Of photons and phrases...the pithy pendulum

I am slowly working my way through Walter Isaacson's biography of Albert Einstein.
( and I mean sloooowly )

Anyway, I've reached that point of Einstein's "miracle year" when, from March through June of 1905, he produced four papers that helped to upend the world of physics.
The first paper presented the idea of 'light quanta' - that light should not only be described as a wave but as individual packets of quanta later to be known as photons.

In my mind this connects to one of the truisms I've hit upon in my playing. Over the past year or so I've had one of those revelations that, in retrospect, sounds obvious and dumb.

Music is made up of notes.
Make the notes sound good

OK, everyone all together now..."DUH"

Still, as I practice, this simple thought seems to have had a profound effect on my playing. Often I remind myself to simply make the notes sound good and it really helps.

"Ah, but what about phrases?" you ask.

We've all heard 'technical' players who seem to play passages as a succession of notes with no sense of musical direction. We've also hear 'musical' players who play phrases that move us even to the point of ignoring problems with some of the notes themselves.

The analogy, in case it isn't obvious:

waves - phrases
quanta - notes

Like light, music is best described as a combination of waves and quanta (phrases and notes).

Thus the pithy pendulum swings on...

Focus on the phrase
and the notes will take care of themselves.

Focus on the notes
and the phrase will take care of itself.

Part #2 Slippery Slopes

OK, here's that other blog posting based on a recent coaching of the lyrical trombone solo in Appalachian Spring.

It's the old question of alternate positions. You have the choice of using B-flat in sharp 5th, D-flat in flat 5th, or even F in 6th. So why the 'slippery slope' title? It's the mental train of thought that starts after you've used one alternate position and the little voice in your head says,

"You know if you're going to use alternates,
you could also play that D-flat in 5th.
I'm just sayin'..."

By the way, you face a similar set of choices with the more common excerpt: St Saens 3. And while I'm sliding down that slope, what about starting Bolero in 3rd and using the A and G in 4th? Or how those arpeggios in Tuba Mirum? Or, also in Tuba Mirum, starting that pretty tune on the F in 4th??

(and down the slope I go..)

My undergrad and master's teachers were both great teachers but, when it came to the subject of alternate positions, I could not have chosen two more opposite viewpoints.

Ron's (paraphrased) idea:

You have seven positions; use them.

Tony's (paraphrased) idea, expressed when I used an alternate:

You should stick to the real positions.

Learning from these two opposite viewpoints was good for me. I can honestly say that I tried it both ways.

So where do I end up?

Do what sounds best.

Of course, that answer isn't quite so simple. Perhaps a fictional debate would help here.

Let's call these two schools of thought the "Use All 7" camp (UA7) and the "Closer is Better" camp (CIB).

Please note: This is in no way an attempt to 'quote' my former teachers. This is a fictional discussion representing the viewpoints of lots of people.

Here comes a fictional debate:
CIB: Don't use alternates. They don't sound as good.

UA7: That's because you avoid them. If you practiced them more, they would sound fine.

CIB: I don't think so. Notes farther out on the slide are inherently less stable because, the farther out you go, the the more out-of-proportion your instrument is.

UA7: The difference is too small to be noticeable.

CIB: Well, what about intonation, then? Playing those alternates is always more risky when it comes to pitch.

UA7: Only because you haven't practiced them enough.

CIB: Practice all you want but when you're sitting on the hot seat and pitch is a little funky, I bet you'll go running home to those original positions with your tail tucked between your legs.

(and we'll stop there before it gets nasty).

Alright so where does this leave us?

1. Practice both ways and strive to make them equally strong. Then, after you've devoted enough time to both: choose the option that sounds best.
2. Record yourself or play for others to make sure you aren't imagining things. Maybe record a large number of takes where you randomly switch between versions and, after playing the lick, call out to the recorder which version you just did.

I would like to think that, with a superior player, the sound concept is so powerful that it essentially overrides the limitations of either choice of positions.

In other words, be so good that...

...those alternates are in tune with a centered sound
or
...your slide is so fast that you can make the longer shifts sound good.

