double buzz

iiipopes · Post by **iiipopes** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 1:25 pm

Do you get double buzz just on your primary instrument, or do you get it on any instrument you play? I had a double buzz on a couple of notes on my sousaphone, and it ended up being a leak. In your case, probably not, but have it checked anyway, as your horn could have been knocked without you knowing, and not necessarily leaving a dent.

Do you double buzz on different mouthpieces? I was getting double buzzing on a mouthpiece that turned out to be too shallow for me, although years before it functioned great. Our embouchure muscles do change as we get older.

Do you double buzz regardless of dynamic level? If so, you may have unwittingly picked up a bad habit or used too much pressure in getting the high horn parts, and you might have to take some time to retrain your embouchure, which may even include "tearing down" some muscle to "rebuild" it by playing a lot, but with no pressure.

Please do review your embouchure: tight corners, good aperture, good steady breath support, etc.

If it doesn't go away, do go in person to a good brass teacher or low brass college teaching professor to get a diagnosis.

And try a little bit more towards the 1/2 - 1/2, even though in the beginning this may cause your lower lip to vibrate more and risk compounding the problem instead of resolving it.

BopEuph · Post by **BopEuph** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 6:39 pm

Time to pull out the Arban's.

In there, I have always found the solutions to the problems I have had, especially with sound.

Nick

ufoneum · Post by **ufoneum** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 7:53 pm

You might want to talk to John Mueller at the University of Memphis. He is the retired soloist from Pershing's Own in D.C., he now teaches trombone and euphonium - he might be able to help.

- Pat Stuckemeyer

SplatterTone · Post by **SplatterTone** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:28 am

Hey why not another suggestion tossed into the ring? When things start messing up I start experimenting with mouthpieces. If I have gotten locked into a bad lip-muscle combo with mouthpiece X, I figure if I go to a sufficiently different mouthpiece, I will be forced out of the subconscious bad habit that I got locked into. Usually, going to a smaller mouthpiece for a while works for me.

brianf · Post by **brianf** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 10:44 am

It's not a problem with embouchure placement.
It's not a mouthpiece problem.

WWAJD??
Here he is!!!

http://www.windsongpress.com/video/segm ... 0ISU91.wmv

Yep, air!!!!!!!

Michael Woods · Post by **Michael Woods** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 6:52 pm

I had this same problem and found that my apperature (most likely miss spelled) was too wide for the air to support the embochure. This may also explain why it happens more when in a descending pattern, as the lips are over compensating and the apperature is getting to wide to fast.

I would recommend closing the apperature up a little and at the same time relax the embochure, although the relaxing part will be hard to do being that your lips are not used to doing it. Over time this should dramatically help the situation.

When I was having this problem I was double buzzing on, literally every other note. IT RARELY EVER HAPPENS NOW.

Experiment and see what happens because my advice could quiet possibly wrong.

my .2$