Tone is the most important aspect of playing any instrument, and making tone a priority is essential to longevity as a brass player. During practice sessions, devote fifteen minutes each day to tone development. Here are three areas to cover daily.

Mouthpiece practice
James Stamp can be credited for popularizing mouthpiece practice. I have found that students with tone problems improve vastly with a few weeks of mouthpiece playing for five to ten minutes a day.

A brass instrument is an amplifier: when the lip vibrates into the mouthpiece, the instrument amplifies the sound. Some players have a technique producing a sound that may be acceptable on the instrument but horrid on the mouthpiece alone. If you make sure the lips start together and then gradually work the lower lip into the mouthpiece, the tone improves dramatically on the mouthpiece alone. When you place the mouthpiece back on your instrument, you will sound like a different player. Practicing on the mouthpiece immediately after your warm-up will focus your ear on tone.

The embouchure we should strive for can be characterized as having the lower lip pouting inside the mouthpiece, which creates the beautiful, rich sounds we hear from great brass artists. Maynard Ferguson tells students that he plays high notes by gripping the mouthpiece. He is essentially talking about gripping the inside of the mouthpiece with his lower lip.

To develop your tone, try practicing any arpeggio exercise or passage (but avoid the high register). First play the passage on your instrument. Now create the clearest tone possible on the mouthpiece alone by working your lower lip into the mouthpiece. Once this mouthpiece tone has been improved, play it again on your instrument – and be prepared to hear a noticeable difference.

Lip bends
Practicing lip bends is actually a continuation of the concept learned from mouthpiece practice. It is an isometric exercise to develop the lower lip so it can grip the mouthpiece. Isometrics have been known for years as a solid means of building muscle. Yoga exercises, for example, are based on isometrics, toning and firming muscles through daily repetition. Similarly, for the brass player, lip bends isolate and strengthen the lower lip muscles.

Lip bends are actually note-bending exercises. Practice by playing a middle C (on the trumpet), then the half-step-lower B (second valve), then back to C. Now play the C, and use the lower lip muscle to push into the mouthpiece, which bends the C down to the B (without using the second valve). As you withdraw the lower lip, the C comes back again. Avoid kissing the mouthpiece with both lips.

Practice the lower lip roll first by pouting in a mirror. Once you have isolated the lower lip muscle, apply the technique to your instrument. Go down by half steps, recreating the half-step lower notes with your lower lip. The notes that are lowered without the new fingerings should sound almost as good as the \”real\” notes. After going through all seven positions, return to C and lip down two half steps.

After the muscles begin to develop and you start feeling some control in the lower lip (usually in one to two weeks), you can start on second line G (for trumpet) and bend the notes down by half steps through the seven positions. Each week, as you feel the progress in your lip, you can start on a higher open note.

Notes produced by bending will not be used during gigs. But the excitement you will feel when playing a high C – with the lower lip gripping the mouthpiece so firmly that you know the high C won\’t crack – will have you going back to practice lip bends for years to come.

Warm-down
One of the most critical practices to follow before putting the instrument away is the warm-down. Few of us are able to play for an extended period, put the instrument away, and encounter no problems the next time the horn comes out of the case. Brass players have consistency problems mainly because they bypass the warm-down. Lip muscles get tight after extended play and need to relax before stopping.

It takes only three to five minutes to relax the lips. Pedal tones are a great lip massage and will relax the muscles. Try playing a middle C, then drop the air speed and pull the mouthpiece off the lip slightly. The note should fall off to approximately an octave below, and the entire lip in the mouthpiece will pulsate. Continue through the seven positions, dropping an octave.

Next, try soft chromatics. Starting on middle C, go down through all seven positions and back up as softly as you can. If notes cut out, your lip is not relaxed enough and the lips are separating. Go back and do more pedal tones. Once you are able to play the lowest seven notes on your instrument softly without response problems, your lips are relaxed enough to put the instrument away.

If you are preparing for a special performance, warm down ten minutes the night before, with soft, low playing. The next day, your lips will be highly responsive.

So rethink your practice. Adding new concepts to your daily routine can improve your performance immensely.

Remember, it is not the time on the instrument that counts, but what and how you practice. Practice more efficiently, and you will not only notice improvements in your playing, but you will also find more time for that elusive balanced life.

