Lab Notes
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from Gunther Schuller: Horn Technique
The position of the tongue can influence negatively or positively the actual quality of tone produced. After the attack the tongue pulls back into a relatively relaxed suspended position, arched slightly towards the roof of the mouth. For a high note the tongue must be arched high in the mouth, while for a low note the tongue can lie more along the bottom of the mouth. The tongue's position is directly related to the position of the jaw and lower teeth, since the base of the tongue is connected to the pharynx. It would therefore seem to be natural that, as the lower teeth and lip move up for a higher note, thus making the lip aperture smaller, the tongue would automatically follow correspondingly along. Yet I have had many a student who tried to produce high notes with the tongue straining towards the lower teeth, and vice versa. An idea of how much the tone and pitch are affected by the tongue position during a note can be gained by moving the tongue up and down during a long sustained tone. The tongue's role in the attack of a note is somewhat controversial. I have encountered excellent players who believe that the tip of the tongue must never touch the teeth, but instead should hit the gums on the roof of the mouth. Others think of the tongue movement as a 'forward' motion; still others think of it as a 'snapping back' kind of movement. Strangely enough I have found that, given enough talent and practice, reasonably clean attacks can be attained with all these different methods. I personally feel that the approach described below is the most direct and easiest to control. As in the case of tone production, the relative height or level of the tongue is again very important. For high notes the tip of the tongue, which should be pointed (not wide or flat), should produce the syllable 'tah' on the teeth. The higher the note, the higher the contact point on the teeth. High notes like high C, in fact, are attacked at the edge of the teeth and the gum line. By the same token, for low notes the tongue, now a little less pointed, may reach out as far as the inner curve of the upper lip. Between the lowest and highest notes the tongue will adopt correspondingly graded lower or higher positions, as the case may be. The tongue position at the moment of attack is critical, since it controls the direction of the airstream . As for the direction of the tongue movement, I believe in a compromise of the 'forward' and 'backward' positions alluded to above. This seems realistic since the tongue, for any given attack, must move forward and back. The 'back' faction claims that the release of air occurs only when the tongue snaps back from the teeth or lip-which is true enough. The 'forward motion' faction counters with the equally true fact that the tongue could never snap back if it had not first moved forward. They feel that this forward movement actually controls the nature of the backward half of the total operation. Basically I consider both movements to be inseparable parts of one action. The player must learn to control not one or the other movement, but both for a perfect, relaxed, controlled attack. In discussing which way the tongue should move, we must divide the question into two parts: 1) In relation to an initial attack (start of a phrase or an isolated note) 2) In relation to attacked notes within a phrase. In respect to part 1, I am inclined slightly to the pulling away method, since it gives you greater security in attacking a note. However, I would caution against separating the forward and backward movements too much for the following reason. Once the tongue has reached the teeth or lip, it seals off the lip opening and thus prevents the taking in of air. If the tongue moves into 'attack' position much before the beginning of the note, it automatically means that breathing will have to take place before that, which will in turn lead to the dangerous separation between breathing and playing against which I warned earlier. As for part 2, I suggest the 'forward' approach, if not actually physically, at least psychologically as a point of view. For the 'backward' method unfortunately tends to lead to the very bad habit of stopping a note just previous to a new attack with the forward movement of the tongue. The notes thus produced might be characterized syllabically as 'daht', rather than 'dah'. This occurs all too often with beginning students, and must be immediately corrected. For if this habit persists, it leads to a kind of stop-and-go manner of phrasing, which prevents a sustained, singing style of playing. At high speeds, of course, the question of forward or backward tongueing becomes academic since the time allotted for both movements is measured infinitesimal fractions of a second. A subtle point often neglected in the study of attacks is that the air stream must follow immediately to sustain the tone. Even the slightest, physically almost imperceptible, delay will cause a 'poppy" attack, or one with a slight 'bubble' on it. The cleanest attacks will be those that have a full stream of air to back them up. This means that the air must be ready to go. As the water which is exerting pressure against a water tap is released when the spigot opens, so the air stream must be ready to flow immediately upon release of the seal between the tongue and teeth. from Gunther Schuller: Horn Technique
