Cytat: Pop tones are fun, and easy.

If you pop the mouthpiece with your hand, you will get an idea. When played, pop tones sound like very soft palm pops but the actual pitches are there. No real tone.....just a pitch/pop. This indicates that the air column is instantly activated at the correct note setting. If you get a pop but no pitch, then your embouchure set was off a tiny bit. If the pitch is there but all you get is a "woosh" of air, then the tongue movement is too slow or inefficient in some way.

Playing loudly, but incorrectly, can hide a faulty attack because the sheer volume masks it. Ever wonder why the Arban, Clarke, et. al. exercises are mostly written at "p" or "mp"? Pop tones just take the concept of 100% clarity (perfectly instant and well placed) to the max. Then, when playing louder, the clarity is even easier.

I ALWAYS strive to have a pop present in my attacks. This is especially important for rhythmic clarity in soft, delicate passages such as lighter cornet solos, Haydn concerto, Hummel concerto, baroque works on piccolo, etc. If you listen to Maurice Andre playing very delicately, you will hear the little pops in the bell as he lightly articulates so cleanly.

Finally, you may want to look at Shuebruk's Graded Lip-Trainers. This book has a series of exercises designed to strengthen attacks.

I hope this helps - Hank

Cytat: Anatolyz wrote: I had some arguing with a trumpet colleague of mine and for resolving that issue i ask you all please to present your opinions ....
Should a trumpeter during playing - get rid of all the air till his stomach "going in" the very in( being out of air)...or one should have a "red line" of air...not spending totaly all the air..?(bringing to stomach being out all the playing time)?

Thanks trumpet pals:)

The answer is yes. And no.

Yes, one should blow until completely empty when playing an exercise designed to develop the blowing muscles, such as the Part 1 Exercises throughout Claude Gordon's book "Systematic Approach to Daily Practice". In these exercises one should blow until all the air is gone, and even longer, with an attempted crescendo at the end as one runs empty (until the muscles shake).

But no, when playing music, one should never allow oneself to get below half empty (unless an unusually long music phrase forces one to have to play beyond the point of being half-empty). The player that develops the good habit of never getting below half empty and always taking full, relaxed breaths will have vastly better endurance then the typical player who takes shallow breaths and is always on the wrong side of half-empty. Furthermore, when the player who always takes full breaths and never gets below half-empty turns the page of music in a show and finds a Top F staring at him, he'll have the support available to nail that F.

Sincerely,

John Mohan

john,
thanks for the explanation. i tend to build up carbon dioxide from having breathed in more air over a few phrases than is going out of the horn, and find places in the music to expel the air. i'm working on it. i'll try half-to-full approach..chuck

Cytat: studies have shown that its healthier to have a bmi at the high end of the 'healthy' range, rather than at the low end. people who do lots of cardio have low bmi's - is that healthy?

Cytat: i dont frankly care - my response was to a question asked by a guy who's physique/frame is similar to how mine was 2years ago. i gave advice based on my own experience, and my experience has been good, as i have gained an awful lot of weight and strength.

Cytat: im not trying to sound like some arrogant sh^t, but you guys arent training to gain mass/strength, so in same way i wouldnt try to advise someone on how to improve their race times, please dont force your 'you must do cardio or you will end up fat and unhealthy' standpoint on me.

Cytat: As to how much cardio im doing at present (im still building up my endurance), im getting at 16 mins three times a day, and building it up by 2 mins every second day.

Cytat: My other issue is concerning whole body workouts. When i look at myself in the mirror, my lower half is rather built (in comparison to my top half)... thats why i was focusing more on my top half. Im a violist (musician) and have developed pretty puny arms and wrists, that is why im focusing most on this region.

Cytat: The issue im having is this: I have heard that you shouldnt work out the entire body in a single workout, and since im going to the gym three times a week, im only working on the upper half (especially arms) every time i go. When would i fit in workouts to other parts of my body? It would seem that i would need to go the gym just about every day to work on each part of my body.

I dont know where you heard that you shouldnt work the entire body in one workout, but this is not really true. It all depends on how you train. And even if you mostly want to gain mass on your arms, dont put to much focus on them. I think it will be more beneficial to do heavy compund exercises like bench and barbell rowing, as you gain mass your arms will grow as well. It might be easier to give advice if you post your exercise regime, set and reps etc.

Cytat: ...The one thing that gets me is when single string notes or series of notes are mixed in with the strumming. This I struggle with horribly. I am happy just strumming and I think playing more will give me access to different rhythm patterns and shuffles and such.

The other thing I would like to learn is getting an idea of how and why certain chords go together. I now work mostly with I IV V progressions but don't know why and other than that I do what sounds good to me which is ok but there has to be some reason behind this. i have tried to read some theory and it is way above my head. I do like to make up my own rhythms and songs. I have lyrics to several songs and would love to put music to them, Don't know where to start. Matbe with time.

Again thanks for your time.

timp,

You're quite welcome.

