TrumpetMaster - View Single Post

rowuk · 05-18-2007, 06:10 PM

Before we get into something that doesn't need to be:
everything that we seriously practice will help us move forward!

Intonation problems can be divided into 2 sections:
bad hearing and instrument problems. I combat bad hearing with solfeggio and other vocal techniques. Before berping, I would have my students sing. Why? Because a vocal sense of pitch AND articulation translate into trumpet intonation and articulation. The human voice is my ideal for sound, not a mouthpiece buzz. Imitating words and sentence melody are very important in my teaching! The less I have to talk in a lesson the better. The more that my students can produce and hear themselves, the faster they develop.
Instrument problems need to be dealt with as an entire system. I see no correlation here between the BERP/mouthpiece and the horn/mouthpiece other than the increased embouchure strength that might allow me to muscle a horns intonation better. I teach playing on the resonant center of each tone. That needs to be done with the horn (otherwise we don't have the resonant system that we are trying to tune).
Please do not assume because I use other methods, that I am putting down the BERP though. I use other techniques because I feel that they address a greater number of problems at the same time.
My students practice on average between 20 minutes and an hour a day. They have no time to devote to "nice to haves". With 2 or 3 hours a day or with advanced players just trying to keep the embouchure in shape we need a different program. The BERP may be most useful for this type of work.

05-18-2007, 06:10 PM	#10 (permalink)
rowuk Moderator Fortissimo User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 4,097	Re: Trumpet Physics Before we get into something that doesn't need to be: everything that we seriously practice will help us move forward! Intonation problems can be divided into 2 sections: bad hearing and instrument problems. I combat bad hearing with solfeggio and other vocal techniques. Before berping, I would have my students sing. Why? Because a vocal sense of pitch AND articulation translate into trumpet intonation and articulation. The human voice is my ideal for sound, not a mouthpiece buzz. Imitating words and sentence melody are very important in my teaching! The less I have to talk in a lesson the better. The more that my students can produce and hear themselves, the faster they develop. Instrument problems need to be dealt with as an entire system. I see no correlation here between the BERP/mouthpiece and the horn/mouthpiece other than the increased embouchure strength that might allow me to muscle a horns intonation better. I teach playing on the resonant center of each tone. That needs to be done with the horn (otherwise we don't have the resonant system that we are trying to tune). Please do not assume because I use other methods, that I am putting down the BERP though. I use other techniques because I feel that they address a greater number of problems at the same time. My students practice on average between 20 minutes and an hour a day. They have no time to devote to "nice to haves". With 2 or 3 hours a day or with advanced players just trying to keep the embouchure in shape we need a different program. The BERP may be most useful for this type of work. __________________ Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.