Inhaling should be done, especially at phrase beginnings, in a very relaxed yet lung-filling manner. The hasty, jerking breath tends to tighten neck, shoulder, and stomach muscles. In general (and this is one of the most important factors in correct breathing) the taking in of air should always occur in time to the music being performed. This will insure relaxed inhaling, and will give to the breathing process a musicality specifically identified with the music being played. After a while, it gives the player an instinctive sense of timing in the several coordinated actions necessary prior to attacking a note, which will enable him almost to guarantee a note. The end of the inhaling process should be as closely connected as possible to the beginning of the breathing out of air. Both inhaling and exhaling should be thought of as a single uninterrupted act. Hesitating between breathing in and expelling the air again serves no purpose other than to tighten various body muscles which should remain in a state of "relaxed tension" for free, natural playing. There is one exception, however. In the upper register, most players on an initial attack like to hesitate for the purpose of tightening the diaphragm into a strong supporting position. However, I wish to emphasize that this momentary hesitation is measured in fractions of a second, and is not long enough to choke back the air stream, unnecessarily tightening the neck and shoulder muscles. At this point I must digress for a while to speak about the role of the 'diaphragm' in breathing. This term is bandied about a great deal, but in general many teachers and players still do not properly understand the nature and function of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a muscle which is situated in a horizontal position directly above the waist, and is shaped somewhat ike a shallow round tent. The '"dome" of this tent is flattened out when we inhale, thus allowing the lower lungs to fill with air. And like all muscles, the diaphragm muscle, once contracted or expanded, must return to its original position and natural degree of tension. It is this natural tendency of the diaphragm to contract, after having been expanded, that is the prime factor in achieving what we call "breath control". The diaphragm is the only muscle with which the release of air from the lungs can be controlled, since the diaphragm is the only major muscle touching the lower lungs. This is also why breathing by filling only the upper part of the lungs(chest breathing) is dangerous in horn playing. There are no muscles in the chest which can exert pressure on the lungs with relaxed control. Therefore the air issues from the lungs in an uncontrolled haphazard manner. In horn playing the process of inhaling and exhaling is actually a more or less intensified version of normal everyday breathing, which even the casual observer will note as a slight alternating in-and-out of the abdominal muscles. In horn playing these movements are larger and more intense. But beyond this intensification, it is well to remember that the basic procedure is exactly the same as in normal breathing. In normal inhaling only the lower section of the lungs is filled. The diaphragm muscle (tangent to the lungs) and adjacent abdominal muscles are thus expanded. The natural contraction of these muscles applies gentle pressures on the lungs, thereby expelling the air. In horn playing, since largeamounts of air are necessary, all these processes are magnified. 1) The entire lungs (not just the lower part) are filled with air. However, at this point I must emphasize strongly that one of the prerequisites of correct breathing is that the lower part of the lungs is filled first. Otherwise "chest breathing" will result. I have found that the suggestion to breath along the bottom of the mouth (or tongue) helps students to fill the lower lungs first. Conversely, I have noticed that breathing along the roof of the mouth leads easily to chest breathing. 2) The diaphragm and abdominal muscles expand considerably more than in ordinary breathing, to the extent that one can feel expansion almost around the entire circle of the waist, including the back. This is what has led to the popular misconception that the 'diaphragm' is a circular ring-like muscle around the waist. 3) The entire process from the moment of inhaling to the expulsion of most of the air takes correspondingly longer than in ordinary breathing. I would also like to point out that the intake of air required for horn playing is so considerable, that this inhaling does (and should) become audible- -as when sucking in air. Often students feel that this is wrong and try to inhibit this audible intake of air. It stands to reason that if the lungs are to be filled, and if the inhaling process is to take only a short moment, the 'rush' of air through the lips will produce a sound. Students should therefore not shrink from this, and should rather cultivate reasonably audible inhaling. As I have said, in actual playing, if the breathing is musically timed and not too jerky, it will not disrupt musical phrasing unduly. The breath will become a part of the music. We have now inhaled and are ready to expel the air into the mouthpiece and horn. As in normal exhaling, the abdominal and diaphragm muscles will return to their original state of relaxed tension. For purposes of horn playing, however, an extra degree of control must be imposed. Different phrases will require different ways of expelling air, in large to small amounts and at slow to fast speeds. We can now really appreciate the importance of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, since they alone can control pressure on the lungs and, therefore, the amount and speed with which air is expelled. These muscles act as a kind of bellows. The return of the muscles to their normal positions can, in other words, be delayed or accelerated, thus affecting in a parallel manner the flow of air into the horn through lips and mouthpiece. At first, these muscles will be found to be weak, too weak at any rate to exercise absolute control over the flow of air. But over a period of months, with