Part #1 Picket Fences

Today I was coaching someone on excerpts for the upcoming Mississippi Symphony audition and two "blogworthy" ideas popped up in a single excerpt: Appalachian Spring. This excerpt has that melodic trombone solo in G-flat major, if you know it (basically, "Simple Gifts").

Idea #1: Picket Fences.
This key isn't the friendliest for trombone. Imagine how much easier the solo would be if it were in A-flat, for example. Ironic, really. How often in orchestral music does the trombone get an exposed legato tune sitting in the mid-range? And, of course, in one of those rare moments where we actually get a tune to play, it has to be in G-flat major.

OK, so here's the thing: nobody cares if it is an awkward key. They just know the tune and want to hear it played well.

So why 'picket fences'? For some reason this makes me think of the 1950's stereotypical neighborhood with all those nice houses and their white picket fences. Everything and everyone was expected to fit within a mold. Sort of like that old TV show, Father Knows Best...
We don't know what goes on behind the closed doors of those nice houses with those nice families. I imagine there was a lot of social pressure to not reveal problems.

(Perhaps little Jimmy is an ax murderer
but let's not let the neighbors know about it!)

It's like that trombone solo. The audience doesn't care about your troubles. They just want to hear a pretty tune played well. Any problems playing it are your problem and not to be shared with the audience.

So...play like it is easy. Label it not as something awkward but as just a nice tune.

See it through the eyes of your audience
(or hear it through their ears).

Instant-On Radar...and maybe a new kind of tuner

As I listen to a student play, I'm listening to a variety of things and usually forming a strategy of how to proceed next.

Sometimes when the student finishes, they sometimes ask me about something other than the thing(s) I was focusing on. For example, maybe I'm really focused on their rhythm and they ask me about intonation.

For some reason, this makes me think of police speed traps. If I understand correctly, the radar gun can be in an "instant-on" mode where it sits there silently until some unlucky driver comes by going faster than some preset speed.

As I listen to a student play, I think I must have something analogous to that radar gun. Even if my attention is on phrasing or rhythm, a really out-of-tune note can come along and set off that radar gun in my mind.

That reminds me of a different tuner design that could be useful. The SmartMusic software has a feature in which the program listens to your note and plays it back ('in-tune' at least in the equal temperament world).

So, if we combine that SmartMusic feature with the notion of instant-on radar, we get a tuner that sits there silently as long as you are close enough to the desired pitch. If you stray beyond a certain amount (maybe 10 cents) the tuner starts playing the note.

I'd buy it.

Mahler 3 - Dudamel and La Scala

This video was sent to me by my DMA student.

If you haven't seen it, I suggest this...

Listen first to the solo, then jump back and watch it.

any surprises??

I need a new door

So, thinking back on this past year, I've come to a startling realization.

Apparently, I need a new door on my office. It seems that the current model is outfitted with some kind of "mind-wipe" module (possibly alien technology).

I try to drive home those big points for students to remember. I try to inspire them.

They seem to get it. They seem inspired.

Then they walk out through that door....

...and their minds are wiped!

A week later they return. I consult my notes before they come in so I'm ready to go. I say something like, "So, how's it going with that new relaxed way of blowing? [You know, the one that was such a breakthrough? You know, the one that made you say, "Wow, this is so much easier!"?]"

I watch their faces for some glimmer of recognition.

[pause]

"Oh yeah, about that...." [voice trails off guiltily]

It must be the door.

Maybe I can develop some kind of "Mind Wipe Defense System [MWDS]"
How about this?

Hmmm, I wonder how that would go over with the studio....

I'm going to have to think about this some more. The critical question is this:

How to bridge that gap between the end of the lesson
and the first practice session after?
Those wonderful flashes of recognition and inspiration...
how can they be in the forefront of the mind
as that first practice session begins?

Simply Singing Update

Just a note to let everyone know that I now have in from the printers..
Simply Singing for Winds - medium treble clef.
Simply Singing for Winds - low bass clef

I've been doing some work on low treble clef and hope to have that ready sometime this summer.

