The Standley routine

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The Standley routine

Wow. I have been bombarded with requests that I post the Standley routine. It is not that easy to describe, and really needs demonstration, but I'll try. Carl, or any other Standley student, feel free to offer additions, subtractions, or corrections. Phil Meyer spoke to me at the 1993 workshop about publishing this, but so far as I know, he has not as yet. He was planning to work with Standley's family. If, after reading this, you can't construct the routine, send me a stamped, self-addressed envelope, and I'll send you a copy. This notated summary is 6 pages long. It is very easy to misinterpret. The whole thing should take you over an hour when you have it up to speed. You should break at one hour on the clock for rest.

The most important aspect is that at breaths, you go arrhythmic -- no, that sounds like a heart condition, doesn't it -- pause in the rhythm of whatever sequence you are doing, pull the mouthpiece off the face, form the lips into a pucker as if saying "O" and take the air in that position. Then you place the mouthpiece in the normal position and let it do what it needs to do to get the next note. In practice, you may find instances where you don't have time to completely remove the mouthpiece from the lips. In that case, it is acceptable to let the mouthpiece stay lightly in contact with one lip or the other, or even alternate for rest.

The routine is scales and a variety of arpeggios. First, you tongue a C major scale starting on the C below middle C: eighth on the C, sixteenths on D E F G A B C (and back down) B A G F E D C, then the Dorian form of the C major scale (D up to D and back down) in the same rhythm, then E [here a breath, going through the "O" thing]. Continue E to E and back, F to F and back, etc., all in the C major scale, and after the eighth after every 2 sequences you break for "O" See the Singer book for the scale sequence. There is a similar one in Kopprasch as well. You take it as high as you can. Then, starting on the note below the high note, you reverse the sequence and come down in the same manner, eventually landing on the low C.

O.K. That is the C major scale. This sequencing on progressive members of the scale is the heart of the routine, so sit down and write it out in music notation. Forrest Standley would never let me write anything down at a lesson: he said if you couldn't remember it, it wasn't important enough. Legend was that he never used a pencil in symphony rehearsals either. I cheated, and as soon as I was back in my car, I wrote down everything I remembered. But I am diverging.

You then do the same thing on the B major scale, starting the B just below middle C. That is two scales. Now you do 2 arpeggios.

F major, starting the F below middle C: FAC, GBbD, ACE, BbDF slurred triplets. Execute the "O" and breathe Continue to high register, "O" and breath every 4 beats. Then turn it around like you did the scales, and come back down. Then do the same with 4-note arpeggios, but this time tonguing"F A C F, G Bb D, B, etc. (For variety you can tongue the 3 note arpeggios and slur the 4 note).

F# major the same 3 and 4 note arpeggios.

So far you have done C and B major scales, and F and F# major 3 and 4 note arpeggios. Now you do a "special" routine which I can't remember of Stanley named. It changes with each pair of scales and arpeggios: in G major slur 4 in quarter notes, "O" after 2 measures of 4/4 G B D B, G B D B "O" A C E C, A C E C "O" continue in the same manner up and down.

You have finished the first sequence. The others follow the same pattern

Scales Arpeggios Special

C, B F, F# G major quarter notes slur 4

Db, Bb E, G Ab major quarter notes tongued,

1 to a note

D, A Eb, Ab A major eighth notes tongued

2 to a note

Eb, Ab D, A Bb major eighth note triplets

3 to a note

E, G Db, Bb B major sixteenth notes

4 to a note

F, F# C, B None

Burt Hardin

I am working with at student on breathing and embouchure and would like to know about the "guppy" breathing that was advocated by the late Forrest Standley. I think this method would help her to form a more stable embouchure and improve her breathing. So, I would like to have an accurate description so I don't lead her astray. Perhaps some of our listers have studied with him in the past.

CORdially,

Luke Zyla

It is basically the opposite of grabbing a breath through the corners of your mouth. You form an "O" with your lips, as if you were going to whistle, and take the air in through that opening. Usually this means disconnecting at least one lip from the mouthpiece. Then you place the mouthpiece in its normal position and let the lip do what it wants. The object, of course, is not the breath, but rather in causing the player, over a couple of weeks, to put more meat under the mouthpiece, and as a side effect, to strengthen the orbicularis oris, so that higher notes will be achieved NOT by stretching the lips, but by controlling the aperture (and using other methods as well).

Burt Hardin

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