I disagree. if we're talking "more volume of air", the aperture needs to be bigger to facilitate its flow in order to produce good sound. This is easy enough to demonstrate. Try playing low with a large volume of air, and a small aperture... it will sound strangled and anything but full.loudman52 wrote:
3. Make sure that the more air you blow the tighter your embouchure is. You want the most focused sound possible, so pinch and BLOW!
Come to Maine. I play in a Traditional Jazz band with a cornet player who regularly plays pppp. I stay in the octave going down to the pedals (Mirafone 186-4U BBb + recording bell) and we are as quiet as churchmice. It's almost eerie.Chuck(G) wrote:I've had a dream about brass instruments that could be played as softly as strings; i.e. a tuba that was no louder than a string contrabass, trumpets no louder than violins, trombones no louder than 'cellos and horns no louder than violas.
Ah, well, not in my lifetime, I suspect.
Your #3 is WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!loudman52 wrote:I think loud playing is the most important tool every brass player should have. Personally I just don't think brass players play loud enough these days. It sems to me that in the past the brass world was willing to produce so much more volume, and with a sound that would project to the back of any hall, or for you, be heard in any marching mand. Now it's all about being "round" and "tasteful". HOGWASH! Brass are outdoor instruments and should always be played that way. That being said I have a few tips.
1. Just like the man said, BLOW HARDER! With low brass instruments being the biggest instruments out there, all you gotta do is blow harder than anyone else out there and you can win!
2. Make sure that you're playing on the biggest equipment possible. The bigger the horn, the bigger the mouthpiece, the louder you can play. As a baritone player, have you thought about altering your equipment so you can fit a tuba mouthpiece in the receiver? Just an idea.
3. Make sure that the more air you blow the tighter your embouchure is. You want the most focused sound possble, so pinch and BLOW!
4. Realize where your bell is pointed! This is related to number 3. When your sound is more focused, you're going to want to point your bell to whoever you want to hear you. You will now be a cannon of sound so ready, aim, FIRE!
5. Last but not least, MUSCLE EVERYTHING. It's absolutely vital that you never wuss out. It will be really easy to get lazy and start "relaxing". This will only make your sound "rounder" and this obviously the last thing you want. When you feel like things are starting get flabby just make sure you stay firm and never give up! Playing loud is an athletic event and your lungs have to be in shape.
I hope this helps. These are the techniques that I use every day in my practice to help me play louder, and I swear I can play louder than anyone.
best!
loudman52!
(There's a contradiction of terms in there, somewhere...the elephant wrote:My fake troll posts
)
I dunno which is more funny, me taking the original post seriously, or you taking the responses seriously.TubaTinker wrote:I've been watching this tread and forcing myself to keep my mouth shut... but.... I've gotta say it!....
I've been playing since 1958 and in ALMOST every case that I've observed, the guys who play loud also play bad. Just my opinion. In the case of the dude who made the comment about pinching your embochure and blowing HARD... I think I sat next to you a couple of times. Listening to all the blatting and farting makes me dive for my tuner!
It's getting tough to tell the 'real' posts from the 'fake' ones any moreRick Denney wrote:I dunno which is more funny, me taking the original post seriously, or you taking the responses seriously.TubaTinker wrote:I've been watching this tread and forcing myself to keep my mouth shut... but.... I've gotta say it!....
I've been playing since 1958 and in ALMOST every case that I've observed, the guys who play loud also play bad. Just my opinion. In the case of the dude who made the comment about pinching your embochure and blowing HARD... I think I sat next to you a couple of times. Listening to all the blatting and farting makes me dive for my tuner!
Oh, well. I've responded in kind to what seemed to me clear trolls in the past and been universally chastised for being mean to some ignorant kid.
Rick "accustomed to being duped" Denney
Gettin' dangerously close to politics, I'd say.It's getting tough to tell the 'real' posts from the 'fake' ones any more
