Trumpet and Horn: Cameron Kopf Feedback and Discussion

This post is a little more technical than most I post in my blog. It contains some information that will only be understood by BE students.  I decided to post it because it's another testimonial from someone who has benefited from BE on both trumpet and horn. [I will post my responses in brackets.] Dear Valerie, I have a lot to say about my experience with BE  (on both trumpet and horn)... I started using the Balanced Embouchure method (BE) last year, initially  on trumpet. I experienced instant positive results on both RO and RI exercises  from the very first day. My range and endurance on the trumpet improved  immediately, and it gave me hope that I could actually manage to play both  horn and trumpet interchangeably without problems. A few months later, I began applying BE in my horn practice. I was hesitant  at first, as I had been a professional horn player for 37 years, and didn't want  to "mess up" what had worked reasonably well for me for so many years.    I wanted to wait until I built a more solid foundation with BE on trumpet before  playing the exercises on the horn.  Two months ago, I started practicing  RO and RI exercises after my regular warm up, and am seeing progress  now on the horn as well as I did on trumpet. The main challenge for me with BE and horn is getting a rich, full tone while  using RI. It is getting better all the time, the more I do the exercises. I am finding  now that I am able to roll the lips in AND enlarge the aperture in the center   of the embouchure at the same time, which produces a better sound. [I'm so glad to hear you're working it out for your benefit.  If we rush the RI into our  regular playing to get high notes, "directly" as Jeff puts, that's what can happen.   In the book he writes that we can learn to play with a full and beautiful tone on ANY  embouchure setting.  I totally believe that.  It's just a matter of judicial application  of BE principles, practice, careful listening and, of course, patience.]   Another challenge is to coordinate my tonguing, which is in a different  place while using RI. My particular issue is just above the staff, F, F#, G  where the tongue becomes a bit "ploddy". I have to remind myself to keep  the tongue very close to the top lip, further towards the roof of my mouth,  in order to gain clarity on those notes. [Very interesting.  Notice that on page 88, referring to the exercise on the bottom  of page 89 (Tonguing With Lips Rolled In), Jeff Smiley writes: "When tonguing  becomes easy, this embouchure can be used in everyday playing."  The key word in  that information packed sentence is EASY.  I noticed that when TOL finally became  easy, both my tonguing and my tone settled in the upper register and everything  became clearer.  Jeff has seen this so many times in his 30+ years of teaching 1000s  of trumpet lessons, he knows when the transition can be most beneficial.]   I am developing my own set of exercises to supplement the BE materials for  horn that you have already so generously provided to the Horn Community.  Generally I am extending the RI notes downward. [I think this is especially important for horn players because of our low range  requirements.  In my video, I demonstrate "dragging down" the RI setting all the way  down to pedal tones.  This practice has been very helpful for me so I can play  "rangey" phrases without awkward resetting.] I have yet to be able to tongue scales from the octave below middle C all  the way up to high C smoothly, because it is difficult to shift from RO  to RI fluidly encompassing those three octaves. Starting on middle C  upward is much easier at this point. So I will start a few notes below middle C  and see if I can extend my range upward, using the RI setting. The RO  exercises starting on the pedal notes working upward are of great benefit,  and perhaps if I continue working on them, these 3-octave scales will be easier  using the RO setting. [I would suggest practicing your a few 3 octave scales in both RO and RI every day.   From doing this, you may find clues that will help you decide just how much RO and  RI you need to combine to achieve a smoothest flow across your break.] I have a question for you: Are the slurring exercises following the RO and  RI sections supposed to be played on either setting, or both? [The rule with the advanced lip slurs is "If it works, it's correct!"  This is when you  will consciously apply the principles you've learned in the RO and RI exercises to  your developing embouchure. But, when you get back to "regular" playing, you  must try & forget about BE!  Easier said than done!] There is a lot more to say, but this is enough to digest for one email. I look  forward to hearing back from you, whenever you get a chance! Best regards, Cameron Kopf

More BE Analysis from Lou Denaro

I've tried for years to analyse & understand BE. I've just about given up. The embouchure is such a fluid thing, and so difficult to analyze, I've adopted this attitude: Just do BE because it works.  But..... Lou Denaro is different.  His analysis on BE fascinates me. Lou's also teaching me a thing or two about the mysterious world of mouthpieces.  Here's a discussion he recently initiated on my FaceBook wall. 

