| Funny, I always compared "Faster air vs. More air" to the venturi effect, i.e. Brounelli's Principle. I'm a pilot, so I work with Brounelli's principle in airfoil lift and carburator icing. Basically, I've always thought that to play higher, you must move the same quantity of air through a smaller venturi to make it travel faster across the lip membranes, causing faster vibrations, and more air meant to move more and more air across an aperture of growing size or remaining the same size. Now from what I'm reading above, that would contradict my thoughts, being that the aperture remains the same size?
Also, this is unrelated, but I've always been a fan of using the "Big Muscles" in the face to flex the embouchure as one ascends to the higher notes. If any of you have seen Curtis Strange's videos on golf, you'd know what I mean. He said in his videos that in one tournament, I forget what it was, he had to make a critical iron shot onto the green to save a victory, and the moment was tense. He just kept thinking, "Big Muscles, Big Muscles," as in the large pectorial and back muscles, and maybe the muscles in the legs and hips, as opposed to the smaller muscles in the biceps and forearms that tend to tense up easily and cause flop shots. Needless to say, he hit the shot on the green within a couple feet of the flag. Anyway, I've liked translating this to playing trumpet, flexing the big muscles in the corners and down in the chin area like your pecs and hips instead of flexing the small, delicate muscles in the lip membranes, particularily in the mouthpiece area, like the biceps and forearms which will screw up on you causing flop shots on trumpet. That's how I've always took the issue, though I'm probably totally flawed in my thinking. Anybody who wants to tear me apart like a wolverine is welcome from here on out :wink: .
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Bach 180LR, 72 bell
Bach 1-1/2C
Bach 3D |