hornplayer.net Information archive

Probably the most important playing mechanism we have which will protect our lips from injury is air control, and usually, it is the first thing to go when we become confused or panicked by an embouchure problem. It is also one of the most misunderstood aspects of playing. Naively, some of us only think of the air column as it is pushed up and out of the lungs by the various muscle systems. But most brass players I have interviewed describe personal mechanisms of resistance against which they exert their air columns to help them focus and intensify their air streams. These mechanisms of resistance are created by players within their throats and oral cavities.

As a subject, "air support" is neither easy to teach nor to write about. Because we cannot see the internal aspect of air support, we have to describe its mechanisms using the semantics of sensation. How one perceives or interprets a particular sensation is not necessarily the way another would. . . .

Most of us are unaware of what actually goes on in our throats and oral cavities when we play. Brass players offer many differing descriptions of how they feel their air mechanics. Some will say that they are especially aware of an intense pocket of air in the front of the oral cavity at the "tips of their tongues." Others will describe blowing a stream of air straight through their leadpipes, and some relate that they "aim" their air streams into the mouthpiece.

There are as many different descriptions as there are players. All of us have a different perception or mental image of our playing mechanics; although for most of us, a black and white verbal depiction of our playing systems cannot adequately convey what we actually do. Again, we experience our playing mechanics more as sensations--sensations we are largely unconscious of until things don't "feel" right.

So, while there are different ways of describing the mechanism of air control, most players agree that for the sound to be properly supported and technique and artistry to be facilitated, the air column must be controlled internally to have focus and intensity. To achieve this, there has to be internal resistence along its route from the lungs through the buzzing lips--resistence against which to exert the air column as it is forced out by the diaphragm. Somewhere inside your oral cavity and/or deep inside your throat lies your own personalized mechanism of controlling the speed, intensity, and focus of your air column. If that mechanism has in any way become ineffective, your embouchure will suffer.

Phil Farkas wrote about what he called the four points of resistance in The Art of Horn Playing. He suggested that without these point of resistance, the air column lacks the proper focus and intensity thereby placing a greater burden upon the lips. Farkas located these points of resistance within the throat and oral cavity. Another wonderful horn player, David Sprung, principal horn of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, has some very interesting observations of his own about using the throat and glottis. He has helped many students overcome their playing problems by teaching them how to use the glottis in playing.

Unfortunately, there is no one single correct way to "breathe" or to use the lips, tongue, oral cavity, or throat as points of resistance. Each player unconsciously develops his own personalized mechanism which fits his playing style and his musical approach. Since each of us is different physically, mentally, and musically, it is to be expected that we will develop our own systems of air control. In fact, it is our artistry which determines our overall playing mechanics in the first place.

There are many players who have found Jacobs' method helpful. I just hope that you all understand there are many good air philosophies, and the mechanism of air control and support is much more complicated and involved than anyone could ever explain over this format.

The bag prevents you from hyperventilating as you practice the exercises. The exercises should always be done away from the instrument and should not be thought about while playing- the point being that the instrument is a powerful stimulus for bad habits. If bad habits are gotten rid of away from the instrument, then good habits can be allowed to form. There is no reason to be afraid of being wrong while doing breathing exercises, because of course we all know how to breathe as human beings. It is easy to breathe correctly for a healthy person in a normal situation, and so even a young student can practice breathing. If the person focuses on inhaling relaxed, full breaths, then practicing breathing can only have a positive effect on playing. Here are a few of Jacobs' exercises (to be done with a metronome, preferrably with a few repetitions throughout the day):

1. Slow breathing- in 4 counts, out 4 counts
   • study of the physiology and psychology of breathing
   • allows you to "follow through" and use all necessary muscle groups
   • start with a full lung capacity
2. Exhale for 4 beats, inhale one beat
   • helps you to put 1) in a more practical context
   • vary the speed from slower to faster as you improve
3. Fast inhalation- exhale for 7 counts, inhale for one eighth note
   • vary speed by making tempo progressively faster
   • study of the rapid, full replacement breath (to work on getting a very quick, full breath)
4. Make up your own!

While Mr. Jacobs' approach may place a special emphasis on the musical side, artistry is something which can only be guided in a player, not taught. Most players go to Mr. Jacobs with mechanical problems which artistic discussions will not resolve regardless of how ardently he promotes the singing aspect of playing.

The following excerpt from a chapter on embouchures from the new book on Mr. Jacobs' method:

When you are starving the embouchure for air volume, giving it all sorts of air pressure but not quantity, it cannot work. Very quickly you will be struggling to produce your tone. Just increase your volume of air not by blowing hard, but by blowing a much thicker quality of air. Very frequently the air column is just too thin.

Each of us seems to know naturally how to whistle--where the tongue goes, how the inside of the mouth has to be shaped, and how to use our throats. To produce notes by whistling, the air column has to be controlled and focused with the tongue to create a note. The tongue not only has to "channel" the air but to resist it at the same time. Without the tongue, the air column would not be focused enough to whistle a note through the lips, and the air would be expelled much too quickly. The tongue and throat also provide a vital function in playing a brass instrument.

Form a whistle pucker (just as though you were going to whistle). Blow air slowly through your puckered lips without puffing out your cheeks. As you blow, where do you feel the tip of your tongue? Is it down by the gumline of your bottom teeth? Do the middle/back edges of your tongue come into contact with your upper back molars? Analyze all of the internal mechanisms you employ to whistle. Notice how narrow the inside of your mouth becomes when the tongue sets itself to whistle. (The distance between your tongue and the roof of your mouth narrows.) Your tongue forms a little channel automatically [and unconsciously] to focus the air column. Also, notice how opened your throat is and its shape.

Whistle a five-note scale up and down as loudly as you can without allowing your cheeks to puff out with air. Notice how your tongue moves [and/or your jaw] up and down to form each pitch.

The quantity of air is a player takes in is not nearly as important as the quality of controlling its intensity and speed.

To illustrate this, take a deep breath, and blow air as hard as you can through your whistle aperture as though you were going to whistle. Notice how long it takes to force all the air our of your lungs.

Take another deep breath and prepare to whistle loudly, but this time, relax the tongue--just let it fall relaxed to the bottom of your mouth. Try to whistle without using your tongue. What happens when you try to whistle with a relaxed tongue? Could you whistle at all? What happened to the big breath you took in? Could you use it at all? You probably found that your entire whistling embouchure would not work without the tongue.

Although we don't use either the tongue or the throat in playing exactly as we do for whistling, this roughly approximates one of the internal mechanism of air resistance in brass playing. Players learn through experimentation over a period of years how to adjust the shape of the oral cavity and throat to provide greater air resistance, tone color, and phrasing techniques.

As I said yesterday, the mechanism of air control is very complex. It is difficult enough to teach to students one on one much less to try to describe in a written format. I certainly would not advise that anyone try to experiment with their air mechanics unless they do it under the guidance of their teacher. The only reason anyone who is not studying with Arnold Jacobs directly should be using a "breathing bag," is if his teacher advises him to do so and can show him how to use it properly.

Discount Music Co.
410 S. Michigan Ave.
Suite 816
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 663-4733