Dr. Philip T. Cansler has taught in the performing and fine arts department at the University of Portland for 25 years and has published several books and numerous articles on the trumpet and brass playing. He can be reached at cansler@up.edu. ]]> http://library.marchingband.web.id/2010/02/09/brass-basics/feed/ 0 http://library.marchingband.web.id/2009/06/16/xtremebrass-technique-helps-brass-players-reach-peak-potential/ http://library.marchingband.web.id/2009/06/16/xtremebrass-technique-helps-brass-players-reach-peak-potential/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:41:36 +0000 admin http://library.marchingband.web.id/?p=118 Five considerations for producing a quality sound

By Wayne R. Downey, XtremeBrass.com

Welcome to the world of XtremeBrass technique. This guide is designed to be your “guide to success” in reaching your peak potential as a brass player. As with any road map, there must be a destination in mind. The destination for all brass players in the XtremeBrass world is developing the ability to play with a beautiful tone. That ability combined with a comprehensive understanding of brass technique will allow the player the opportunity to succeed in the art of making music.

To me, the art of making music is being unencumbered by technical hurdles so that the performer can express and communicate freely their emotional involvement with the music they’re performing. It is my hope that the information contained in this technique guide will bring to light the techniques that have enriched the lives of so many of my students and given them the opportunity to experience the joy of making music.

With the understanding that “tone” is our priority let’s proceed. First and foremost, it’s important to know how to take a full, relaxed breath before attempting to produce a beautiful tone. It’s also important to understand that “air” is the fuel of a great sound and without it a characteristic tone quality cannot be achieved. You must always remember “air creates tone” and your ability to inhale and exhale in a relaxed, unrestricted and efficient manner is essential in producing a great sound.

Breathing – Breathing in a relaxed efficient manner is actually a very simple task that we do all day long without consciously thinking about it. Breathing is defined as the process of taking air into and out of the lungs. This process is an involuntary (subconscious) muscle action of the diaphragm and lower abdominals and is aided by muscles in the chest. For now, there’s no need for you to understand the names or functions of the different muscle groups or get wrapped up in the scientific mumbo jumbo of it all, just remember your body breathes all day long without YOU thinking about it. From this point on let’s refer to this involuntary muscle action as our “Natural Breath”.

The beauty of the “Natural Breath” is that it creates a relaxed, calm feeling throughout the body. All muscle groups become flexible, elastic and function with ease. This is due in part to the oxygen that the “Natural Breath” breathes into the lungs and eventually is absorbed into the blood. The oxygen in the blood not only aids in maintaining flexible muscle motion but also acts as a nutriment to promote muscle growth throughout the body.

Simply put, your subconscious mind regulates your bodies breathing in an efficient and relaxed manner. Your goal as it relates to breathing, must be to learn how to exaggerate the “Natural Breath” so it becomes a voluntary or conscious process without sacrificing the relaxed physical condition it creates.

For the most part, beginning and intermediate brass players over exaggerate this natural process causing themselves a host of problems. First off, exaggerating the “Natural Breath” will result in restriction and tightness in the lower abdominals, diaphragm and chest as well as constriction of the throat cavity.

Constriction of the throat during inhalation will limit the amount of air flowing into the lungs thus adversely affecting your breath capacity and breath control. The tell tale signs of throat constriction are guttural sounds that can be heard while air is passing through the throat into the lungs. To relax the throat so no constriction occurs I suggest you try this simple exercise. First off, put one hand in front of your face and blow air onto the palm of your hand. The physical sensation you will feel will be a cool air column hitting the hand. Next try dropping your jaw and opening your mouth as wide as you can while blowing air onto your hand. The temperature of the air you feel now should be warm. The physical result of this part of the exercise is a throat cavity that is open and relaxed. This physical state should closely resemble the condition of the throat while yawning. Yawning is an involuntary reflex that brings oxygen into the body and is the most efficient breath we can take. Although it is not practical to play with warm air in all registers it is the physical sensation of a relaxed open throat that you must learn to bring to your playing at all times.

Tightness or rigidity in the lower abdominals (muscles in the lower abdomen) will impede the natural process of breathing by limiting the amount of air (oxygen) that you take into your lungs. Without the ability to completely relax the diaphragm you will never be able to take a full breath. Constriction of the lower abdominals will also negatively affect the control of air speed and pressure. This is detrimental not only to your breath control but to your pitch control and range. With only a limited ability to change your air speed and air pressure, changing the speed of the vibration of the tissue of the aperture will be greatly hindered. Thus, limiting your range extension and ability to alter pitch when necessary. I’ll discuss more on these topics shortly.

