Quote:
Originally Posted by Brekelefuw  I would think that when the tongue interrupts the air stream, even if it is really briefly, it creates a small build up of pressure in the mouth, which helps the note come out.
I wouldn't get so hung up about bore size. It is not the only thing that makes a horn play the way it does. |
That might be right.
When I slur up an interval, I am trying to tighten the aperture while the air is still flowing through it, so I am fighting against the still-flowing airstream.
But when I tongue, I am able to tighten the aperture while the air flow is momentarily interrupted, so the airstream is not fighting against that tightening.
It is a very small difference, but enough to temporarily cause plenty of sour notes while I am getting used to the cornet and mouthpiece.
I'm not obsessed with the bore size of the Conn 5A.
I am just recognizing that the conbination of .485-bore cornet with fairly deep mouthpiece is temporarily not giving me the control I used to have with a .460 cornet.
With much practice and concentration I will eventually gain control over it and then I will be "master of my domain".
Anybody else have insights into why it is easier to play intervals with a tongue rather than with a slur?
Here is an extra that I just realized, and it pertains to the subject of this thread:
I have noticed that when I play lower notes, below the staff and on the staff, I try so hard to achieve a nice, fat tone that I am sometimes letting my embouchure be too flabby in order to achieve that rich tone.
That after playing a low ballad I find it temporarily difficult to resume playing scales up to F above High C.
Because I am an upstream Type 4 player which inherently has a thinner tone, I must concentrate on getting a richer tone in the lower register.
But I have read some people post in the past that people who want to maintain a good upper register must not try to achieve too rich a tone in the lower register, precisely because the player will have a tendency to relax the embouchure too much in trying to achieve that rich tone in the lower register.
So a player who wants to maintain upper-register ability should settle for a so-so tone in the lower register.
How does that tie in with the subject of this thread?
If I relax my embouchure too much in trying to get a rich tone in the lower register, perhaps my too-relaxed embouchure has trouble tightening during a slurred interval, my too-relaxed embouchure needs the temporary interruption of air flow while tonguing to aid in the tightening.
I will try to concentrate on maintaining a slightly tighter embouchure on the low notes to see if that improves ability to slur intervals.
Another thought that I just realized:
I remember reading that a a person should slightly increase volume when ascending, because a soft-loudness low note uses the same amount of air as a medium-loudness higher note.
If I am playing the low notes too loudly in order to get that rich, fat sound on them, then I am blowing my aperture open too much, and then I am trying to fight against it in tightening for a slur to higher notes.
If I play the lower notes softer, then I will be starting the slurred intervals with a tighter aperture and theoretically the slurred intervals will be easier?
- Morris