The following two questions basically ask the same thing. So I will use one posting to answer both.

Q:

Hello Mr. Sprott,

Can you discuss how to strengthen the upper range, especially up to the Berlioz "Symphonie Fantastique" range? I find I can hit it, but there is no power, no volume.

Hi Weston,
I am a Spanish trombonist. I want ask you some advice about embouchure and high range. I read all yours web tips, but I have doubts about embouchure formation and the embouchure in the high range. Can you please help me with these problems?

I love your website and I wish that other famous trombonists would work like you to help young musicians that unfortunately do not have the possibility to study with great trombone teachers. Thank you so much.

A:

Hello,
First of all, thanks for writing in and asking a question. I think your questions are ones that most trombone players are curious about. Hopefully some of the following thoughts will be helpful.

Before concerning yourself with strengthening the embouchure for the upper register, first make sure that you know what the correct embouchure looks like. In my opinion, a properly formed embouchure is one where the lips lay absolutely flat on top of one another. Neither lip should roll under the other. One common thing I see amongst players is a tendency to roll the bottom lip slightly under the top when going into the upper register. This produces two negative results. First, due to the fact that the bottom lip is disappearing behind the top lip, the vibrating surface gets smaller, producing a thinner sound. Secondly, rolling the bottom lip under usually causes the aperture to be more closed and less present, making it more difficult for the air to get past the lips. In rare instances I have seen people who can roll the bottom lip under while still keeping a very open aperture, but at the present, I’m convinced that this is not the norm. If you have thinner lips and a very large cup depth to accommodate the space this technique requires, be my guest, but I don’t recommend it. This is very easy to visualize by forming the appropriate embouchure without the mouthpiece/instrument and looking in the mirror.

Practice scales and arpeggios very slowly in front of a mirror. Play close attention to the ratio of top lip to bottom lip and try your best to make sure that both remain visibly present throughout the entire range of the instrument. Another thing to think about is air direction. Aim to blow in a straight line throughout the entire range. If you notice that you are blowing downward, that means that you are rolling the bottom lip under the top. Although the size of the aperture will change depending on the register, the overall circular open shape should remain.

In addition to this basic structure, make sure that your corners remain firm and stable. It has been said before that a good corner structure is one where the smile and pucker muscles are in a battle, but neither one wins. I think this is a good way to think of it. Make sure to not pull your corners back too far, creating a smiling embouchure. This thins out the lips and lessens the amount of vibrating surface in the mouthpiece. The strongest players I have observed have very little movement occurring outside of the rim of the mouthpiece. Aim to make sure that all the adjustments happen inside the rim of the mouthpiece and that the corners generally remain in the same place.

A good exercise for building this type of strength is to play an F above the bass clef staff in first position. Then, match this pitch in sixth position and slowly glissando up to the high Bb in first position. The key to this exercise is to try and keep your corners in the same place for the high Bb as they were for the F below. Also, make sure that you continue to blow across a straight line and keep the aperture as open as possible as mentioned previously. I prefer to play this exercise at a very full dynamic and re-articulate the top note a few times. For a greater challenge, start on a G and glissando up to a high C, or up to high D or high F, etc. After a few weeks of doing this exercise every second day for five minutes or so, I think you will notice an increase of strength and stability in your corners in the high range and high dynamic.

Another exercise is to simply play very slow scales starting in the middle register where, for most people, the corner structure is well shaped. As you ascend, simply attempt to keep your corners in the same place. I find this to be much more effective than constantly telling yourself “don’t smile”. In general, positive mental cues are more effective than negative ones.

One last thing to think about when working on the upper register is to not to overwork your embouchure. Remember that building a solid upper register takes time just like building any other skill. Avoid excessive amounts of time spent in this range. On the contrary, take a consistent and methodical approach to building the appropriate musculature that allows you to continuously get stronger without injuring your chops. If, for example, you were to have four forty-five minute practice sessions in one day, I would suggest working intensively on your high range for the first ten to fifteen minutes of the second session. You want to do this work after you are warmed up and flexible, but also not so late into the practice day that are you tired an unable to get a good idea of your progress and are likely to injure yourself. If you wanted to max out on the bench press at the gym, you wouldn’t do your entire workout first and save the heavy lifting for last. That would be a poor indicator of your actual strength and would leave you prone to injury. Likewise, don’t worry about blasting out fortissimo high F’s after you’ve already practiced 4 hours. Bad idea!

I hope some of these ideas are helpful. Best of luck with the practicing, and feel free to ask more questions!