While discussing breath capacity and constriction I would be remiss in not talking about the condition of the upper body. Although your shoulders and rib cage will naturally rise while taking a breath it’s wise to make sure that they both are relaxed. The shoulders should be naturally rounded, not pulled back to far or slumping forward before taking a breath. The upper body should be in a position that promotes expansion of the rib cage allowing the rib cage to expand and contract freely. If there is tension or constriction in the chest cavity or shoulders that tightness will limit the expansion of the lungs thus limiting the amount of oxygen you can take into your body. As you can see it is important to relate the action of breathing to the ability of taking a full breath because, “air” is the fuel of a great sound.

Lastly, taking a full breath every time you breathe is of ultimate importance.

Breath Control – The next priority in creating a great sound is learning how to control the air you breathe. First and foremost you must learn that the lower abdominal muscles in combination with the position and shape of the tongue in the mouth cavity regulate air pressure and air speed. The more you exert the lower abdominal muscles in an upward motion the more air will be released out of the lungs. Conversely, the less exertion, the less air will be released.

Air pressure is created when the air released from the lungs comes in contact with the back of the tongue before passing over the tongue through the oral cavity and into your instrument. The shape of the tongue in the mouth cavity plays a pivotal role in creating this pressure as well as controlling the speed of the air. The higher the arch of the back of the tongue the smaller the oral cavity becomes (the space between the tongue and the roof of the mouth.) Obviously, the smaller the space between the tongue and the roof of the mouth the more pressure will be created and the faster the air will be released over the tongue into the instrument. Conversely, the lower the arch of the tongue the larger the mouth cavity becomes creating less pressure with a slower speed of air. All professional brass players have learned to coordinate the motion of the lower abdominals with the motion of the tongue for complete control over their air pressure and speed. Once these basic concepts of varying air speed and air pressure are learned you are well on your way to understanding the concept of controlling the air you breathe.

Pitch Control – Once you’ve learned how to vary both your air speed and air pressure you must understand how those functions affect both your tone and pitch. At this point it’s important to understand the direct relationship between the frequency of the vibration of the tissue and the speed of your air. The faster the speed of the air passing through the lips the faster the tissue will vibrate producing a higher pitch, conversely the slower the vibration, the lower the pitch. You might be fascinated by the fact that the frequency of the vibration also affects the color of your tone. The faster the tissue vibrates on any given pitch the brighter your tone will be, the slower the vibration, the darker the tone will become.

Once you’ve learned how to breathe in a relaxed manner, vary your air pressure and air speed you must understand that there is also a relationship between the speed of your air and the frequency of the vibration of the tissue with the size of your aperture.

Realize that the speed of the air is not the only factor that controls pitch. The size of the vibrating surface (aperture) also affects the speed of the vibration of the tissue. Assuming a constant air speed is traveling through the aperture the smaller the vibrating surface the faster the vibration will be, the larger the vibrating surface the slower the vibration will be. Hence the sharper or flatter the pitch or the brighter or darker the tone becomes.

Simply stated, accurate control of pitch and tone color involves a coordinated effort between the speed of your air, your air pressure and the size of your aperture (the vibrating surface).

Assuming that you remember how to change the speed of your air using the lower abdominal muscles in combination with the position and shape of the tongue in the mouth cavity, the next step in the process is learning how to vary the size of the aperture.

The Aperture – I like to create the image (for my students) of the aperture gliding along what I call a laser beam of air (the air column) in a forward or backward motion towards or away from the throat of the mouthpiece. The motion of the aperture is controlled by the muscles of the face and is accompanied by the corners of the mouth moving in a similar manner (much like puckering your lips). The motion of the facial muscles should be very elastic and smooth and the condition of the tissue vibrating should be very supple.

You must realize that this type of motion not only changes the size of the aperture but its location in the mouthpiece as well. The closer the aperture is to the throat of the mouthpiece the larger the size of the vibrating surface, the further away the aperture is from the throat of the mouthpiece the smaller the size of the vibrating surface becomes. This movement should be thought of as a simple rolling motion. This motion will now serve as the technique we will use to vary the size of the aperture (the vibrating surface). To produce a well-centered pitch you must coordinate the speed of your air, your air pressure with the size of the aperture to create the frequency of vibration necessary. I would like to caution you that any unnecessary pressure from the mouthpiece (usually prompted by the hand) could impede the motion of the facial muscles and adversely affect your attempt to control pitch and tone color.

