A solid attack.

[Roger Lewis]

Hmmmmm..... I didn't realize that "TOE" with the air in the right place behind the tongue was that hard to get my head around.

In my little world, I use 4 "fundamentals": Inhale, Exhale, Attack (which is basically almost combined with the exhalation) and Sound. I spend time on these every day before going on to attack consistency drills, long tones, etc. It's like a pre-flight check list for a pilot - make sure everything is working correctly before trying to get it off the ground.

Of course all of this is preceded with about two minutes of the "spit valve drill" to establish which things are actually supposed to be doing the work rather than what I might "think" is doing the work.

Don't over-think it. Just use enough brain power to understand that everything is working the way it is supposed to and get on with it. Remember we're drinkers, not thinkers. According to my wonderful wife of 18 years, I have never been too encumbered by the thought process.

Just my $0.02.

Roger

[bort]

My director in college always said 2 things:

-- More air.
-- Get the "S" sound out of "TOH"

[Michael Bush]

M
-- Get the "S" sound out of "TOH"

That is a really helpful thought!

[sloan]

My director in college always said 2 things:

-- More air.
-- Get the "S" sound out of "TOH"

Stoh?

[Michael Bush]

My director in college always said 2 things:

-- More air.
-- Get the "S" sound out of "TOH"

Stoh?

I was hearing it as "Tohs", in other words, not getting your tongue back out of the airstream immediately.

[bort]

My director in college always said 2 things:

-- More air.
-- Get the "S" sound out of "TOH"

Stoh?

I was hearing it as "Tohs", in other words, not getting your tongue back out of the airstream immediately.

More like "TSOH" -- if that "T" isn't clear, the articulation is muddy.

[BopEuph]

Let's all remember to GET THE "T" OUT OF TROLL !!

(The O.P. hasn't responded to a thing we've said !)

I've begun to think the same thing myself.

[luke_hollis]

I don't think you need to dump lots of $ on a teacher to solve a relatively simple problem.

In my experience, poor attacks (i.e. not coming in with sound exactly when you want it) is caused by not taking a full enough breath (even when play pianissimo). It has been my observation of other players (collegiate and semi-pro) that they miss entrances (loud but mostly soft) because they think you need to breathe in less air.

This is not so. You should take the same breath if you are playing pp as you would take to play ff. The only difference is the rate you expel it, how fast and with how much pressure.

As a practical example, take for instance the Tchaik 6, 4th movement trombone tuba chorale. This passage requires you to breathe fully (a FF breath) but to expel slowly and without much velocity.

Take my advice, if you take the same breath for a pianissimo as a fortissimo, you will never miss an entrance. Practice slowly and evenly expelling the air through mouthpiece buzzing.

For all you naysayers out there, try it before you post a reply.

[Roger Lewis]

Actually it is the movement of the air, not the volume of air that makes the difference. As we mature as players we often start "finessing" attacks. We try to soften them up just a little more or make them a little more delicate and this is when it bites you in the butt. You strangle the air stream and you kill the attack. If you attack without air, nothing happens. If you bring the air from somewhere other than behind the tongue, you get the sound of a puff of air before the note starts.
To quote what Alan Baer said in a master class I attended - "The air must always be coming into or going out of the body". When you stop the air you add tension and kill inertia. Then much more energy needs to be expended to get everything going again.

Just my $0.02.

Roger

[Doug Elliott]

All brass instruments use the same principals to sound good.

But all brass PLAYERS don't necessarily use the same principles to sound good.

A good teacher is definitely the best advice, but all the other advice here so far will apply to most players most of the time, so I wouldn't dismiss any of it. But definitely get a good teacher.

[bort]

I don't think you need to dump lots of $ on a teacher to solve a relatively simple problem.

Nor do I need a doctor to tell me to "keep an eye on it" as I would have done myself. But I do need the guidance to know that what I'm doing is correct.