Weston Sprott

Q:

Hi Weston,
I'm curious how you deal with balancing confidence and ego. I'm still young in my studies, so I am still finding my boundaries. Recently in my efforts to not be "that guy" in a section/studio, I found my fear of letting ego get in the way effectively disabled my sense of confidence. Kind of ironic, no? Of course, I'm now starting to see the importance of balancing the two, but I'm very curious to see what you have to say about it and if you have any experience with musicians on either end of the spectrum. Thanks! 

A:

This is a truly excellent question. I've dealt with this issue a lot, both as a student and as a professional. I'm sure this issue could be psychologically unpacked from several varying angles because it is so complex. I'll tell you how the ego/confidence balance has affected me at different points in my musical life, and hopefully you can draw something beneficial from that. 

I attended a very large public high school in Spring, TX. We had a really big, incredibly competitive band program with many high level trombone players. As a result of this, I didn't make into the top band at my own high school until my junior year of high school, and even then I wasn't first chair! It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I was even recognized as the top player at my own high school, and even that distinction was a toss up at times (Tim Higgins, Principal Trombone of SF Symphony was also in my section, as well as another student named Stefan, who may have very well been more talented than both of us put together!). Texas high school band is filled with constant competiitons. We had at least 6 chair tests a year at our school, plus marching and concert band contests, region band, region orchestra, all-area, all-state, solo & ensemble contest, etc. At any rate, I recall my high school music experience being more about competition than anything else. Sure, we had fun playing the music because we had a killer trombone section and we all loved music, but I remember a lot of it being about proving who was the best.

This type of hyper-competitive environment brings out certain qualities in a person, especially amongst those who thrive in such an environment. When I got to Indiana University, I had the good fortune of winning the audition to be principal trombone in the university's top orchestra as a freshman. Accompanying the positive feelings of getting to play in the best group and gaining the sense that perhaps there was a chance for me to be successful in our incredibly competitive industry, was the dubious label of the cocky, arrogant, freshman kid. To the credit of my accusers, they were partially right! I can't give them the satisfaction of saying their labeling of me at the time was spot on accurate. :) It's easy gain an inflated sense of self around your peers when you are young, talented, and know next to nothing.

I think the greatest downfall of arrogance/egotism is that you fail to learn from those who are less accomplished than you. The more experience I have, the more I realize that there is something to be learned from just about everyone, regardless of their level of accomplishment. I've learned some of the most useful and fascinating things from the people you would least expect to learn from. During my first years of college, I reserved my greatest humility for my teachers and others who were clearly higher up on the totem pole. I now realize that level of humility, interest, and desire to learn should be presented to everyone. This way you open your mind to learning and befriending everyone, not just the musical "upper class".  Having a big ego doesn't serve the best interest of anyone. It only makes the eventual fall from your high horse longer and more painful, and it WILL happen sooner or later! We are susceptible to what my best friend likes to call "heavyweight champion syndrome". You win a big fight/audition (or play a great concert/recital) and you feel on top of the world because everyone is applauding your most recent success. While you waste time basking in your own glory and reading your own press, you forget that someone else is training hard to knock you out! As a musician, your greatest opponent is often times yourself. We are all only one rehearsal or performance away from being knocked to the canvas and learning humility the hard way. 

On the other side of the coin, I'm a big fan of having a lot of confidence. I think many people have difficulty distinguishing between confidence and egotism, but there is a clear difference in my opinion. Egotism lends itself to believing that you are simply better than someone else and making sure everyone else is aware of this as well. By definition, it is "an inflated sense of self-importance or superiority". Confidence, on the other hand, is defined as "full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing". There's the difference. I think it is impossible to be a consistently successful musician without confidence. Most people aren't able to maintain confidence at critical moments, and often times, they regard those who can as egotistical. Confidence in your product will come from much deep thinking and consideration of your musical choices, coupled with hours of practice and repetitions of the repertoire. If you have put in this ground work, you shouldn't feel guilty about playing with confidence. Every musician is entitled to his/her interpretation, so long as it is well thought out and practiced. This is why I always tell people to not play for approval. Have enough confidence to play what you believe in! 

