Brass Clinic

Problem Solving for Low Brass Students

BY SKIP GRAY

he young student learning a low brass instrument should be taught

proper playing concepts from his
first day of study, but even the
most talented student can stray
from good habits and will need
guidance. The following problems
and suggested solutions will help
students get back on the right
track.
A shallow sound
is one of the most
common problems among low
brass players.
These students
need a concept of
good sound. Exposing beginners
to live performance demonstrations by mature,
accomplished
players is one

way to begin. If this is not practical, listening to recordings of

fine players on their instruments
is a good alternative.
Once the young player' becomes aware of good sound, regularly encourage proper breathing habits. Good playing posture,
relaxation during inhalation and
exhalation, and deep, full breaths
are essential to good sound pro-

duction and need to be stressed

often. Some young players develop uncharacteristically small
sounds because they consistently
play too soft, neither filling the
instrument with air nor the
room they are in with sound.
A fuzzy, unfocused sound is closely related to a shallow tone.
When you hear this type of playing, remind the student to keep
the throat open
and relaxed
during both inhalation and exhalation. To
demonstrate this
openness, use a
breathing tube,
which can be
made from a
piece of plastic
tubing or rolledup half sheet
of paper with

a diameter of about one inch and

a length of three to four inches.
Have the student put the tube
into his mouth and take several
breaths in and out. He will feel a
remarkable openness in the
throat and a cool feeling of the
air rushing in and out. Encourage him to duplicate this sensation on the instrument.
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Another way to develop a

more focused sound is to have
the student play louder, with
control. The player will need to
use more air, which in most cases
will bring into more efficient action the various parts of the
body required in low brass playing. A hidden cause of a fuzzy
sound is sometimes found in students who play with clenched
teeth. If this is the case, have the
student drop the bottom jaw and
form an "O" syllable at the front
of the mouth while playing. This
should spread the teeth apart
and allow a more open, relaxed
flow of air.
Unclear or imprecise articulation
is another common problem that
can often be remedied by reviewing articulation syllables. The
most common syllables for low
brass playing are "toh" and
"doh," both with a long "O" as in
the word "open." Musicians generally use the "toh" syllable for
hard attacks and the "doh"
syllable for legato passages and
rapid articulation. I advocate the
"O" vowel for several reasons.
First, it tends to give a round
shape to the oral cavity, allowing
a greater volume of air to pass
through with little impedance.
The "O" vowel is also a relaxing
vowel for the throat muscles and
ultimately keeps muscular tension
in the throat to a minimum.
Tongue placement greatly affects
clarity in low brass articulation.
Skip Gray is Associate Professor of
Music at the University of Kentucky,
where he has been a faculty member
since 1980. He is Principal Tubist of
the Lexington (Kentucky) Philharmonic
and Secretary of Tubists Universal
Brotherhood Association. Gray holds
music degrees from Baldwin-Wallace
College and the University of Illinois.

A natural, correct result occurs

by using the "toh" and "doh" syllables with the tip of the tongue
touching the middle of the pla.
teau at the front of the roof of
the mouth. The area is marked
with an "X" in the following
diagram:
Roof of mouth, upward view

Mouth, side view

Obviously, when the tongue

comes out between the teeth, an^
undesirable sound results. Remind players that the tongue
moves only up and down, not
back and forth, and to keep it
down in the bottom of the
mouth, out of the way of the air
stream after initiating an attack.
Incorrect use of air and improper breathing habits are often
found to be the root of brass
players' troubles. Remember that
it is the air stream that actually
produces the attack; the tongue
merely releases and shapes the
supported air stream through the
use of the "toh" and "doh"
syllables.
Poor note releases or notes cut off
with the tongue are symptoms of
articulation problems. When a
young brass student gets into this
habit, it becomes nearly impossi'
ble to play with a musical line
and fullness of sound in techni'
cally difficult passages. The cr
monly accepted way to end i. _^
is to stop the air, that is, to stop
blowing. One way to communi'
cate this concept to students is t o
ask them to put an "H" ending
on notes. The "H" ending not