Hand Pressure – The hands play a major role in regulating pressure on the vibrating surface (aperture). Careful attention must be paid by the performer to evenly distribute the pressure of the mouthpiece on both the upper and lower lips to ensure even vibration of the tissue. Uneven distribution of pressure will adversely affect your tone, pitch and flexibility.

You also must understand the relationship between the amounts of pressure the mouthpiece exerts on the vibrating surface and the register (range) you’re playing in. The higher the register the more pressure is needed and conversely the lower the register the less pressure is warranted. The hands must regulate these variations in pressure but at the same not impede the muscle motion. Please understand that the variation of pressure is slight but all-important. For all brass players with the exception of those who play French Horn the left hand is key in adjusting the amount of pressure the mouthpiece exerts on the lips. French Horn players on the other hand (don’t mind the pun) control the pressure with their right hands. Please make a conscious effort not to use pinky rings or any other grasping aids on either hand to alter hand pressure unevenly. Pressure unevenly exerted from either hand could disrupt the equal pressure of the mouthpiece on the vibrating surface.

In Conclusion – This approach to brass technique has been designed to create a coordinated system of muscle motion that is both fluid and unrestricted. The performer should concentrate on synchronizing the motion of the aperture, tongue, lower abdominal muscles and hand for optimal physical and tonal development.

You must be aware of and memorize the physical sensations that occur when a beautiful tone is produced. You must strive to duplicate those same physical sensations repeatedly so your brain will learn to direct the muscle groups (muscle memory) to involuntarily direct the physical aspect of your performance to free your expressive and emotional self. Whatever you’d like to call this phenomenon, being in the zone or being on automatic pilot an incredible amount of dedication (hours of rehearsal) will be required to create that “natural sense” of muscle motion.

The barometer of success of this method is without a doubt your quality of sound (tone). If the tone produced is not satisfactory then one or more of the elements of the system is out of balance and or being disregarded. The method relies on your knowledge of the system coupled with your ability to monitor your tone while making music.

I hope you reap the same successes in your music making with my XtremeBrass Technique that the Blue Devils have enjoyed for decades.

Wayne R. Downey

Embouchure/Aperture
A) Position of Jaw & Corners – Vertical alignment of teeth
B) Mouthpiece placement – Dento facial features
C) Mouthpiece pressure – Evenness of pressure on upper & lower lip
D) Shape of aperture – Oval, shaped by facial muscles
E) Size of aperture – Varies as to register, controlled by the position of the jaw, corners & facial muscle pressure, frequency of vibration
F) Location of aperture – Inside cup of mouthpiece, controlled by position of jaw & corners
G) Direction of Air Stream – Aperture laser beams air column down center of throat of mouthpiece, aperture should glide up & down air column

Air Speed & Pressure
A) Oral Cavity Shape – Roof of mouth, tongue, throat
B) Shape of Tongue – Height of tongue controls air speed, compression of air & directs air column to aperture
C) Air Temperature – Warm vs. Cold, throat constriction
D) Diaphragm – Involuntary, voluntary muscle
E) Lower Abdominals- Control air pressure

Hand Pressure and Shape
A) Hand Shape – See the “C”
B) Point of Contact of Finger – Not the tip nor the pad but the fulcrum, no flying fingers
C) Finger Pressure – 200lbs, or as much as you can exert w/o creating constriction or tightness
D) Left Hand – Controls hand pressure & mouthpiece pressure on face
E) Right Hand – Free of constriction, pinky is not octave key
F) Hand Pressure – Varies as to register

So often we tend to say that we have a few “set exercises” that are always included in our daily routine, but when we think back over the past couple of weeks’ practice sessions, we may realize that some of those exercises have been practiced rather sporadically (for me, single tonguing is most often ignored). Lip flexibility is another frequently overlooked exercise for may people. The best policy is to schedule these exercises at a specific point of the daily practice routine, usually sometime during the warm-up period.