Mixing notes with strumming is not going to help your quest for excellence in straight out rhythm stylings at the moment. Rather, it is a speed and dexterity issue, best left for future considerations. Like you said, you are struggling with it and so, such exercises at present will really mess you up with the timing of whatever it is you are attempting to play.

Way back when, I, like you, was frustrated with just playing I, IV and V progressions, being totally ignorant to all the surmised technicalities therein and my ever increasing exasperation for not having a clue. Do what I did: Stop worrying about it for the moment and remember that everyone one is their own worst critic. Never forget that! Allow yourself the logical progression musically where you take whatever time is personally necessary for you to learn to crawl before you attempt to crawl, to learn to walk before you attempt to walk and to learn to run before you attempt to run. Do NOT put yourself on some useless, self-imposed quota or deadline and certainly, don't start comparing yourself to or with others. Such things only serve to frazzle your brain and serve no constructive purpose.

Of course, always strive for improvement but at the same time, stop trying to compete with yourself and ENJOY what playing the guitar has to offer. We all have enough obligations stressing our lives without having to add another which, if put in the proper perspective, shall have the extreme opposite effect of a stressor.

Hang in there!

Hi Georgia,
Hope all is well. You certainly sound (judging by your latest post) like you have a spring in your step.
You ask about the term "Episodes". I guess everyone is different, but I can share with you my experiences of episodes. In fact I have just come back from the Doctors (Phyc) this Morning, and one of the exercises he asked me to do was record my state of emotion. I did this using excel and was able to present him with a line graph, capturing my mood swings over the last month. He was very impressed, and asked me for a copy of the file. Anyway.... I digress.... As always
What I actually recorded, in his words, "was a typical cycling of mood states, that a Type 2 Bipolar Patient would expect to go through." (Someone can correct me (him) though, if I'm wrong in using the word typical ??)
Anyway, this involved basically a triangular wave moving between a threshold generally between a 4 and 6. 1 to 10 being the extremes for me. 1 Depressive. 10 Manic.
There were 5 Manic Episodes each lasting about 8 hours and 4 Depressive Episodes each lasting about 5 hours. These were oddly enough, scattered equally throughout the 30 day period.
Unfortunately I cant draw the graph here or I would. I didn't look at the graph until this morning (just before my appointment) as my aim was to record at the end of each period, how I felt, and on a scale from 1 to 10 relative to my experienced mood state. (Morning, Afternoon and Night for 30 days)
So...... that's pretty much my experience. as far as "episodes" I guess.
I would certainly call the 5 Manic and 4 depressive states throughout the month as Episodes. They were annoying, I felt either Manic or Depressed, and they did get in the way of things. These generally were a 9 or a 2 respectively on my scale of 1 to 10.
The wavering up and down (Zigzag), was really an observation. Sure I could feel a change, but is was bearable. A mild inconvenience one might say.
I now have to do the same thing again (using my spreadsheet and graph), and see how I go with a mood stabilizer. Up until now I have been on nothing more than a glorified sedative to help me sleep at night.... In other words, to stop me lying awake at night worrying about silly things... For example, something someone has said the previous day, why the power bill is higher than expected... ect... Silly things really.
Anyway I hope this helps. Take care and hope to hear from you soon.
xox
Pete

Your questions focus specifically on grammar and pronunciation, but there are other aspects to consider depending on what level or type (e.g. Business, Academic) of English you are teaching.
As a teacher of English as a Second Language you will not only be teaching grammar, vocabulary and speaking. You will also be teaching reading, writing, listening and paraphrasing amongst other things (don't panic about all this though, it all gets easier and should be fun).
Writing seems to be a very difficult area, even for highly proficient speakers. This always surprises me, as I would have thought that something which takes time and consideration would turn out better than something spontaneous (i.e speaking). It may have a lot to do with the fact that writing has certain conventions. Some interesting examples include the flowery way Argentinians begin letters ("May I have the honour of introducing myself...") and the way Poles begin essays with "I would like to present..." which sounds like a talk rather than a piece of writing.
Students need to be encouraged to read more because they frequently have an inflated opinion of their abillity based on either their use of internet chatrooms or the fact that they get high marks for reading homework. The latter is a false indicator of ability as they have more time to do homework than they have for doing reading exams or real life reading situations.
Listening exercises present difficulties because of non-standard accents. Students cannot tell where an accent is from (they frequently confuse scouse with Scottish) and classroom and exam exercises often use a range of accents in order to be realistic, so they need to be prepared for West Indian, Indian, Geordie, Australian, Welsh and other non-standard accents.
As for grammar, the most common problem is articles. Some languages have different rules ('L'amour" for example as opposed to simply "love") while others, like Polish, don't have articles at all and sometimes consider them pointless no matter what the grammar books say. Try and convince them that articles are equal in importance and value to posessives ("my", "its", "Joan's") and demonstratives ("this", "that"), which tend to exist in most languages. They will never get used to articles quickly, so train them also to re-check and edit their writing as they are more likely to produce accurate writing after re-reading.

Hallo iedereen!

