Regaining my emrouchure

[samopn]

Hi

Due to a serious back problem I haven't been able to play for 6 months or so and obviously my embouchure is rubbish.

Other than endlessly buzzing, arpeggios, scales and up-and-down the harmonic series, anyone got any favourite ways of regaining (and keeping) my embouchure strength?

I play both tenor and bass so need to get a prettry good range

Samopn

[harrisonreed]

1. Don't buzz (incorrectly). This practice reinforces bad habits with tension in your face because you have to create resistance to the air at your embouchure where ordinarily there is none. "Oh, but it is the only way... best practice.... XYZ said... that's only if you do it incorrectly " yup. Good luck

2. Long tones are good ... for practicing the ability to play long stable notes.

3. Lip slurs are better for building back your face because they are just like long tones, but you are also practicing changing the shape and angle of your aperture.

4. Now is your chance to build up strength and flexibility without excess tension and bad habits. If you can't get a high notes without doing weird things, don't stress. Build up the base of your pyramid with trigger slurs below the staff, and apply that same technique to the upper register. Chest voice vs. Falsetto.

5. If you sound great 100% of the time in the practice room, you're not really practicing things that you aren't great at. But if you sound not great 100% of the time, don't forget to end the day on a good note -- play at least one thing you are good at or enjoy playing to end your practice.

[Kbiggs]

As a fellow doubler, I have found it’s important to balance time between tenor and bass. For now, I would suggest using the bass to work on the lower register and the tenor to work on the upper register, at least until you’re in better shape. Play piano to mezzo forte for the first week or so, and then gradually expand dynamics and range.

I have found that scale patterns in a limited range, like Clarke’s Technical Study No. 2, are helpful when getting into shape. The focused period in a specific range seems to help with precision of articulations between notes (slurred and separated), and helps with endurance in the long run.

I have a different take on long tones. I think they’re important, but playing too many or too often can lead to a stiff feeling in the chops. Occasionally playing a few during a practice session for a few minutes and then moving to a different exercise or etude has been more productive for me.

Also—let’s face it—long tones can be boring. I have found my long tone playing to be more interesting and productive when I play an exercise that contrasts long tones with some articulated notes either on the same pitch, or within a limited range. Examples: Schlossberg’s Daily Drills section I, or Vernon’s Singing Trombone, latest edition, pp. 8, 9, 10, or 17. These are really just exercises that combine long tones with slurs or articulated notes. Basic stuff.

[samopn]

Thanks guys, there's lots of useful stuff there

Yes, long tones are boring. I quite often watch the tv whilst doing long tones... Helps making sure I do a full 30 mins worth without the terminal bordom that can end up being (for me) counter-productive.

I guess there's no magic bullet here - no shortcuts, but steady controlled basics and doing what works for me

Thanks

[hyperbolica]

For me coming back after 10 years, the long tones were necessary just to make sure I could hold a steady tone. But what brought back the strength was the interval studies. You can replace these with cello suites or telemann flute fantasies, but you need to make sure your ear is recovering with your lip, and you can hear all those notes as well as be able to pick them out of the sky at will. And as mentioned, do them on both instruments.

[Kbiggs]

I know it’s easy to fall back into old habits, but at this point DON’T go back to playing 30 mins of long tones in one sitting. In a few weeks, maybe (if that’s really how you want to spend your time, or you have a lot of time and you want to be a pro). Two or three minutes here and there during a 30-45 min session is plenty at this point.

Slightly off topic, and with my apologies to the OP...

[Begin rant]

Where did we ever get the idea that we have to play long tones for 15, 20, or 30 mins at a time to receive a benefit? I know, I know: Phil Teele, and others. I’ve used his routine before and I still sometimes do a modified version of it. But at times, too much is too much. Playing long tones doesn’t directly help you play a phrase. It helps indirectly by developing breath control, but it’s not musical other than playing a sustained beautiful sound. I prefer to intersperse long tones during a practice session. Much more interesting.