Below is a progression of three lip slurs which I have found to be very useful, not only for myself, but for my students, as well. You know the routine – go down chromatically through all valve combinations and back up. Those who cannot attain the upper register in a relaxed manner, might find it easier to start at the bottom (1-2-3 valve combination) and work your way up, as high as you can comfortably do so.

I hope you find this to be a very beneficial 20 minutes (18 min. 12 sec. to be exact) in your daily routine. Remember: every day!

By : Bryan Goff

I keep repeating the theme that in order to not neglect certain playing techniques, we must include these techniques in a specific slot in our regular daily practice schedule. I have previously mentioned techniques such as lip slurs and single tonguing. I feel that it is also important to ensure that we at least include a minimum amount of pianissimo and fortissimo playing every day.

Pianissimo playing requires embouchure control, steady breath control, and suppleness and responsiveness of the embouchure. Fortissimo playing requires, in addition to strong air support, embouchure strength and the ability to control the aperture when subjected to a large volume of air. In short, the extremes of dynamic range require totally different types of physical control. Obviously, the only way to develop and maintain control at these extremes is to practice at these levels, for at least a few minutes, on a regular basis.

I would speculate that most trumpeters who are reasonably accomplished, spend the largest proportion of their daily practice time playing mezzo forte or louder. The reason for this is that their sense of good solid air support will most naturally result in a full, resonant, and somewhat loud tone. (On the other hand, it might be a good idea for less accomplished players to consciously spend a greater amount of time playing at loud dynamic levels to develop a better sense of good air support). It is my belief that these accomplished players may need to purposely include some supplementary pianissimo selections every day. Likewise, even if a player does much of his performing at a loud level, he will not be able to control those fortissimo passages when called upon, unless he has included at least a little fortissimo playing in his daily routine.

Personally, I can discipline myself to include tonguing and lip flexibility exercises in my daily routine, but to include exercises that are designed solely for the purpose of playing at loud and soft dynamics is, for me, extremely boring. I really prefer to cover my dynamic extremes by playing selections from actual musical examples, orchestral excerpts for example.

I would like to suggest that you pick a few of your favorite excerpts which represent extremes of dynamic levels and play them at a specific point in your daily routine.

Some trills are easy, some trills are more difficult, and some trills are nearly impossible to execute cleanly. In the following example the B-natural to C trill is very easy. The C to D trill is more difficult because the pitch must be focused, by the lip, at a pitch center between those two notes. If your pitch center is focused below that “slot”, some B-flat’s may find their way into your trill. (Extending the 1st valve slide a bit will bring the pitch of D closer to C and the pitch of B-flat further away from C, and will improve the accuracy of the trill).

In the third example, however, it is almost impossible to find the “slot” between G and A. This is one of those trills where the player must actually move back and forth between the two pitches with the lip. (And to make matters worse, the player must perfectly synchronize that lip movement with the finger movement)!

One well-known instance of this G-A trill comes at the end of the first movement of the Hummel Concerto, when performed on B-flat trumpet. One good solution to the problem, of course, is to perform the work on E-flat trumpet, however this option not always possible for many students. A lip trill may be viable for some players, but by the end of the movement, fatigue may prevent many players from executing a lip trill with dependability. Therefore, the only solution may be to practice this trill enough to be able to coordinate the lip and finger movements.

Following is an exercise I wrote for a high school student of mine which seemed to help her develop this lip/finger coordination in preparation for her performance at our state solo contest. The first few measures require only a small amount of lip movement, but as the exercise ascends, more and more lip movement is required to focus the pitch of the “trill” and, of course, this lip movement must be coordinated with that of the fingers. Because the notes start slowly the lip/finger coordination is easy at first, but the coordination becomes more critical by the time we are playing sixteenth-notes.

]]> http://library.marchingband.web.id/2008/06/29/trills-pitch-focus/feed/ 0 http://library.marchingband.web.id/2008/06/19/indahnya-sebuah-pemanasan%e2%80%a6part-2-selesai/ http://library.marchingband.web.id/2008/06/19/indahnya-sebuah-pemanasan%e2%80%a6part-2-selesai/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:28:56 +0000 admin http://library.marchingband.web.id/2008/06/19/indahnya-sebuah-pemanasan%e2%80%a6part-2-selesai/ Oleh: Marko S Hermawan.
Jupiter Indonesia Endorser

Berhubungan dengan episode sebelumnya mengenai pemanasan alat tiup, marilah kita lanjutkan pembicaraan berikutnya. Latihan selanjutnya adalah memperhatikan nada pendek dan nada stakato.