only stops the air, it also adds

resonance and focus to even the
most secco of musical passages.
The air stream, and thus the
notes, should not be stopped
with the tongue.
A weak upper register is one difficulty most low brass players
want to correct. The old adage
"you need to be able to play low
in order to play high" is a valuable guide. Do not let young students become involved solely
with their high range: the upper
performing register, as well as the
low register, should develop fairly
naturally as an extension of a
properly established middle
register.
A shallow tone is the mcJst obvious problem in many young
low brass players' upper range;
these students simply do not use
enough breath support to sustain
a good tone. They tend to
squeak out high notes rather
than use an intense, wellsupported air stream. Successful
low register playing requires a
large yet gentle air flow, much
like a large, wide river flowing
swiftly after a spring thaw.
Achieving a good tone in the upper register requires a much more
intensive air flow, still based on
solid air support, much like a
narrow but powerful waterfall at
the end of a large lake.
50

THE INSTRUMENTALIST/ APRIL 1988

Another contributor to a weak

upper register is the "smile" embouchure or excessive embouchure shift. By smiling, less lip
thickness is available for vibration and the tone itself becomes
thin. Problems with endurance
and note accuracy often result
from using the "smile" embouchure in the upper register. Excessive embouchure shift (the use
of a separate upper-range embouchure) destabilizes the facial
muscles responsible for tone production; many times it contributes to accuracy and endurance
problems. A shift of the embouchure between registers makes
rapid, technical passages even
more difficult, if not impossible.
There are specific exercises to
assist advanced players who have
difficulty in the upper register.
Young players, however, should
gradually extend both their upper and lower ranges by practicing increasingly expansive etude
and solo material, as well as by
learning and studying scales in as
many octaves as possible with
the goal of always producing a
good sound. Focusing on adjusting the direction of air flow into
the mouthpiece without altering
the position of the embouchure
also helps students improve.
Generally, the lower the range,
the more upward the direction of

the air flow in the mouthpiece;

the higher the range, the more
downward the air flow in the
mouthpiece.
Passages requiring rapid articulation also pose problems to young
low brass players. Though there
are several easy solutions to this
problem, the most important is
to keep the air flow steady, that
is, to "blow through the passage."
Have the player slur the particular passage, using no tongue at
all. If he gets all of the correct
valves down, he will find that all
of the notes come out quite easily. Make sure the player is not
trying to articulate the rapid
passage too heavily. Generally,
the quicker the notes, the more
the articulation "doh" should be
used. The beginning of Second
Suite in F for Military Band by
Gustav Hoist is an excellent example of a troublesome passage
for low brass players:
(+ 8va)

y=

-?44-v\<*-*-f- -2

M-

-4
+-

Low brass soli

If players are having problems effectively executing this passage or
one similar to it, first have them
slur the passage slightly under
tempo. This will strengthen the
concept of blowing through the
notes. Then have them pronounce the rhythm in tempo using the "doh" syllable:

Say: doh doh doh doh doh

Next, they should play the passage just as they did when slurring it (blowing through the
notes), only this time use the
gentle "doh" syllable. The students should now be able to
the passage successfully. Consistently stress this concept of uni
terrupted air flow in scales and
all rapidly articulated musical
figures.
Excessive tension or distortion in
the face, throat, and shoulders
usually leads to the lack of full,;
relaxed inhalation and exhala-'J
tion. This tension ultimately
an adverse effect on tone qujaM
;
not to mention its aesthetic u
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52