Ensemble Publications is working on their version of medium bass clef. Chuck hopes to have it ready by ITF.

A new buzzing exercise

Alright, I'm sure this isn't really new...not even original. Still, maybe it's new to you.

Warning: Don't injure your chops doing this. If you do it correctly, there will be very little stress on the lips. Please be careful.

1. Buzz a comfortable, mid-range note on your mouthpiece.
2. Now buzz it again but change two things: (a) separate your lips a bit more and (b) blow with much more wind than you would normally use. Basically, you are purposely over-blowing with a very loose setting. The lips should be separated enough that they won't vibrate if you blow with normal, more gentle air.
3. Repeat this four or five times.
4. Now with each new repetition, gradually decrease the air flow and bring the lips a tiny bit closer together.
5. Notice the feeling of blowing with a very generous amount of flowing air.
   

My office is on the third floor of the music school. I often climb the stairs from the basement and arrive at my office out of breath. I started trying to buzz but was breathing so hard from my climb that I had to loosen my embouchure just to let all the air through.

As my heart rate slowed and my blowing became a bit more normal, I thought, "Hmm, this is interesting."

It reminds me of one of the quotes found on the "Best Things a Teacher Ever Said to Me" section of the ITA website. It has been attributed to Jeff Reynolds...

Loud is Loose

You should check out some of those other quotes as well. Over the years, we've managed to put together some pretty good stuff.

Audition for cardboard cut-outs

Ahh, jury time has arrived. That joyous time when nervous college students must get in front of a panel and prove their worth, musically.

When I hear stories about rampant cheating on college campuses I sometimes think, "Well the jury is one place where they can't cheat."

Whether it's a jury or an audition, I suspect many people have that feeling, upon walking out of the room, "Man, I want another shot at that. I just wasn't quite ready."

So here's a strange thought:

Set up a pre-jury "jury room" with cardboard cutouts of that scary panel frowning at you. Run through your program, then head into the real room.

Yeah, it probably wouldn't work (especially for those wimpy trumpets who can't seem to play more than about 6 minutes without their chops giving out!) but it's interesting to think about.

I guess, for now, we'll have to stick to mental run-throughs. You know: visualizing a great audition/jury.

Everybody does that regularly, right?

Hello??

(cue cricket sound)

Like lifting with a tourniquet

Ah mouthpiece pressure. It so easily creeps into the playing.

For those of us who are light-skinned, we often see a white ring on the lips immediately after the mouthpiece is removed.

I like to call this the "white ring of death"

Notice how that white ring quickly turns into a red ring.

In case it isn't obvious, I'm guessing those changes of color might have something to do with blood. As in,
white=blood has been squeezed out by mouthpiece pressure
red=blood rushing back in

Now, I'm no expert but I seem to recall learning in school that blood does good things for muscles. Let's see....nutrients....OXYGEN.

Hmm, so what happens to those muscles (you know the ones we rely on to sound good) when we cut off the blood supply?????

Imaging going to the gym and seeing someone lifting weights with a tourniquet around their arms.

Ok, so as I often do, I ran a Google image search with the keywords "weightlifting" and "tourniquet" I didn't really expect to find anything. And then, boom, there it is: kaatsu training in which people actually lift while starving the muscles for blood.


I don't know but this REALLY sounds like a bad idea. Let's just safely say that it might not work for brass players.

(on the other hand, what are the odds that I'll go to one of these conventions and find some new miracle product designed to increase mouthpiece pressure. Maybe the Power Lung guys will the seize opportunity for a new product line here)

The blog's not dead yet

OK, so my last post was on Feb. 4th and now it is April 23rd.

One former student declared my blog officially dead. In those great words of Monty Python, "I'm not dead yet"

Some explanation...
Much of my inspiration for this blog comes directly from teaching lessons. Often during a lesson I hit on an idea that is "blogworthy."

For 8 weeks in the middle of this semester, I was granted a half sabbatical to work on the Simply Singing Books. During that time, not only was I not teaching (fewer ideas popping up) but I also wanted to devote a lot of time/energy to the books. Like most projects, they take up more time and energy than I thought they would.