As an auditioner, it's important to have confidence in your product. I think a turning point in my mentality towards auditions happened during an audition for the Seattle Symphony. I played well in the preliminaries and advanced to the second round. When I was signing in for the second round of the audition, I saw a pretty incredible list of names of those who had signed in before me. One of these great candidates was in the warmup room next to mine, and he sounded really fantastic. I convinced myself that I would need to play my greatest round ever and hope for some others to stumble in order for me to be successful. I lost confidence in the value of my product. Needless to say, I didn't win that audition. I called my teacher (Nitzan Haroz) to give him the news, and I explained that I could understand the decision because even though I played very well, some of these other guys were REALLY great players. I remember him saying, "Yes, Weston, those guys are great players, but YOU are a great player, and you have something special to offer too!".  My issue at the audition was not a lack of ego, rather it was a lack of confidence. You need not feel superior to your competition to be successful. You only need to feel that your product has its own unique value and is worthy of consideration regardless of who else is making a presentation that day. 

As a recitalist, I've had the good fortune of playing all over the world and often times following the path of some of my trombone heros. I would be lying if I said I never thought about how their past performances will compare to mine. When you hear that someone you greatly respect just played a recital at the same place last month or last year, the thought does cross your mind.... I hope things go well, or else they will think I'm terrible compared to that person. I remind myself that it's all about presenting your own musicianship to the best of your abilities. In the context of a recital, who cares if I'm better or worse than somebody else? Confidently present your musical ideas, and at least in your own mind, allow them to stand on their own, independent of comparison to others. 

As a colleague in an orchestra, there is no place for an inflated ego. Nobody wants to work with someone who simply thinks he's better than everybody else and doesn't respect the opinion of others. There IS a place for confidence. Nobody wants to work with someone who lacks confidence in their own musicianship and doesn't have ideas of their own. Verbally, you have to tow the fine line of making your opinion known while not stepping on the opinions of others. 

Should you need an example of how to conduct yourself, look no further than my musical hero, Wynton Marsalis. Both on and off the stage, he presents him with confidence and selflessness. If you attend a performance of his, he will recognize everyone on the bandstand except himself. He won't talk about his own greatness, but he's not self-deprecating. If you listen to him play, you won't hear any question marks come out of his bell. If you talk to him, he will show you respect. Long story short.... Get rid of the ego while developing as much confidence as you can. Some people may mistake your confidence for ego, but if you continually treat people with respect and are willing to listen more than you talk, they will realize that perhaps they mislabeled you. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Weston

Q:
Hi Weston,
I have a question to ask. Could you tell me what the real "support" is? One of my teachers said no matter what register you play, you must keep pushing your belly outward. The other teacher told me exactly the opposite thing: you have to keep pushing your belly inward, it is also called "wedge" breathing. There is also a teacher told me the real support is air speed. Could you give me some advice about that?

Best,
Jimmy

A:
Hey Jimmy,
Thanks for your question. It seems to me that the schools of thought on this are very different, especially from country to country. I know that you have had some very qualified teachers who are excellent players, so obviously their methods have served them well. My opinion is that the real "support" is air speed. I've never taught anyone to consistently play with your belly pushed in either direction. To me, this seems rather unnatural and would make playing significantly more stressful than necessary.

My general feeling is that all the support you need will come from taking the breath that correctly suits the phrase you need to play. The more you fill your lungs on the inhalation, the faster the air will come out on it's own. I think of the lungs as being balloons. If you fill a balloon to 95% of its capacity and release the air, the air will come racing out at a high rate of speed without any help as a result of what I call "natural compression". If you fill a balloon to 30% of its capacity and release the air, the air will come out a much lower rate. The only way to get this balloon to release the air more quickly is to squeeze the balloon, adding artificial support to the release of the air. I view my lungs the same way. I aim to fill my lungs to a point that the air comes out naturally, without artificial support (pushing your belly inward or outward), at the speed that is desirable for the phrase.

Only in the extreme upper register, and usually the extreme upper register and dynamic register, do I feel that artificial support is needed. For example, when going for the high Eb in Symphonie Fantastique or the high D in Brahms' 2nd, the natural compression of the air is not enough to get the high note and the extreme dynamic. A little support from the abdominal region can help raise the air's rate of speed. There's not much of a better way to explain how this is done except to say that the same muscles you use to go to the bathroom are basically the same muscles you will use to reach this extreme range at a high dynamic. 

As for always playing with your belly outward or inward... I honestly don't understand this. First of all, your lungs are not in the same area as your stomach. Air goes in your lungs, your lunch goes in your stomach. Pushing your lunch in or out, in my opinion, isn't going to make you play better. Just leave it wherever it naturally falls. Trying to correctly control your breathing apparatus while focusing on keeping your stomach in or out seems like a lot of wasted effort that will only have negative effects on your playing. 