SHORT NOTES
Biasanya latihan ini merupakan rangkaian pemanasan setelah Long Tones. Pemanasan ini bertujuan untuk memperkuat nada stakato, aksentuasi dan tekanan nada. Berawal dari nada ‘do’ ditiup sebanyak 4 atau 8 ketuk, dilanjutkan ke skala berikutnya.

Nah, untuk yang ini barangkali lebih banyak detail yang harus diperhatikan, mengingat pemain merasa ‘gampang’ untuk dimainkan (tidak perlu nafas banyak, pendek pula notnya). Namun jangan salah kaprah, justru kebanyakan persoalan artikulasi lagu berawal dari cara pemain meniupkan alatnya.

Tanpa melihat secara teori yang benar dan referensi yang akurat, pasti anda yang biasa mendengar suara stakato pada alat tiup, akan terasa perbedaannya di setiap pemain. Tiupan berlafal “Ta”, “Tat”, “Da”, “Du”, “Di” mempunyai karakteristik yang berbeda satu sama lainnya. Tergantung dari tanda baca dalam not, anda sebagai pelatih mempunyai preferensi tersendiri untuk mengekplorasi tipe suara yang dihasilkan oleh artikulasi tersebut. Namun, yang terpenting adalah, artikulasi dan lafal tiupan di setiap pemain HARUS sama untuk satu tanda baca not !! Dan semua itu berawal dari pemanasan stakato yang ‘membosankan’ bagi pemain, tapi penting sekali untuk menyeragamkan bentuk dan karakter suara brass.

MEMBOSANKAN
Nah, ini dia yang menjadi kendala di hampir semua pemain!! Bukannya apa-apa, saat pemanasan dimulai, apakah semua senior yang sudah ‘jago-jago’ dan sudah bertanding di GPMB berkali-kali itu akan mengikutinya? Saya jamin mungkin sedikit, bahkan tidak ada yang ikut. Mengapa? Sebagian besar senior ini akan berpikir, “Ah, pemanasan seperti itu bosan, ga ada efek tambahan bagi saya.”

Hal-hal ini kemungkinan berdampak buruk pada kekompakan tim, terutama hubungan antara senior dengan juniornya. Secara psikologis, mereka akan membuat kesenjangan antar pemain, yang akan berakibat pada semangat dan kekompakan tim. Bailey (1995) menyebutkan, “Tujuan sebuah latihan adalah lebih kepada tujuan psikologis daripada musikalnya.” Disisi teknis, ketidakhadiran senior ini akan berdampak teknik tiupan akan cenderung berbeda antar pemain senior dan junior, dan akan berakibat pula pada perbedaan artikulasi tiupan.
Jadi, bagaimana mengantisipasi ‘kebosanan’ ini? Adalah tugas seorang pelatih dan pemberi materi untuk memikirkan hal ini. Kebanyakan mereka lebih terkonsentrasi pada pemberian materi lagu paket, memoles dan memperbaiki (drill) lagu tersebut. Bagi saya pribadi, saya lebih menyenangi untuk memoles pemanasan dasar dan menguliknya menjadi sebuah lagu atau kord sederhana, namun menunjang ke teknis lagu tersebut. Sedikit saran tentang pemanasan dasar dan bervariasi antara lain:
a. Untuk pemanasan nada panjang skala do, dibuat 3 suara (do, me, sol), trumpet dan mello mulai dengan do 8 ketuk, saat high brass meniup me, trombone baritone eup baru mulai dengan ‘do’, begitu seterusnya, sehingga tercipta 2 – 3 suara yang berbeda.
b. Untuk pemanasan nada pendek juga dapat dilakukan bervariasi, buatlah kord sederhana yang mewakili teknik tiupan stakato.
c. Pemanasan campuran, yang menggabungkan antara kord nada panjang dengan nada pendek (tonguing technique), maka tercipta lagu sederhana sebagai penunjang lagu proyek. Ketika saya melatih sebuah unit di Jakarta, saya memakai lagu pemanasan untuk menunjang lagu proyek, dan ini terbukti sangat efektif dalam meningkatkan kemampuan pemain. (contoh lagu dapat di download).