I also worked on some other projects including writing a new fanfare, not for trombone week but the UT Austin trombone choir for this summer's ITF. If they like, you'll hear them play it. As requested, it is basically a medley of Texas tunes. I wrote it for solo quartet over trombone octet.

I also invested quite a few afternoons and evenings in one of my non-musical pursuits/obsessions: coaching a FIRST LEGO League robotics team. The kids I worked with (ages 9-13 on our team) won the state championship and recently competed at the FIRST World Festival in Atlanta. Great experience but very consuming. Not much time left over for blogging.

However, I hope to get it moving again.

The Continuum of Outcomes

OK time to get a little philosophical. Today the USC School of Music hosted Todd Kays, a sports psychologist. Here's his website, The Athletic Mind Institute.

One aspect of his presentation got me to thinking more about something...
Outcomes vs. Process

Now, I'm not sure I like that term, "process" but here's the basic point (using the upcoming Super Bowl as an example).

There are those things you can control and those things you can't. For example, Peyton Manning certainly wants to win but he can't control the outcome of the game. At a critical moment, one of his receivers may slip, leading to an interception. His stats get worse even though that was an outcome he couldn't control.

You go to an audition. You certainly want to win but you can't control the outcome. At a critical moment, the room may be too cold or the committee too distracted, or the committee may already have someone in mind, or you might come down with the flu, or......
(you get the idea)

What's an outcome? What is the process? In one of our sessions with Dr. Kays, I described one set of goals: improving my ability to play passages that were fast, loud and descending. To me, those are goals/outcomes. To him, they were the definition of "process" not "outcome." It seems we were saying the same words but with different meanings.

I often have thought of it this way:
You have internal goals and external goals.

For example:
External goal - win the audition/competition, etc.
Internal goal - play well

So here's my new idea...instead of thinking of a dichotomy, think of a continuum.

Let's take that Super Bowl example...

One on end of the continuum for Peyton Manning you have the most internal of goals...
"plant your feet"
"watch the positions and movement of the defensive players"
"adjust the play and call it out to your team"

These things he can control.

At the middle of the continuum you have these kinds of goals...
"time the pass well"
"throw a good spiral"
"thread it between the defenders"

On the other end of the continuum..
"throw a touchdown pass"
"win the game"
"be declared MVP"
"go down in the record books"

These things he can only partially control.

In an audition you have internal goals...
"know exactly what the excerpt should sound like"
"breathe well as you play"
"listen carefully to your sound/intonation/ etc."

You have those goals that are in-between internal and external
"sound great"
"don't miss any notes"

Finally you have external goals...
"play well enough to get through the list"
"advance to the second round"
"advance to the finals"
"win"

In any audition or competition...

Focus on the internals
Let the externals take care of themselves


PS The images I used were from a Google image search. I don't know anything about Jon Gorrie or his book but for some reason I like the photo...

Mahler 3 solo - Jorgen van Rijen

Here's a nice one from youtube.


Interesting how much he moves around. Still, he sounds great. I wish the camera didn't spend so much time on the conductor. Oh well.

And heeere's another Mahler 3 (the slide position guide at shown at the beginning might provide a clue)...

What? We're Stylish Now?

I just don't know what to make of this.

The real question is, which did you check out first, the woman (or the guy depending on your point of view) or the slide grip?

Hellboy 2 - goin' PRIMAL

Jeff Budin, David Ridge on bass trombone and Peter Wahrhaftig on tuba

No explanation needed.





Thanks to Justin for sending me this link.

Happy Holiday Hardware Hunting

Everybody loves scavenger hunts. (well at least you do if you're on the winning team).

So, readers of this blog, I'd like to propose a scavenger hunt that will most likely involve a trip to your neighborhood hardware store (and might invite a few stares, as well).