As always, this is the way that I play and the way that I was taught. I know there are many different schools of thought on this, and there many different ways of playing well. I hope this information helps!

Weston

Q:
Hello Mr. Sprott,

First of all, I've never done this sort of thing, that is contact a pro with a big issue of mine, but after reading through your site it looks like you would be a great person to come to. Your sight is proving to be a great resource for me, also.

Anyway, I am having trouble with my pedal register. This has not been a real problem for me throughout my years. I've always thought my pedal register was good, until now... I consistently achieve "double-tones" when trying to play them full. I can play them "in the pocket" but really am having problems improving consistency, clarity, and expanse of range down to say F1. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Joe

A:
Hey Joe,

I'm glad the site has been helpful to you. As far as contacting pros with your issues, I'm glad that you were open to consulting me. I would encourage everyone to seek out the advice of professional players. I know most of the "big name" guys around, and they are almost all really great guys who are eager to help people with a desire to learn. We're all trombone geeks and constantly looking to learn and improve as well.

Sorry to hear about the pedal register issues. Reading between the lines a little bit... I find two things that you say to be pretty interesting. First, you say that this register has not been a problem for you throughout the years. This makes me wonder what has changed. Did your equipment change? Have you switched to a smaller mouthpiece? Have your chops changed significantly because of increased wear and tear? The reason why I ask these questions is simple. Often times we have a part of our playing that is just fine and then one day it starts coming apart. Being people who are trained to practice your way out of a problem, you work hard to eliminate the issue through hard work. However, this sometimes results in only making the issue worse. There are times when the issue would be resolved simply by leaving it alone for a little while and allowing your body to reset to it's default setting where everything was fine! I often times have to remind myself of this. I play a ton of music and find myself making silly mistakes or having issues in my playing that usually aren't there. The problem is not a lack of understanding, but rather the compounding effects of mental and physical fatigue relating to the issue. 

The second thing you said that caught my attention is that the notes seem to speak fine in the middle dynamics but start coming apart in the louder dynamics. I think you may benefit from further solidifying the center of the sound in the mid range dynamic for a few more months before trying to expand the range too much. Don't go for it all at once. Also, playing this register at a ff dynamic with a standard tenor trombone mouthpiece can be a difficult thing. I you have a really fabulous high Eb and pedal F on the same mouthpiece, I'm guessing your rim is pretty big. If you're trying to accomplish this on a 5G or a 6 1/2 AL, it can be done, but I think the path is more treacherous. Regarding the idea of working to have the most beauty and center of sound in the mid dynamics first, I point you to a great quote from a Boston Globe article on Alfred Genovese, former principal oboist of the Boston Symphony who studied with Marcel Tabuteau at Curtis. Tabuteau's wind class was famous for the profound effect it had on Curtis students. Arnold Jacobs gained much inspiration from attending these classes. 

Soft and sweet, expressive as a voice, the sounds that Alfred Genovese coaxed from his oboe lingered in the memories of audiences and musicians decades after the notes faded.

His approach to playing was formed in part by Marcel Tabuteau, a legendary oboist who trained generations of the world’s best players, including Mr. Genovese, his last student.

“He did not stress volume of sound, but instead quality of tone, something we are in danger of losing as orchestras get louder and louder,’’ Mr. Genovese told the Globe in 1998, just after retiring as principal oboist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. “We worked on the oboe like a singer works on the voice, beginning in the middle register; from that you could develop the top and the bottom. And everything else is produced from the basis of a dolce tone, a sweet sound.’’

I love that quote. From a more purely blue collar trombonistic point of view, I would recommend that you work to maintain structure in your corners now matter how low you go. Often times, low range double buzzing results from a lack of structure. Make sure that the airstream is as wide as you can make it while still keeping your corners. Tilting the mouthpiece slightly upward to allow more space for your bottom lip to vibrate can also be helpful. Lastly, take your time and make sure you don't rush your progress. After all, how often does a tenor trombone player need to play a pedal F at FFF anyway? :)

Weston

Q: 
Hello Weston Sprott,
First I must tell you how much I love your site. The playing tips section has some real gold nuggets, I look forward to your further comments.

My question for you: Has your playing changed much since a few years ago when you joined the orchestra? Are you simply refining the skills/technique that won you the job or have you since discovered a more efficient way of making music on the horn? I'm curious to hear what you have to say about keeping in shape vs. refining technique vs. learning new or different approaches that might replace the old.