Fokus perhatian:
a. Saat ketukan pertama dibunyikan, apabila tidak sama nadanya atau ketukan lebih cepat, maka pemanasan diulangi dari awal. Biasakan seperti itu, agar pemain lebih fokus dan konsentrasi.
b. Saat kord dimainkan, suruh para pemain untuk mendengarkan suara rekan yang mempunyai nada yang berbeda dengan nada yang ditiupnya. Ini mengajarkan kepada mereka untuk mendengar dan menikmati kord sebuah lagu, agar mereka peka terhadap not yang lain. Manfaat lain adalah pemain dapat belajar ‘sound-balanced’ antar sesamanya.
c. Artikulasi setiap pemain mulai dibenahi di setiap pemain, dan kemampuan antara junior dengan senior disamakan. Ajak para senior untuk melatih juniornya dan beri target kepada mereka agar kemampuan junior dapat menyamai seniornya. Dan untuk senior, jangan biarkan mereka tidak latihan pemanasan. Beri mereka teknik yang lebih tinggi dan menantang lagi.
KESIMPULAN (dari part 1 dan 2)
Seberapa kreatifnya dan jelinya sang pelatih menjadi faktor utama efektifnya sebuah pemanasan. Kurangnya perhatian yang baik tentang pemanasan menyebabkan ketidakefektifan pemanasan itu sendiri, dan hal ini sudah menghabiskan waktu yang seharusnya dapat meningkatkan teknik dan kemampuan para pemain. Beberapa saran para ahli yang kiranya dapat membantu secara psikologis antara lain:
a. Barry Ward: Penampilan band bagus berawal dari pemanasan yang tersusun rapi dan kreatif (Whaley, 2005). Sebuah part pemanasan dapat diimprovisasi sedemikian rupa agar dapat mendukung pemanasan dasar itu sendiri. Beri judul yang menarik untuk setiap pemanasan baru, seperti “Not Neraka”, “Longest Not Ever…”, “Lidah Kejepit”, yang dapat menarik perhatian pemain.
b. Wayne Bailey: Pemanasan terdiri dari teknik nafas, flexibility exercise, long tones, dan power buildings. Latihan nafas merupakan latihan yang SANGAT PENTING untuk membangun kekuatan dan kontrol nafas. Latihan ini juga mempengaruhi kualitas suara (tone quality) dari setiap pemain (Bailey, 1995). Sekali lagi, pelatih HARUS berada di setiap pemanasan untuk mengontrol jalannya latihan ini.

Dalam satu kalimat, buatlah pemanasan semenarik mungkin bagi para pemain, berilah tantangan yang baru di setiap pemanasan, agar pemain terpacu untuk mengikutinya dengan serius. Dan terakhir, musik itu adalah keindahan, berawal dari pemanasan yang ‘indah’.
Selamat berlatih,
Marbo
Reference:
Ward. B, “Time have changed: How about your warm-up” article on Garwood Whaley, The Music Director’s Cookbok: Creative Recipes for a Successful Program, Meredith Music Publication, 2005

Bailey. W, The Complete Marching Band Resource Manual, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995

Baca juga :

• Download materi artikel river warm up.enc
• Indahnya sebuah pemanasan…(Part 1)
• Penilaian Vertikal vs Horisontal; Sudut pandang yang berbeda dalam menilai marching band
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One of my other Trumpet Topics pages included a description of the virtues of Long Tones vs. Lip Slurs. Something that I should have also mentioned in that description is that long tones tend to reinforce.

For example, if you are in the process of making an embouchure change, you will probably want to initially lock in on your new embouchure by playing simple exercises consisting primarily of long tones. You will want to establish the new embouchure by playing exercises which you are certain will reinforce that new feeling and not cause you to slip back into your old embouchure, as might be the case with exercises which rapidly move around between high and low registers.

I believe that my Warm-Up is that period which, in addition to stretching — loosening — getting the circulation going — etc., I am really trying to “find my embouchure”.

I rarely feel that my first tone of the day is my best. Therefore, why would I want to start off my day by playing exercises such as Long Tones, which would tend to reinforce a less-than-optimum embouchure setting? I believe that it makes much better sense to start off my day with exercises that move around just a bit, allowing me to find that “perfect spot”.

