Quote:
Originally Posted by rowuk  Dave did not really design these mouthpieces as an entity in itself. It is part of a complete system. When I buzz, it is on my non Prana B2D mouthpiece for the same reason.
The lips can only vibrate in a controlled manner if they have close to equal "pressure" on both sides OR if the muscles have enough strength to overcome the imbalance. Your diaphragm provides the inside part, the mouthpiece, horn, room provide the outside resistance/impedance.
The most recent Pranas are a pretty radical departure from conventional mouthpiece construction. I choose to use them only where they work best - in the horn.
The funny thing is, that a mouthpiece can be free blowing by itself and have normal impedance when in the horn. That is an issue for Dave Monette or physicists. I am happy that the new generation gives me a lot more for the same input of energy! |
Hi Rowuk,
This is sort of the conclusion I'm coming to. I've tried to take Manny's advice (double the air), but it just feels impracticle to try to play one of these mouthpieces without an instrument. Perhaps Matt's advice of adding resitance by way of BERP may help.
The reason I started buzzing in the first place is a conversation I had with Eric Berlin. He talked about the instrument being and amplifier for the mouthpiece, and the mouthpiece being an amplifier for the lips/air stream. I guess this is somewhat a departure from Dave's concept (especially given the Raja and Raja Samahdi, which you could call the extreme example of a "complete system"). Does the fact that Dave "matches" the mouthpieces with the instrument (my C997 plays the best when I use the mouthpiece that it was designed for) lessen each of the individual parts?
Anyways, thanks for the advice. I think I'm just going to do most of my buzzing on an STC-1 mouthpiece.
Best wishes,
Jimi
PS. Sorry for the spelling, I'm horrible and there's no spell check on the computer I'm using.