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Originally Posted by rjzeller I'm sure much of this could be improved by forcing myself to remember "tooh" instead of the "ah/ee" crap I used to do...but still... |
Ahem, 'hem...
Mr. Zeller, please go to the board and write one hundred times, "Tooh".
Sorry, Rich... the cartoon baloon in my head was too funny not to share.
The key is to play in the center of the sound. I advocate the constant "Tooh" because it strengthens the muscles in the jaw and gives us a consistent approach that feeds the need for consistency of sound we want. For what it's worth, it's something I think about every day, albeit briefly. This approach of pronouncing Tooh helps a strong player like you play in the center of the tone. The problem is that as you ascend you're likely activating the usual "eeh" (that should be reserved for the altissimo register) way too early.
Go for an honest approach that lets you play in the center of the tone and THEN judge your intonation. I'm willing to bet you're not as out of tune as you may believe if you just play in the best part of the sound.
Fat low register, fat middle register, fat high register... like Conrad Gazzo or Doc or Mannie Klein. There are others, obviously.
Now, I'll say this: I suspect that if you play in the fattest part of your high B and C it'll sound flat. Once you find that to be the case, the hunt for a mouthpiece that lets you play fat and in tune begins!
ML