THE INSTRUMENTALIST / APRIL 1988

also destabilizes the embouchure,

which can lead to other problems with note accuracy, weakness in extreme registers (both
low and high), and unevenness
of tone. Tension and excessive
motion in the throat, neck, and
shoulders severely inhibit relaxed
inhalation and exhalation and
result in a less than desirable
tone. It's possible to solve these
problems by having students
relax and think of playing with
complete physical ease, without
extraneous motion.
An uncentered mouthpiece or use
of too much upper or lower lip can
bring about problems with tone
production and register extension. Although the structure and
shape of some players' teeth
make playing with the mouthpiece off center more comfortable, it's better to center it. This
way the symmetrical facial muscles are used efficiently,
strengthening the embouchure
and increasing note accuracy.
Using too much lower lip often
hinders technical development,
because of the resulting lack of
ability to perform in the uppermiddle register and the imposition on note flexibility. As low
brass players mature, they generally use a greater percent of upper lip. Technical development
and strength in the upper register
often occurs; but without care,
tone quality sometimes suffers. A
good rule of thumb, especially
with younger players, is to encourage both a centered mouthpiece placement and the use of
half upper lip and half lower lip.
Difficulty with slurred passages
often occurs when players try to
play too softly or without sufficient breath support. Individual
notes may drop out or wide skips
may not be negotiated. For this
type of problem, full inhalation
and exhalation is often a key factor. Some players make slurred
passages more technically difficult
than they are by physically jerking between pitches. If this is the
case, remind students that embouchure adjustments in slurred
passages, even the wide leaps, are
miniscule. It's easy to demonstrate this idea by having players

slowly buzz the passage or skip

on the mouthpiece, glissing between the notes; the embouchihardly makes any noticeable
change. Gradually direct the
player to increase the speed of
buzzing through the slurred
passage until he reaches the
desired tempo. When he can
buzz the line on the mouthpiece
have him play it on his instrument, reminding him to use lots
of air.
Finger-tongue coordination problems sometimes arise when
players try to take a passage
faster than they have worked on
it. Urge young players to keep
their fingers on the proper valves
at all times. This prevents lurching or groping for the correct
valve. Playing diatonic exercises
at a steady tempo with a metronome also helps build fingertongue coordination.
Unartistic or uncontrolled vibrato
can be demonstrated by recording a student's playing. Some
young students do not realize
they are playing with an undesi.
able vibrato. Besides not being
aware of his sound, a player can
produce a vibrato as a result of
nerves. If this is the case, advocate using full, deep breathing
and relaxation. Of the three
types of vibrato used in wind
playing jaw, diaphragm, and
the shake jaw vibrato is usually considered the only acceptable
type on low brass instruments.
To teach jaw vibrato, use a "yaw"
syllable and have the student
perform various number of
vibrato pulses per steady beat.
Start with eighth notes, then go
on to triplets and sixteenths.
Listening to recordings or live
performances of fine players who
effectively use vibrato, then having the student emulate those
sounds, is a good means for
young players to learn how to incorporate vibrato into their musical performances.
Embouchure shift and excessive
pivot are used by some players
who believe that to play successfully in the varous registers, they
need a separate embouchure setting for each range. This shifting
often results in problems with

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note accuracy when jumping between registers, lack of fluidity,

uneasiness in playing between
registers, and an inconsistent
tone. The use of one basic embouchure is important.
Cheek puffing is not only unsightly, but it also destabilizes the
embouchure, producing poor
note accuracy and undesirable
tone quality. A lack of tension to
the side of the lips can allow air
to escape through the corners of
the mouth. To end cheek puffing
and its subsequent problems, a
student should keep the corners
of the mouth firm.
Excessive mouthpiece pressure and
a lack of endurance are closely related. Excessive lip pressure on
the mouthpiece decreases the
flow of blood to the lips, which
in turn decreases muscle control
and causes problems with note
accuracy and tone production.
Other embouchure endurance
problems can arise from using an
inner rim that is too narrow.
While trumpet players often can
solve their endurance problems
by switching to a wider-rimmed
mouthpiece, embouchure endurance difficulties on low brass instruments are rarely caused by a
thin-rimmed mouthpiece. Consistent, sensible practice with exercises to build and strengthen
the embouchure are usually the
most successful route towards improving embouchure endurance
for low brass players.
By identifying and correcting
problems through the refinement
of playing fundamentals, students
will find that musical performance becomes easier. When an
instrument develops into an extension of the player's inner expressive self, music making becomes truly enjoyable. This
should be a basic goal of teaching, as well as a direction for our
students' many hours of practice.^
Editor's Note: To review the concepts
behind inhalation and exhalation, we
suggest reviewing the article "The
namics of Breathing with Arnold i
and David Cugell, M.D." in the I
cember 1983 issue. The article is
reprinted in the book, Arnold JacoMI
- The Legacy of a Master, prod
by The Instrumentalist Publishing