Lou: Latest BE observation: I've compared it to a "Lip Stretch" (ala Yoga). Now I believe that it's really about using the settings to harden our too soft lip tissues. Ultimately the player ends up covering both sides of Farkas' "oboe reed" aperture, build up the inner tissues in roll out to maintain the larger aperture and build up the outer tissues in the tighter roll in aperture and it's simply a matter of intuitively playing to your dual strengths rolling in and out across the registers and keeping things nice and smooth and beautiful. Amen.

Lou:  Also left out that this tonguing on the lips business is as basic/san artifice attack as most players can manage, it prompts the appropriate response in the appropriate tissues that should be engaged. All of my comments are not purely scientific, but I believe Jeff left it vague in order to let us explore for that reason.  

David:  Lou, great update. Question, given the increased strength of lip muscles due to rolling in, and out, have you found that the ID (inner diameter) of the mouthpiece is sufficient or have you switched, might switch to a larger or smaller id mouthpiece?

Lou: David, this is a put on right? It's almost too good that you're asking this question. I switched to a G&W 4.75 (the biggest cup in their lineup Inner Rim: .709 / Cup Depth: 1.040 / Throat: .184) 3 weeks ago. I also put a bigger rim ID on my Cantesanu piece (for the Paxman). I'm not proud of this. The thing is that Jeff's method is supposed to work with smaller IDs, but it got to the point that I was visibly overpowering the G&W 3.25 (modified Schmidt 10 copy) on my NiSi Schmidt last month. The 4.75 diffuses sax-player-playing-on-a-metal-reed effect that I was starting to get on the 3.25.  Not that matters any way, because I can still play on smaller rims (provided the horn can take it), but Schmidt's have lighter more penetrating sounds than most other horns out there and having more cup volume up front gives you something to back off from and in any case I'm glad I've got more choices up front on how to power up these beasts.

Valerie:  Lou wrote "but I believe Jeff left it vague in order to let us explore for that reason." Exactly! I think you've nailed the "universal principals" side of BE, Lou.  The "vague" part that Smiley left out are the exact details of how these principles apply to the individual. I believe it would be impossible for Jeff to describe exactly how each person's lips achieve balance... so it's best not to speak of such things. 

Valerie: I love the Yoga analogy! 

 Lou: I thought of it last month in Winter Harbor, I was up by myself doing BE on the seashore every morning crack of dawn, we had an Alexander Technique (efficient use of the body) class and participants shared that there was overlap between Yoga stretches and whatever exercise we were doing at 7:45am and then it hit me that I've been doing my own stretches since 6:00.

For more of Lou's insights see this.

"Huge Breakthrough" with Roll-Out Exercises

This made my day! Read what Jonathan just wrote to me.....

So here is the latest in my saga...I have recently changed my embouchure setting to put more top lip in the mouthpiece and setting the rim on the bottom lip; it is completely different than my old setting which was apparently all wrong, because I have seen an almost overnight improvement in endurance, accuracy, mobility and slurs. It has also allowed me to play fff in the mid and low registers and add some edge when needed. I cannot play the high register with this setting (yet). I believe that this new setting is a result of the RO exercises, and it is probably what most other players are using, but since it is hard for them to describe what they are doing, and you can't see inside the mouthpiece while they're playing, I never realized that I was using a setting that was inefficient and holding back my progress. I feel like this is a huge breakthrough for me!

I keep forgetting that BE does not prescribe an "ideal" setting, just what works, and BE helps you find that.... apparently BE has done that for me; I NEVER would have even thought of playing with this new setting. So, this new setting is like riding a stallion; it has raw power and grace, I just have harness it. My practice now is aimed at getting the "feel" of each note with the new setting...

I KNEW that there was something fundamental that I was doing wrong, the symptoms told me that... unfortunately no one but you and BE steered me in the right direction. I got the classic list of solutions from teachers, friends and pros, none of which (important as they each are) got to the heart of the problem.... you need more air, you're too tight, too loose, too puckered, too smiley, too much pressure, not enough pressure, too much practice, not enough practice, not enough support, wrong mouthpiece, wrong horn, it's mental.... believe me it was MAKING me mental!!! Not any more.... I'm loving my practices.... thanks Val, you're the best!

Jonathan

Thanks, but Jeff Smiley deserves the credit! All I did was provide the book and a little encouragement to stick with the program.

Valerie

Back home.