index.html
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For the sake of clarity: Tonguing on the lips, "between the teeth" as Dave refers to it, is a technique taught in BE for improving efficiency. In the usual context of BE, RI refers to a specific set of BE exercises played with a rolled in set up. BE does not prescribe playing with a rolled in setting or any other particular setting. When Dave refers to RI in the context of his comments above, he is referring to a personal embouchure setting he has developed through practicing BE.

Valerie Wells