Also, just got your cd and am really digging it. The Casterede in particular I keep coming back to.
Best,
Tim

A: 
Tim,
First of all thanks for the compliments and thanks for submitting your question. Hopefully, more people will feel comfortable sparking conversation as well!

To answer your question, my playing has definitely changed a lot since I joined the orchestra. Obviously, back when I won the job six years ago, I had a lot of things going well enough to find myself in the winner's circle. However, I think that just means I exhibited fewer bad habits than everyone else over that course of a few days and I had good fortune on my side as well. My playing is constantly evolving and improving. Playing in the MET Orchestra and having the opportunities afforded to someone who plays in such a great orchestra has opened my eyes to a ton of things that I can improve. The fact of the matter is there is always a lot to learn. As the old adage goes... the more you know, the less you know.

I am definitely refining the skills that won me the job in addition to learning how to play more efficiently. The basics of rhythm, pitch, tone and phrasing are things we can always work to improve. The details may get finer, but there is still work to be done. Anyone who says otherwise is either arrogant, no longer improving, or more likely, both! As for efficiency, playing at the MET has forced me to be a more efficient player. I think very few people can truly understand the amount of playing/work that is required of the musicians in the MET Orchestra. This past week for me has included two performances of Puccini's Tosca, two performances of Berg's Wozzeck, one performance of Strauss' Capriccio and a Carnegie performance of Schoenberg's Five Pieces and Brahms' Second Symphony. That doesn't include the 14 hours of rehearsal. Next week has 15 hours of Walkure rehearsal in addition to more Wozzeck, Tosca, and Capriccio performances. Throw in 8 regular weekly students and a couple of drop-ins, many of whom would like to have you demonstrate the more difficult passages they are working on, and you've got a nice 7 day work week. Did I mention we were playing Rheingold the week before?!! For those of us who like play recitals in addition to a schedule that regularly looks like this, learning how to be efficient is paramount. During my first few years in the orchestra, I constantly found myself dead tired and playing on my teeth. As a result, I was forced to find a way to be more efficient so that I can have a long career that will hopefully be more free of injury and chronic fatigue. After a few bouts of stress, a couple of books about marathon and cycling training (to learn about people who routinely put a lot of hours on their musculature), and a handful of performances that I felt were compromised by extreme fatigue later, I have found myself with a completely different practice routine and set of equipment than I had as a student. I still haven't gotten it all figured out, but I get closer and closer every day. Most importantly, I have a far greater understanding of how to play efficiently and correctly than I ever did before, and I find that knowledge base getting larger each and every day. Having the information I possess now makes me wonder how I ever achieved the things I did when my knowledge base was so limited. I suppose ambition and a lot of hours in a practice room can make up for a lot!

As for keeping in shape vs. refining technique... This is a different battle for each and every person. It surely varies depending on your school or work schedule and on your own body's capacity for fatigue. During weeks the like one I described above, I don't need to do anything to stay in shape. The job will keep you in shape. I simply put in 45 minutes or so of long tones, lip slurs, scales and arpeggios and save my chops for work. During weeks when the schedule is more reasonable, I have time for an additional hour or two per day on top of that mandatory 45 minutes of bare bones basics. That extra time is usually focused on solos and etudes. I've also come to realize that there are different times for certain types of growth. There are points in the season when I'm in recital preparation and other weeks like the one I described above where you are simply keeping your head above water. I find the summer time, when the MET is on break, to be my best time to make major changes in my playing approach. I'm actually afforded the time and opportunity to experiment with new things without worrying about paying the price in performance if they don't work. If you're a self-motivated person, being able to practice without being concerned about what's coming up tomorrow can be a very positive and liberating thing! The summer also gives me the chance to put the horn in the closet for 10 days and hit the reset button. That's quite helpful too!

As for learning new approaches... I'm always learning new approaches. I regularly read through the traditional trombone geek sites and sift through what I think is sensible and what's not. Some of it's useful and some of it is laughable. I also look through the webpages of great players just like you do in hopes that they will give me some food for thought. I really love Ian Bousfield's new website and I think Jay Friedman's monthly articles are generally spot on. Check them out if you haven't already. I also attend a lot of performances in search of inspiration and a learning opportunity. After Wozzeck the other night, I raced to the east side of town to see John Fedchock's quartet play and it was fantastic. I regularly visit Jazz at Lincoln Center to see my heros Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon and their friends, and I'm a regular at Carnegie Hall to see the world's great orchestras on tour. Listening to all of that gives you plenty to think about when you practice!