If you have been used to starting your day with Long Tones, see how you feel this week starting off with just a few minutes of very simple chord exercises, as in the following example:

By : Bryan Goff

Many of the benefits of practice with a metronome are quite obvious. When practicing a piece of music, the use of a metronome helps maintain a steady tempo throughout. A metronome is necessary for checking a composer’s tempo marking. Also, we have all used the practice technique of learning a new technical passage first at a slow tempo, then gradually and methodically increasing the metronome speed as we master the passage at each successive metronome mark.

Ask yourself, however, what proportion of your total practice time is actually done with a metronome each and every day?

The performance of music has a very critical relationship within time, and it is a very exacting relationship at that. In really fast passages your fingers and tongue must be coordinated on notes that occurring faster than 600 notes per minute. Think for just a moment about how many muscles are involved in controlling the embouchure, the tongue, the fingers, and the breathing process. These many, many muscles must all be totally coordinated. All of these physical actions must be precisely synchronized in a single point in time for a truly clean performance, to within perhaps hundredths of a second!

In addition to practicing new technical passages with a metronome, I offer the suggestion that you should try to do almost all of your “daily routine – fundamentals” practice with a metronome. Practice your lip slurs with a metronome. Practice your long tones with a metronome. Practice your tonguing exercises with a metronome. Practice your scales and Clarke’s Technical Studies with a metronome. The more total time you spend with your metronome, the more this tenacity for steady tempo and coordination will be driven into the subconscious. In other words, everything you play which has a steady tempo should be played with a metronome.

I didn’t have an opportunity to study with Carmine Caruso, but I remember an interesting conversation I once had with a sax player who studied with him. Apparently, when you arrived for your lesson (just go in – no need to knock) you would find both teacher and student foot-tapping together. Carmine would continue his ceaseless foot-tapping as the student packed up his instrument and you would get out your horn and join in the tapping. That foot-tapping would continue through the entire lesson!

I can only guess at Caruso’s rationale, but knowing how he always strove to “eliminate the variable factors”, I speculate that he was establishing an incessant rhythmic pulse with his students in order to perfectly coordinate all of the physical elements of playing within a precise point in time.

I believe that truly fine players are those who have developed a very keen sense of precise rhythm and an instinctive habit of coordination of their music within time. Increasing the total proportion of our daily practice which is coordinated with a metronomic beat will aid in developing this habit of strict temporal coordination. In addition to the traditional uses for your metronome, get in the practice of also using it during the routine parts of your daily practice – your warm-up, tone studies, etc. Remember: use it every day!

Lip trills differ from lip “shakes”, both in sound and in the technique of execution. When I speak of a shake, I am referring to that technique that is primarily used in jazz music, a slurred figure in the upper register similar to a trill but usually alternating between notes whose interval is usually greater than a major second – that is, an interval wider than just a single scalewise step. The interval is often a third, and by some trumpeters it is even wider – for example in many of the older recordings of Maynard Ferguson. In my experience with playing shakes, I have a feeling of controlling the pitches primarily with my air, assisted by an up-down jaw motion. I concentrate on using very strong air support, and using considerably more air to go to the upper note.

Lip trills, by contrast, are always stepwise – the alternation between two pitches of a major second. The speed of the lip trill is usually faster than that of the shake and it should sound as smooth as a normal, fingered trill. Because the notes must occur between overtones that are a step apart, the lowest lip trill possible is between E and F-sharp at the top of the staff (fingered 1-2-3).

The feeling I have when playing a lip trill is totally different than when I play a shake. Although I do use good, steady, adequate air support on a trill, the quantity of air is usually much less than that of a shake. The most important thing, I feel, is to have a feeling of focusing very “far forward” – I would say clear out on the front tip of the lip, whereas with the shake I feel that the motion is further back in the oral cavity. Try whistling a high note, then whistle a trill – that little fluttering quiver is approximately the same sensation as a lip trill. You can bully yourself through a shake by using your strength and power (and probably should do so, to get the right style), but a lip trill must be performed with flexibility and finesse. With a shake I feel that my airstream is a fat column of air, but with a trill I feel that it is fast, intense, but small ribbon of air.

Following is an exercise which I wrote for the purpose of working on lip trills. Start with this 1-2-3 fingering and work your way up chromatically after you are comfortable with each successive pitch level. Start at a tempo of about quarter-note = 126 and try to work up to 184 or faster.

Remember to play lightly, with finesse, and to feel yourself focusing your tone “far forward”.