Air + ????

[ThomasP]

I don't think you can have Song if you don't have complete control of your air and therefore muscles.

[Chuck(G)]

Bill, what do you mean by a "better brass player"?

Do you mean a more expressive and musical one? If so, then a fairly asthmatic and oiut-of-shape geezer has the potential to be far more musical than a young fit DMA from a state tuba farm. Is the geezer a better brass player? Or just a better musician?

Please define your terms a little more exactly.

[Chuck(G)]

I didn't say "better brass musician" for a reason. I just mean the ability to play the instrument, not expressiveness or musicality.

That's still not satisfying enough, Bill. Precisely what aspects of brass technique? Anything that a good air compressor and a hunk of rubber hose couldn't do?

My point being that you can't separate the two. A good musician will automatically attempt to remedy shortcomings in his playing because he/she has a clear idea of what needs to be done to satisfy a musical concept.

How a player who's primarily a technician wouild arrive at the same results is more than a little puzzling to me.

[Dean]

98% of the time should be spent on the horn, I would say. That is, after all, where all end results will be gauged.

Sure, for the other 2%, you can do off-the-horn exercises that will quantify certain aspects of technique. They are usually used best to show students a deficiency that they may not be aware of--using buzzing to make poor pitch very apparant, or an incentive spirometer to SHOW them that their air is lacking compared to yours.

I think technique does need to be precisely explained to the student. In many cases, you cant just say "Remember to use your air, imagine the song, and it will be there!!!" It wont. There will be anomalies, 95% of which will only be worked out through drilling and repetition of the particular deficiency.

"Musicality" cannot be guaged outside the boundries of one's technique. I cant really say that technique is more important... But, how do you know how "musical" someone is if they dont have the ability to express it?

[Glaucon]

Air and...more air.

Air, through basic physical properties, makes it much easier for us to control everything about brass playing we do. Furthermore, it gives us something to focus on that keeps our brains from getting in the way -- just like a follow-through in tennis (or any other sport, I suppose). Air is the single and amazingly most predominant physical nessesity to play the horn.

This is where I begin my discord. That sheer physical ability can be a hurculean strength, and one that must be tamed; not through muscle control, but through a complete mental focus on the musicality you wish to achieve. As such, I am sorry, but I believe that at least 90% of what makes a good musician happens off of the horn. To get a good mental idea, we need to listen to a lot of music, both good and bad. All the time. A lot. Just as improtant, we need to get out and live life and experience those things that make us richer and fuller people -- and, hence, richer and more complete musicians (hard to play a love somg when you've never been in love, eh?). Finally, let's not forget that our horns actually make playing our mouthpiece a lot easier than it actually is. Spending time buzzing on the mouthpiece along is very popular among professional musicians as a consistent part of their practice routine, along with other non-instrumental things such as singing.

All of our technical issues can also be worked out on our mouthpieces. Articulate it on a mouthpiece, and I guarentee it sounds 10x better on your horn. And let's face it, people: we are not play clarinets or pianos, and we only have 5 (or 6) buttons, and they are always in the same place. You can teach any ape the fingerings.

As a teacher, the majority of problems are not solved by redundacy, but by breaking down the problem -- no matter how small or large -- and working on the fundamentals behind it. As such, the more time we spend off of our horns, the more consistent we will become. With that kind of consistency in place, brought about air and mouthpiece buzzing, we will have the tools to set out the musicality that has maturedin our minds based upon our listening and other practice.

Practice makes perfect, but remember, not all practicing is done on the horn. Besides, as an OK tuba player once said, "I prefer to think of myself as a musician who happens to play the tuba."

[TheChiefofStaph]

I don't think you can have Song if you don't have complete control of your air and therefore muscles.

I think that both must be developed at the same time. For me, at least, there's no sense in playing if I'm not considering "song," and I certainly have much work to do on the physical side.