Jacobs embouchure picture

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happyroman
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Re: Jacobs embouchure picture

Post by happyroman »

timothy42b wrote:
Alex C wrote:
Mr. Jacobs always taught for functionality to make music. If there was something the student could not do, find a way to fix the problem, always concentrating on the functional goal. Very few things were ever broken down into "mechanical" issues. .
I'm not sure how true that really is, though.

We tend to see what fits our preconceived notions.

I had always thought Jacobs taught only "song and wind." But I watched one of his youtube videos, and I was startled to see him addressing mechanics. I didn't know he did that.

Probably he used a functional approach with students who needed it, and a different approach with others. I'm just guessing, never met him. Most students do better functionally, especially the naturals, who are what he's more likely to have seen at his level. Others don't.
Jacobs treated every student as an individual, so his approach with one student may differ substantially from his approach with another. This is why there is no true "Jacobs Method" and probably why he never wrote an instruction book. But, if you read the various books that have been written about him and his teaching methods, you can glean some insight into his overarching concepts, which can be summarized as "Song and Wind."

Another excellent resource into his teaching methods are the interview videos that Mike Grose has posted on his YouTube site, TubaPeopleTV. He has interviewed over 100 Jacobs students about their experiences in Jacobs' studio, and while there are many differences, there are definitely many similarities in his approach.

You mention that you watched one video and were startled to see that he was "addressing mechanics." I would be interested to know which video you watched so I can understand what you mean by mechanics.

In many masterclass situations, he would identify that the student was doing something prejudicial with his breathing, limiting his ability to produce the song aspect. In those situations, he would often exercise the student in order to free up the breathing process, many times using some of his homemade breathing devices. But even then, he was having the student focus on the goal and not on the muscles. He wanted the student to focus on moving large quantities of air in and out of the mouth while their attention was on a ball in a tube or a needle on a gauge.

At any rate, the mental focus of singing in the head while playing was absolutely the most important thing he wanted the student to do.

Finally, these comments about Jacobs are not based on preconceived notions, but rather on my personal experiences in Mr. Jacobs studio. I'm pretty sure that goes for Alex, too. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that Alex also studied with Jacobs personally.
Andy
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