practice and conscious application of these muscles, they will gain in strength and control. So far I have discussed only one aspect of the breathing out process. There is, however, another area which is part of the overall process of producing and controlling a horn tone. That is the control exercised upon the air stream by the embouchure. If the diaphragm is the motor and driving power in this process, the embouchure can be said to act as a rudder or steering device. It directs the air and controls the speed with which the air enters the mouthpiece. Both of these factors control the speed of vibration in the lips and the horn, and in turn the pitch and tone quality. If we think of the lungs as the source of air, the embouchure (and at a further stage the horn itself) represent not only the destination of the air but a wall of resistant and controlling pressure. The principle involved is a very simple one: the flow of a steady unchanging stream of air fed by the source (the lungs) can be increased by closing the opening through which it issues (the embouchure), just as, in a stream, a sudden narrowing of the river bed will cause a relative acceleration in the flow of water. As the lungs gradually empty, the stream of air thins out. To compensate for this loss of air, the diaphragm muscle has to increase its pressure on the lungs, so that the flow of air may be kept steady and undiminished. If it is not thus sustained, the tone will naturally decrease in volume and probably in pitch. This is why students (and even professionals) find the ends of long phrases harder to control than the middle. The degree of pressure exerted by the diaphragm and embouchure is dictated by the ear, which is presumably listening the sound as it is produced. The more sensitive the ear, the more demands it will place upon the diaphragm and embouchure. The air stream, and in turn, the tone, are also controlled by another organ, the larynx, which functions as still another element in this four-way chain of pressure I am attempting to describe. The larynx (situated in the trachea) is used in horn playing almost to the degree that it is used in singing. And of all the points of control I have mentioned it is probably the most versatile. The larynx is a valve-like organ which at one extreme can shut off the air from the lungs completely, at another (when open) can let the air rush out entirely unrestrained, and can, of course, adopt all gradations between these two extremes. To illustrate its function briefly: in playing a loud sustained note the larynx must be wide open; on a very soft sustained note it must close sufficiently (again the ear is the final judge) to slow down the flow of air to the proper volume. The larynx's other important function is to end a note. This is achieved by closing this valve still further to the point where the air stream being allowed to pass is not sufficient to vibrate the lips and horn. This feeling can be easily practised by singing a sustained "ahh" syllable and gradually choking the sound off with the larynx. Obviously, the degree of abruptness with which a note is to be stopped can be easily controlled through a parallel abruptness in the closing of the larynx. All four points of control (diaphragm pressure, larynx pressure, embouchure pressure, and the unalterable resistance from the mouthpiece and the horn) function in a completely integrated inseparable manner, and only diligent and analyt- practising will give the player the necessary control, assuming that he is not (as some players indeed are) a "natural' talent, to whom all these technical processes are already second nature. from Gunther Schuller: Horn Technique
The position of the lips, or what is commonly called the embouchure, plays an important role in the production of a fine tone. Technically the embouchure refers to the position and tension with which the lips and surrounding face muscles are held, in order that air blown through the lips may cause them to vibrate at certain speeds and thus produce certain pitches. There are four ways in which pitches can be altered by the embouchure: one is by pressure upon the lips from without (the mouthpiece and horn); the second is by changing the size and shape of the lip opening; the third is by altering the degree of tension in the lip muscles; and the fourth is the angle at which the air is directed into the mouthpiece. The first approach is controlled primarily through slight pressures applied by the left hand, while the latter three are governed by the movement of the jaw, the lower teeth, and the lip muscles themselves. Before we investigate these points further, we had better find out exactly how the mouthpiece should be placed on or against the lips. The most natural method for finding an embouchure that I know of is the following: relax the lips into an absolutely normal closed (not tightly closed) position. Take the mouthpiece and place the upper half of the rim on the upper lip, so that the rim catches the two slight curvatures found in most lips. This will put the uppermost curve of the rim into the 'white' flesh, and will guarantee that the mouthpiece is more or less well centered. Without changing or lowering the lip position (i.e. relative to the upper lip), tense both lips into a slightly pursed position. In most cases this will put the lower curve of the rim just within the 'red' of the lower lip. Blowing air with sufficient speed against and through the properly tensed lips into the horn will produce a pitch. This procedure ensures the proper representation in the embouchure of both lips, and at the same time places the upper and lower rims of the mouthpiece on the lips in such a way that pressure is exerted on the teeth just inside the gumline-- assuming incidentally that the teeth are held apart at the proper