The theme: "Expensive Gadgets that May or May Not Help But We're Reluctant to Buy Them Because They Cost So Darn Much"

(EGMMNHBWRBTBTCSDM, for short)

The first item is one I've discussed a posting some time ago. Please note, I'm not endorsing this thing (in fact, I don't endorse it!). I'm just saying that, if you really really want to get one, you can find a much cheaper version at the hardware store.
The device in question is the Power Lung. My blog posting, ETW (part 2), pretty much slammed it but pointed out that you could run to the hardware store and buy a ball valve that seems to do pretty much the same thing.

Ball Valve...89 cents
Power Lung Series P617B..$100 (on their website today)

Hmmm, which price do you prefer?

OK, so here are the next items I think we should hunt for. I haven't tried either one for aforementioned reason that they are somewhat pricey and I don't know if they're valid.

Hey, they may be great.....or maybe not. I dunno.

But.. if we can come up with a cheap hardware store version that does pretty much the same thing...COOL!

New Item #1: Chop Sticks
These are a working out of an idea that has been around for a long time...holding something like a pencil between your lips to strengthen the embouchure.

The starter kit of chop sticks rolls in at $24.95. Maybe it's great, maybe not.

Let's see if any of you are motivated to run to the hardware store to find something comparable and a whole lot cheaper.

New Item #2: P.E.T.E. The Personal Embouchure Training Exerciser
This is newer, I think. Once again, maybe great, maybe not. It costs $34.95 for the plastic version, $39.95 for the brass version and $69.95 for the gold-plated version.

Look closely at the shape of it and then try to find a good substitute.

If you find something that could work as a good substitute, email me the jpeg and I'll blog it.

Happy Holiday Hunting, Scavengers!

Boomerangs for Pitch

Here's a trick I like to use in teaching.

When a student is struggling to lock in the right pitch, I sometimes have them purposely start out of tune with a given note (such as a tuning drone) and then slowly gliss towards the right pitch.

Sometimes, as they approach the right spot, they aren't sure if they've quite gone quite far enough. I tell them, "Keep going until you know you've gone too far, then turn around and go back to the pitch. Like a boomerang."

Somehow, going beyond and coming back seems to help a great deal.

This drawing represents a boomerang from below the pitch...
Of course, you can also do boomerangs from above.

An Explosion at the Rochut Factory!

(AP: 11.24.2009) A recent explosion and fire at the Rochut factory has temporarily halted etude production. Although company management officials issued a quick press release

"We regret the unfortunate accident at our factory this morning. We want to assure the public that no employees were injured in the blast. The source of the blast seems to have to have been the slur press when a cognitive dissonance valve malfunctioned. We are confident that we will be back in production with minimal delay."

In the meantime, Dolce Bel Canto Inc., distributors for the etudes is announcing a fire sale on the beloved etudes. The works are complete except, of course, for missing slur marks.

Said one industry analyst:
"Perhaps this is a good thing. We all know the phrasing controversies concerning some of these etudes. Perhaps the appearance of these etudes without marked slurs will force students to decide logical note groupings. Perhaps that will be the silver lining to this dark cloud. Only time will tell."

Rochut's stock (NYSE code RCHT) dropped 27% in heavy trading early in the day but experienced a partial recovery as profit takers moved in, ending the day down 12 points.

A Nice Online Music Dictionay

Here's a nice free service from Virginia Tech...

An online music dictionary which includes pronunciations of the terms and, for some examples, sound samples (although I never could get the sound sample page to download...maybe I'm too impatient).

Here's the Link.

Record - Work it Out - *then* listen back

Here's a new sequence I've tried in a few lessons.

1. The student plays while I record.
2. Before we listen to the recording, I point out the detail I wish to focus on and I get them to notice and improve.
3. Then, we listen to the recording.

The change is that steps 2 and 3 are a swap from the old way which was: Record-Listen-Work it Out.

Why do I like this new approach? As we work out the detail in question, the student's ear becomes more focused.

One example might be the tendency to "twah" during a moving legato line. They're doing it, but at first they don't hear it.

I focus in on a small section and "take out the magnifying glass" to help them hear that elusive "twah" habit. Once their ear is sensitized to it (and they're playing it better), I play back the recording and they can really hear the problem clearly.

Anyway, for you teachers out there, it's a sequence that may seem counter-intuitive but I've seen some nice results.