Gnostic

:)

Tootsall

I hear what you are saying with respect to the Monette suggestions. Isn't that absolutely true for ANY trumpet? When I watch a high school band I see kids slouched down in their chairs; I see kids who tilt their heads sideways (I can't figure out if they're trying to see their music around their hands or if they think it's cool); I see kids who point their bells at the floor and crunch their chins down into their chests. AND NOT JUST TRUMPET PLAYERS!!!!!!

I think "Posture 101" should be one of the first guidelines laid down by any music teacher, not just those selling $20,000 trumpets!

Gnostic

:)

jamesfrmphilly

ever watch miles play? 8)

Tootsall

Ever watch Bud Herseth, Maurice Andre, Allan Vizzutti, Doc Severinsen, et al play?

jamesfrmphilly

performance that comes out of the african culture tends to be dynamic and visceral rather than cerebral.
the body may end up anywhere at any given time.
this doesn't negate the importance of air support but rather that the air must be available during a host of body contortions and even dancing and stepping movements.
any system that ties one's air and breathing to a particular fixed posture
is not going to work in black music. 8)

Tootsall

OK....Wynton Marsallis plays Monette equipment and seems to espouse Dave Monette's tenets of yoga, etc. Wynton is a "pretty decent" trumpet player in almost any genre of music. Wynton has good posture. Wynton is also "of the African culture". Any of the players of ANY ethnic origin that I have ever seen as sidemen (or women) in bands tend to sit or stand straight upright and play "out".

I don't disagree that one has to have "air" in reserve.

DISCLAIMER: Please do not take offense at my next statement...I do not mean it to be offensive nor to in any way indicate that any particular type of music is any "better" than any other. These are simply my opinions.

In the world of "legit" music, the "pure" sounds are achieved by an unrestricted air flow that comes from a counter-resonating cavity (the mouth/throat) so that there can BE resonance and a nice, "rich" or "fat" tone.

OK..back to the discussion: I do not mean to generalise about Mile's music but most of his stuff that I've ever heard (admittedly far from all of it) was played with a harmon mute (which muffles the sound terribly) into a microphone (which allows the sound man or sound engineer to pretty much do what he wanted to the sound). Miles was famous for several things and produced some fantastic music. He was undoubtedly and unarguably a leader and a giant in the music industry....but to me, his "sound" was second-rate BECAUSE OF the heavy muting that he seemed to use. I would hardly hold him up as a paragon of the mechanics of playing trumpet.

Gnostic

:)

Skip

performance that comes out of the african culture tends to be dynamic and visceral rather than cerebral.
the body may end up anywhere at any given time.
this doesn't negate the importance of air support but rather that the air must be available during a host of body contortions and even dancing and stepping movements.
any system that ties one's air and breathing to a particular fixed posture
is not going to work in black music.


James,

Anatomy and physiology are color blind. They are not dictated, nor influenced by the color of the skin, the ethnicity, nor culture of the player.

dizforprez

"the body may end up anywhere at any given time."

this is just tension, no more no less.....