distance of about a quarter of an inch. Some players prefer an embouchure in which the rim of the mouthpiece sits outside the red of both lips. In this case the centers of both lips are entirely inside the mouthpiece. Although some players are able to use this embouchure effectively, I have had no experience with it personally. But from my experiences with students, I would say that such an embouchure is problematic and unsuccessful in a majority of cases. With the mouthpiece position I have suggested it is generally possible to negotiate with ease the entire four octave range of the horn. This is accomplished, as I have indicated earlier, through the simultaneous interrelated application of four procedures: for ascending pitches, slight pressure is applied on the upper lip, the lip opening is made smaller by a proportionate inward and upward movement of the jaw and lower teeth, the lip muscles are proportionately tightened, and the air stream is directed increasingly downward and closer to the mouthpiece rim. For descending pitches, slight pressure is applied on the lower lip, the lip opening is made larger by a proportionate downward and outward movement of the jaw and lower teeth, the lip muscles are proportionately relaxed, and the air stream is directed more horizontally at a point in the mouthpiece cup closer to the bore. It can not be emphasized sufficiently that all these movements, especially those which involve pressure on the lips, must be moderate and in proportion to the interval change desired. The halfway point between the two poles in embouchure positions occurs where the teeth are more or less vertically in line (i.e. flush), and where all the other movements and pressures are at an equally mean position. The horizontal as well as inner muscle tension of the lips is controlled by the muscles in and around the corners of the mouth. It is a salient feature of the embouchure I have thus far described (or for that matter any embouchure) that the corners of the mouth must stay, no matter how relaxed or how tense, in the same position (i.e. the corners of the lips should not under any circumstances pull up or down.) Special care must be taken not to 'spread' the corners (as in a smile) when going into the high register. The original corner position, which is halfway between that of a smile and a pucker, must be maintained throughout the entire range of the horn. If an analogy can be made, the lips and the mouth corners can be likened to a hammock swinging between two trees. The trees never move, while the hammock is free to pivot back and forth. If the corners pull away from the mouth centre, the lips will become too tight and thus will not vibrate properly. Imagine the trees suddenly leaning away from each other at a 45 degree angle. Equally negative results occur when the corners relax too much and come forward. The resultant lack of tension leaves the lips in a collapsed state; or as if our trees were to lean toward each other, making the hammock sag. The best way I have found of teaching this correct corner muscle tension is to think of these muscles as coiled upon an imaginary axis and anchored tightly against the teeth. I have mentioned that the direction in which the air stream is projected into the mouthpiece is also of great importance. This aspect of tone production is seldom discussed or taught, and yet it is inseparable from the other three factors in producing a controlled tone on the horn. This idea is largely ignored because, in terms of palpable physical movements, it is the subtlest of the four pitch-altering procedures. In fact, differences in the direction of the air stream can be felt only between larger intervals or extreme register changes. This concept of 'air direction' is based on an acoustical principle of wave reflection', whereby the air stream is reflected or bounced off the walls of the mouthpiece before it enters the mouthpipe of the horn itself. For a high pitch, the air stream must be reflected at a point relatively close to the rim and lip aperture. For a lower pitch, a correspondingly lower reflection point is necessary. The necessity for the air stream to be directed in this way will be understood and felt most readily if the player will produce the natural notes (overtone series) in an unbroken slur. The actual shift of direction becomes quite noticeable, especially between the larger intervals in the lower part of the series. On the modern double horn, the availability of pitch lowering valve action makes us less conscious of this directionality factor. Nevertheless, it is a fundamental aspect of the interrelated four-way process of tone and pitch production. The direction of the air stream is controlled by the jaw and teeth positions. Obviously, a slightly forward position of the lower teeth will direct the air more horizontally, while a receding jaw position will point the air stream correspondingly lower. Such jaw movements also alter the angle of the mouthpiece in relation to the air stream. It is in this connection that I have found a slight 'riding up' on the upper lip for the extreme high register very helpful. It too helps to direct the air stream in a more vertical line, at a reflection point in the cup which is closer to the rim than to the bore. The player should also guard against letting his cheeks puff or allowing air pockets to form behind either the upper or lower lips. I am also an advocate of the moist embouchure. Although at a beginner's stage this makes the high register harder to attain, eventually, as the muscles strengthen and a niche for the rim is found on the lower lip, this feeling of insecurity disappears. It will then be found that a moist embouchure gives the player greatly increased flexibility, especially in slurring. |
Jeff GarzaPrincipal Horn, Oregon Symphony |