That, to me—the musical part—is the important thing. We do need to learn about shaping a phrase. We do need to learn to play steady, solid, long-held notes at all dynamics. That is, we need to learn these skills in context and always with music in mind, rather than adopting an attitude such as, “My teacher says I gotta do it,” “Professional X said it’ll give me the best high range ever,” or even the “It’s just an exercise” attitude.

I’m also not convinced that practicing while watching TV is mindful, productive practice. I can’t focus on two things at the same time (which is the definition of multitasking), although I am well able to quickly shift focus from one thing to another. Besides, if you’re playing low long tones in the lower register properly, you can’t watch TV. The vibrations in your face make the TV look wavy, as if there’s something interfering with the broadcast (I’m showing my age by using that term, I know...)

Just one man’s opinion, FWIW.

[End rant]

[Doubler]

There are as many ways to play long tones as you can dream up. One challenge is to maintain a rich, beautiful tone with the absolute minimum amount of input, ppp, to keep lips supple and mouthpiece pressure low, and more importantly to develop efficiency, starting with air, not tongue. Plilip Farkas suggests one alternative as starting the note as softly as possible, crescendo to max volume, and then decrescendo back to minimum in order to maintain control, timbre, and intonation throughout your volume capability. One of the things I've been doing lately is to create the note and then move to another partial in a leisurely but precise manner. Speed is not in the equation; developing muscle memory of perfect execution is the goal. I'll do this with scales too, in the same manner. Keep in mind that a legato phrase is a form of long tone as far as your body is concerned. Long tones are only as boring as you allow them to be. If you're not putting 100% focus into your practice, you're wasting your time and cheating yourself.

[harrisonreed]

Long tonesare only good for improving your ability to play long tones.

[Kbiggs]

Long tonesare only good for improving your ability to play long tones.

“...only good for...” Interesting, if unorthodox. Care to elaborate?

[harrisonreed]

You need long tones. It is good to practice them. But this practice improves your ability to play long, stable notes. It does nothing for other aspects of playing.

Sitting for an hour, brainlessly and distractedly droning long tones in front of a TV screen because they are boring will achieve even less than that.

Purposeful long tones will improve stability, absolutely necessary for section playing. If you experiment with tongue placement and aperture, you might even improve tone. But as far as flexibility and dynamic usage of your air stream, static long tones do nothing. As soon as you start chaining long tones together with lip slurs, or legato tonguing, you're practicing lip slurs and legato, and you'll get far more benefit in addition to what long tones already do for you.

[VJOFan]

You can also just play music.

The first day you may be wiped after five minutes but the next day you will be able to go for longer.

I pick repertoire that is similar to or a little harder than what I am going to have to do in the near future.

After a few days I have a base of strength that lets me get back into doing warm ups or exercises as my playing indicates are needed.

[Savio]

I believe the clue is to take it easy in the beginning. Do a little of everything that feels good for you. If long notes doesn't feel good, wait until they feel ok. Often rest. Some days and it should come back.

Leif

[trombonedemon]

Remember how your embouchure feels while playing B flat just above the staff and build above and below using that same embouchure. Got that from that Edwards video from Jo Alessi. Kinda stop me from shifting to get the notes, its natural to shift, he does very little of it, though.

[trombonedemon]

All great advice btw.....

[ArbanRubank]

Once you start to get your chops back, I highly recommend beaucoup Rochut!

[samopn]

Really useful advice here guys, thanks.

My only conern now is that, I'd expected my back problem to have healed much much quicker and I'd committed myself to two concerts next month, so I've got a bit of a deadline. Fortunately they're both on bass trombone and neither programme is especially taxing or contains any "feature" passages so as long as I can play the odd strong note I should be ok. As the saying goes, what's the worse that can happen? (or is that a specifically British phrase? I don't know).

Once these are over I can take a much more measured approach to getting my chops back in line.

... and I should do some practice NOW instead of messing about on the computer.

Cheers

[Doug Elliott]

If you are interested in a lesson by Skype I am very good at fixing things very quickly.

[jpwell]

Doug is good at fixing emrouchure.

[VJOFan]

I'd committed myself to two concerts next month, so I've got a bit of a deadline.
Cheers

A month of regular practice is a lot of time to get strong in my book. Relax and just try to be consistent with getting face time on the horn.

W.