Darrell Branaman

Dr. Palmer
MUSE 250
There are two types of beginners that need different types of instructions. The older

beginners and younger beginners. Older beginners can be taught through description of the

correct way to breathe. Younger players need to be taught in the way where they can feel the

correct way to breathe. They need to be able to feel the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles

working to fill up the lungs as much as they can. Then they need to feel what it feels like to

exhale the air completely. This will help students to take deeper breaths. There are many

different ways for students to feel when they are breathing correctly one teacher has his

students cough, because this shows the students the correct muscles they need to focus on

when breathing. He then has them sizzle so they can feel the muscles work when they are

exhaling. For both types of beginners the teacher needs to make sure that he or she is

constantly checking to make sure the students is doing it correctly. This is the most important

phase for teachers to check breathing, because this is when students create most of their bad

habits. This can include raising the shoulders when inhaling. Another important topic for

breathing is that the teacher makes sure that the student is releasing the air in a way that

supports the sound. The teacher should explain to the students that there are times when they

should take full breaths and times when they shouldnt. Students should try and not have stale

air leftover when they are taking in a new breath. Students should also make sure that there is

no holding of air, it should go in and without pause should be pushed back out.

The embouchure should be taught with other aspects of playing music. Pretty much

every professor in the reading stated that embouchure should be taught along with breathing.

The reasoning behind this is because a student could have a correct embouchure and may still

face problems with articulations and lip slurs. This may be due to the fact that they are blocking
their air when playing ascending lines. They might also have the correct embouchure, but might

be producing a tight pinched sound. This is again due to not having enough breath reaching the

embouchure. The air is what shows the student and the teacher if the embouchure is correct.

The best way to strengthen the embouchure of the player is to perform lip slurs which again

requires air support to perform.

There are many different misconceptions that brass players have about articulation. The

first is that brass players stop the air and tone of their instruments with their tongues. Another is

that many brass players use too much tongue, it either has too much contact with roof of their

mouth or they are using too much exertion to produce the tongued notes. When using too much

exertion they have a slow tongue and are unable to perform rapid tonguing that some pieces

require. Another problem many young brass players have is that they use wrong articulations

many times. This means that instead of slurring a note they instead tongue it or vise versa.

Many players begin to think that there is only one way to tongue a note so they use the same

syllable for legato passages and for marcato passages. Students struggle with understanding

that tone is started with air not tongue. They think its tongue started and as a result use a lower

level intensity of air. This produces a bad tone for staccato notes.

The best way for students to learn what an acceptable tone quality is, by hearing one.

Many of the professors mentioned that they would have their students listen to them perform a

good tone on the instrument. They would also have the students listen to recordings of

professional players. One of the professors mentioned to have students listen to their own

practicing and listen to their notes. They should listen for clear pitch with no fuzziness and

should have a lot of resonance to their playing. Another professor stated that students should

make sure that they are understanding that good tone for one composer might be completely
different for another. The best way to understand what tone is good for what piece is by listening

to other music by the composer.

The best way to achieve balance in an ensemble with different levels of playing is by

listening. This goes for the conductor and the players. It is more directed at the players,

because they have to listen and try and match the tone color of the ensemble. To do this they

must be listening not only at themselves, but everyone in the ensemble. The director can

identify what parts are the primary parts and what parts arent. They can point at the parts that

arent coming through the ensemble. They can also try seating arrangements, cut and add

parts, and change dynamics. Without the players listening though the balance will never be

perfect, because it will be always changing. Best way is for players to constantly listen and

adjust as they play to what they hear. This can be enhanced by having players perform in duets,

which forces them to constantly listen to each other.

One way for students to expand their overall musicianship along with their technical

proficiency is to start having younger students work on composition. Another way to expand

musicianship is exposing students to good and bad performances of all types of music so they

can develop their evaluation process. Technique needs to be developed before the musician

can expand their musicianship. For technique proficiency students need to not only be able to

play the notes, but also need to acquire sensitivity and expressivity for the style of music.

Players need to be able to have technical ability that allows them to control their instrument in

the way they want.

There are several techniques that are applicable from singing to teaching brass. The first

is the similarities of inhaling air. Both singers and brass players must inhale large amounts of air

in a short amount of time. Brass players also have much to learn from singers on their phrasing

of their vocal lines. If brass players try to copy the vocalists legato it will improve their legato,
because they dont have bumps in the lines from pressing down valves. Playing vocal passages

like Bordogni are good for helping brass play lyrically and having a more resonant sound. Brass

players also think of singers vowel sounds to perform in many different styles. It also helps

students moving through the overtone series in either up or down. Lastly the falsetto method of

using less air in the higher registers to produce higher notes is applicable for brass players.

Brass players use this sense of falsetto to get across harmonic breaks in their instruments.

There are many ways to expand range one way is by performing long tone. Another is by

performing lip slurs. These both work to strengthen the lip muscles used to produce the

vibrations needed to perform the higher range of notes. For higher range and dynamic range the

main point is controlling the air. Another important factor for dynamic ranges is making sure that

when students arent playing in the correct dynamic that the director makes it clear and asks the

students to exaggerate the dynamics asked of them. There are also etudes that will work with

students to expand their ranges on their instruments.

Some of the professors stated that they dont teach vibrato at a young age for students.

They dont teach it until students have a good foundation underneath them to build on. They

stated if student is performing vibrato without you teaching them, then you need to work with

that student he or she can sustain a note without it having vibrato. The ones that taught it to

their older students stated that it was up to the musician how they performed their vibrato. One

professor explained he taught the jaw vibrato and the slide vibrato, which is similar to the

trumpet hand vibrato. He explained that he made sure to explain when vibrato was to be used

and that it was the students choice on which one they decided to use. The french horn

professor stated he didnt teach it, because it was rare for a horn player to use it.

I found this article fascinating and full of many facts that I hadnt heard put in the manner

that these professors put them. I learned that there are many similarities between vocalist and
brass players in their techniques. I also had never heard that the best way to fix players listening

to each other was to put them in duets so they are constantly listening to each other. I lastly

picked up on that younger students need to feel the proper way to breath instead of just being

explained to on how to breathe. This makes sense, but I had never really thought of how

confusing it might be for a younger student to try and breathe based off of my descriptions of

what they should feel. Many of the other ideas listed in this piece I have heard over the years of

playing a brass instrument. I learned many things from this section of reading, that I plan on

taking with me later into my career.