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Derek Reaban · 10-21-2005, 12:28 PM

Ed,

You wrote:

Quote:

Developing a knowing ear is critical to the speed of musical development.

What a great way to say what I tried to communicate with my story!

On the other site, someone posted this response:

Quote:

One of the main streets here is Princes Street. People always call it Princess. The fools.

I posted this in response:

Quote:

Actually, that’s exactly the point that I’m trying to make. Many people think that the sound they are producing is a full, strong, resonant sound when actually it is merely a “loud” sound (very strong in the fundamental but lacking many of the overtones that gives sound character, maturity, and carrying power).

I know that I fit into this model for the majority of my time playing the horn!

I could clearly hear the difference between players that had this great sound versus the players that were just missing the resonant center when I would go to concerts, or hear them in ensembles or masterclasses. The problem for me was that, from behind the bell, I couldn’t perceive a difference between these two types of sound when I was playing. And I really thought that I was generating that great vibrant, resonant quality! I was shouting ”Princess” with all the confidence in the world and I’m sure everyone was thinking ”Doesn’t he mean PRINCES”.

What initially helped me the most in getting this sound happening in my own playing, surprisingly wasn’t sitting next to my fantastic instructors. They are outstanding models, but to get my foot in the door (away from loud and into “vibrant, resonant, and colorful”) I have to credit two players and their approach to sound production for their very first notes of a rehearsal.

I played a musical with a player from Tucson (Rob Gappinger I believe). He was playing some simple lip slurs between second line G and low C. They were soft, light, and VERY clear. Nothing was forced or too loud to begin his first notes of the evening (he was an engineer and has chosen trumpet as an avocation as I have). I studied his sound very carefully, because I knew that this was absolutely NOT how I would play that simple exercise. It was delicate, and it seemed he was just “letting” his sound develop. He wasn’t really controlling anything, just letting it come out. His sound was very vibrant and strong after he got going (he was playing lead and I was playing second). Seeing him begin so gently really got me to thinking. He allowed me to get my foot in the door to resonance.

The other player that I look back at (I was too slow to pick up on what he was doing at the time) was our own Dave Bacon. At every Wind Ensemble rehearsal, he and I would show up about the same time (half an hour before the downbeat to get warmed-up). He would always start with a very gentle approach to sound production. I was always playing rather loud in comparison (thinking I was producing a big resonant sound). He would gradually expand his gentle approach higher and higher in this really cool arpeggio drill that I’ve never heard anyone else ever play. When we would share the lead part, I always remember thinking, "his dynamic is well under mine...I’d better play out a little more".

Well, I have gone back and listened to CDs of this group with Dave playing principal. Holy Cow! His sound could have covered the band in an instant if he would let it. On tunes where I was playing principal, I would be heard, but just barely. Peter Bond would say, "I think of resonance as the quality which differentiates a musical sound from a 'noise on pitch.'". That was me..."Noise on Pitch". Man, it’s so frustrating to think back to this and realize "I was shouting out PRINCESS" but what I really meant to shout out was "PRINCES".

Dave would always say, "Roar Softly". It took me years to understand this!

My point with this post was to show how subtle this difference between vibrancy and "loud" is when it comes to sound production. Resonance is a still small voice that will be trampled if you are trying to generate a powerful, strong, big sound. That was the trap that I fell into for years. I finally slowed down and started listening to that still small voice. You will miss it in a heartbeat if you are in a hurry. If you embrace this gentle sound every time you sit down to play, what comes out the bell will astound you!