butxifxnot

Two questions.

I've been working a bit at pedal tones and the idea of bending notes came to mind. It's kind of fun to see how low you can bend a low C (I can go to Eb. ) as well as bending notes inside the staff. As a matter of fact, I can play an F arpeggio (from first space F down) all open.

So, first question:

Apart from having fun and the interesting feeling that might help with a warm-down, what other innovations are there with bending pitches? Ie I know it shows mastery of the instrument, the better you can do so (an instructor told me of a friend who could play a C scale up to high C all open ), but how can this type of exercise be utilized and does exercising it really help?

Second question:

How about bending pitches up? It's distinctly harder. Would it be worth it (along with the above) to develope?

__________________
-"More air", "open the throat", "arch the tongue"; Next
-"Long tones: my anti-drug"

Manny Laureano

BIN,

I'm sorry to contantly disappoint you with my non-responses to your questions but I have to confess I'm an old mustache Pete and am not given to most of the relatively recent notions that are supposed to enhance sound production, supposedly.

I realize that there are many successful players who subscribe to things like note bending and the like to improve ones playing but I'm just not one of them, I'm afraid.

I'm an old fashioned guy because I've found great success (Thank G-d!) with study of the standard musical techniques that place singing in front of physiological techniques. This is not to say in doesn't work for some players that have been successful with them. I just haven't found the need to use them or study them.

ML