The Air Obstacle Course

Living in Columbia, SC means living near Ft. Jackson. Every fall, they host an event (sponsored by the marine corps) called the mud run.

This last fall roughly 14,000 people ran, swam, crawled and basically oozed their way through an obstacle course. (I even considered doing it but then I realized that I am sane).

Somehow I thought about this when listening to a student's overly noisy breath.

Noise = friction.

It's almost as if the air has to run an obstacle course to go in and come out. What we really need (low tongue, relaxed throat) is a new superhighway...

Nyah, nyah, nyah

Recently a student was playing a legato shift from B-flat to G. Lots of tension.

I tried lots of tricks; nothing seemed to work.

Hmm, minor third. What about that little mocking melody kids use.
"Nyah nyah nyah...(etc.)



Just like that, tension gone.

Take the new...relate it to the simple, the old.
Something you've done for years.

Grunts and Moans

I'm doing less teaching over the summer but I do see a few private students.

So often, freshman students arrive with bad habits so deeply ingrained that it takes months or years to turn things around. That's why I like to work with younger students and try to instill good habits earlier in the process.

Here's the big one I'm noticing this summer (not that I haven't seen it before!):

THROAT TENSION

Especially when students go to attack notes, I so often hear a little grunting sound as the throat tenses (often for the attack). In more severe cases, you can actually hear a soft humming or moaning sound along with the playing.

I've even held up a recorder microphone close to a student's throat to help them hear these sounds. Sometimes the effect is kind of spooky, like the ghost of someone's grandfather is humming along with the music.

Remember, the vocal chords help to keep food out of the lungs. But, as they close, this also prevents air from coming out of the lungs.

Some things to think about it:

1. Higher notes seem to cause more trouble.
2. Tricky music makes things worse.
3. You need to notice it in order to fix it. Have a friend stand nearby and listen for those throat sounds.
   
4. As your throat relaxes, you might notice your sound getting bigger and notes speaking more easily.
   
5. When notes don't speak, I often hear a very significant grunt (makes sense, really..less air going to the lips makes "air balls" much easier)

You can't hold your throat open.

A relaxed throat is an open throat.

Formulas, formulas

You may know this one (not original):

P - I = R

Potential minus interference equals result.
In other words, your performance is your potential (the best you can possibly play) minus all the stuff that holds you back.

Let me expand this ...

P=SC + F

"SC" stands for sound concept. You're about to play a piece...do really know exactly how you want it to sound? (Be honest, have you marked in the breaths, decided on nuances like vibrato, degree of attack, etc.).
"F" stands for fundamentals. Assuming that you really know what you want the piece to sound like, do you have the command over your instrument to produce the exact result you hear in your head? Do you end up playing mezzo piano because you can't control your tone at piano? Do you resort to "wah" attacks because you can't "ping" the notes cleanly?

I=T+D

"T" stands for tension. If you allow your body to tense up in a performance, the fundamentals won't work to bring forward your sound concept. Relaxation is crucial.
"D" stands for distraction. Anything that takes your mind off the task at hand. There are two types of distraction: external and internal. If a comet crashes through the roof during your performance, you might not play as well as planned. Internal distractions are any thoughts other than the phrase at hand. Thoughts like:
"Man, I hope I don't blow this."
"Wow, this is going really well."
"I wonder what the listeners think of me."
I like to think of nervousness as simply a matter of attention focus. If you are immersed in the phrase of the moment, it's hard to be nervous because you are focused away from yourself.

What does this all mean?

Well, maybe it can simplify things. If these formulas work, there are only four things you need to focus on:
Sound Concept
Fundamentals
Tension
Distraction

What else is there.

(Sound Concept+Fundamentals) - (Tension+Distaction) = Result

Ouch, too much math for a trombone brain.