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Post by muckle dabuckle on May 1, 2005 8:21:42 GMT -8
Since this already went off topic a question for you fellow musicians. But first kinda a musician joke. What the hell did my ninth grade band teacher mean when he said to play the piece of music "Chocolately?" Okay, when I was playing trumpet for ten years (I quit like Jangles is slowly doing because I didn't have time or a location to practice and I didn't want to suck up the rest of the band) there were times when I was on fire and could do no wrong (in tune, perfect rhythms, etc., etc). Now, here is the really stupid question. Is there a designated way to put your lips on your mouthpiece? It seems to me I would catch on fire when I would place my lips on the mouthpiece in a certain fashion and when I would take my lips off I couldn't find this spot again for awhile. I'm no professional (obviously ) but has this happened to anyone else or did I finally put my mouthpiece where it belonged? Oh, and Jangles did you write this multiplayer part of the review of Star Wars: Republic Commando? ;D Here's the link: xbox.ign.com/articles/588/588409p3.html-nate
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Post by Armin on May 1, 2005 10:31:37 GMT -8
"Chocolately" definitely means "African-style". No, sorry, that was not funny. I guess it means "sweet", or the Italian word, "dolce". Or the technical term: cheesy.
To your question: there is no designated way to put your mouthpiece. It's true that after some time you get a feeling for how to put it and mostly will end up playing with that position, but most people even change while playing (due to more or less pressure, higher or lower register, louder or quiter playing). That's a big misconception in general - you have to shape your mouth and lip, then it doesn't matter so much where you put the mouthpiece. It's like trying to fix the water-pipe, when the tab is actually the problem. Once the so called embouchure is fixed, putting the mouthpiece on usually comes natural. I have an idea what your problem might have been. I guess you used the direct embouchure, pressing your lips together and trying to blow directly into the mouth piece of the trumpet. You probably could play like a god the first time, but then you got tired (too much pressure), and a nice little red rim formed on your lip. That rim unfortunately doesn't hold the mouth piece in place, but it does numb the lip just that much you can't find the initial position any longer. So usually one choses to put the lips closer together, as that requires less pressure than opening them further. This makes you squeeze the air through though, so sound, intonation and even range are gone. Happened to me all the time before I found a top world class teacher (AND player, which is not always the case, especially the other way round). Now it's a piece of cake. If you're playing for fun only though I guess you don't need to worry about it too much.
Enough showing off. Let me know what you think.
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Post by muckle dabuckle on May 1, 2005 15:18:55 GMT -8
That sounds like a possibility, but I rarely got sore lips. I wasn't vibrating my lips like a horse to get the blood flowing like everyone else did. Although I did notice that when I played I always tilted my head about 45 degrees. ;D But if I caught myself doing that I would put my head straight, but then I would notice I was holding my trumpet up to my lips at a 45 degree angle. Weird. ;D Another problem may be I taught myself to play when I was about twelve. You were supposed to go to some sort of summer training before the sixth grade, but I couldn't go because my family was on vacation. So my brother started me off and I taught myself the rest of the time. Another problem may be I was just too frickin' reserved when I played. I tried out for the highest band in my school two years before I was supposed to and I got in with only one other player. I didn't really play up to potential in that band because I was nervous being around people a couple years older than me and I thought they were better players than me (even though a lot of them weren't). I guess I just played nervous and was too worried to make mistakes. They even changed the rule at my school to not let ninth graders into the Symphonic band because of me. Only 11th and 12th graders can now be in the higher band. I also still have problems counting rhythms (sp?). Are there any books to help with that? But to make a long story short, I think your explanation is probably the best one (mixed in with a little of my reserved playing). THE END
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Post by Jangles on May 1, 2005 19:55:48 GMT -8
I play completely on the left side of my face. When I get a mpc ring, it 95 percent on the left side. It works for me though. There is nothing I can't do that is a result of it. And the thing is, it feels like it is centered. It's just when I look at the ring that I realize it obviously isn't. Part of it is because my mouth, but another part is because I used to get pimples near the center of my mouth a ton, so I would have to move my mpc to left so it wouldn't hurt. Anyways, it doesn't affect my playing at all. When I tried to place it on the center, it actually hindered my playing, so that is why I could never quite get the sound in high school as I can now. Of course, a lot of it is air. If you stop the air in between notes or use the toungue to try and control/direct the air, you are dead. As far as rthyms, that isn't something getting a book will fix. Getting a book will be a tool to help fix it, but actually fixing it is all up to you and is nothing someone can tell you how to do. You have to figure it out yourself. Perhaps get a composer program where you can enter notes and it will play it back. As far as "shifting" or "pivoting", there is always a little of that in brass playing, for me and many others as I understand it. Multiplayer-wise... nah, that wasn't me You should get Command and Conquer Generals, it's a fun game to play online. I play with random people online, but my friend who I like to play with only gets 7 frames a second, so it's slow as a mofo when I play him. He is getting a new graphics card, though.
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