It has been a hard week. I was surpised that the other students had started the course a week earlier so I have missed the introduction and four exercises, I have to do these exercises in my own time as homework as well as homework for present lessons.

In the group there is 5 students (including myself), it is nice to speak with people from all parts of the world. The nationalities of these students are turkish, polish, african and spanish and their english is pretty good but we all have to speak dutch all the time in class. We have 3 teachers who are very friendly and helpful when asked if we do not understand something.

Everyone has to take alternative turns in reading out the worksheet questions as well as answering. We also do the written work on our own or in a group and the computer work we do ourselves which is basically what we have covered in the lesson but this is more of listening, speaking and typing in the correct info.

I really like this course as it covers every day things, the basic ways of living, what to say, what to do etc...the worksheets exercises are fun to do as there is crosswords etc/pics, it is not just reading paragraphs all the time and the thing I like about this course the most, you are not just learning words, you first learn about basic sentence structure and standard grammar.

I found out on Friday that the non-eu students will be provided and paid for with the course books and software cds on Monday as it is compulsory for them to study dutch. Since I am from the EU, I have to pay for and order the course books and cds myself, so I will get mine on Thursday from the bookstore, fingers crossed. I think and hope the software will be the same as what we use in class as it is very easy to use.

What we have covered so far is very similar to what is in the course book. The exercises are good because what you have learned so far is continued throughout the exercises to help you remember and not forget. I found it hard at first to talk dutch but now I have done it for a week, I am not so shy as I can talk a little dutch with my new family now. Everyone is so proud of me and I am proud of myself as I have never taken an interest in studying a challenging language before. I hope this enables me to obtain a good job in the future.

I also found out that my course finishes in July, so heres hoping by then I can talk/write good dutch.

Cytat: ...The one thing that gets me is when single string notes or series of notes are mixed in with the strumming. This I struggle with horribly. I am happy just strumming and I think playing more will give me access to different rhythm patterns and shuffles and such.

The other thing I would like to learn is getting an idea of how and why certain chords go together. I now work mostly with I IV V progressions but don't know why and other than that I do what sounds good to me which is ok but there has to be some reason behind this. i have tried to read some theory and it is way above my head. I do like to make up my own rhythms and songs. I have lyrics to several songs and would love to put music to them, Don't know where to start. Matbe with time.

Again thanks for your time.

timp,

You're quite welcome.

Mixing notes with strumming is not going to help your quest for excellence in straight out rhythm stylings at the moment. Rather, it is a speed and dexterity issue, best left for future considerations. Like you said, you are struggling with it and so, such exercises at present will really mess you up with the timing of whatever it is you are attempting to play.

Way back when, I, like you, was frustrated with just playing I, IV and V progressions, being totally ignorant to all the surmised technicalities therein and my ever increasing exasperation for not having a clue. Do what I did: Stop worrying about it for the moment and remember that everyone one is their own worst critic. Never forget that! Allow yourself the logical progression musically where you take whatever time is personally necessary for you to learn to crawl before you attempt to crawl, to learn to walk before you attempt to walk and to learn to run before you attempt to run. Do NOT put yourself on some useless, self-imposed quota or deadline and certainly, don't start comparing yourself to or with others. Such things only serve to frazzle your brain and serve no constructive purpose.

Of course, always strive for improvement but at the same time, stop trying to compete with yourself and ENJOY what playing the guitar has to offer. We all have enough obligations stressing our lives without having to add another which, if put in the proper perspective, shall have the extreme opposite effect of a stressor.

Hang in there!

Cytat: finally a log here so i can spy on your progress MUHAHAHAAAA!!!11!!1!!!

Mayyybe... or maybe it was my evil plan all along for you to believe that
I might write down false numbers to confuse you. Lower numbers to give you a false feeling of safety. Or crazy high numbers to discourage you You'll never know until it's too late...

Today i had my first strongman training session ever

In total i enjoyed it. Problem was the cold and esp. the wind outside. Therefore i had to reduce the breaks between sets for <90sec to stay warm.
I also was very weak today, just a bad day. Due to little eating the past few days i guess, plus i had a bad night. No excuses though.

General warm-up:
Carrying the plates and yoke down to the street
Jumping jacks, squats, knee raises, pushups etc.

Yoke walk:
warm-up: 52kg x40m, 92kg x40m, 132kg x40m.
working sets: 172kg 5x20m. The first set was to try the weight, as i have done yoke only once before, last may. The first set felt heavy, but every single set was easier than the one before, as i got into the groove. Next week more weight, maybe something like 172, 182, 192, 182, 172 for working sets instead of 182/192 x5.

Log press:
warm-up: Carrying the yoke and weights back from the street into the shed I was quite tired after that
wee log: 30kg x6, 3, 50kg x3, 60kg x1.
working sets:
big log: 65kg xf, f, f Was just too weak today to press it. Cleaning not a problem, but the sucker presses the air out of me.
Switched to the wee log again: 70kg xf. Dammit Not today, but i know i can do that on a better day.
60kg x 3, 4, 3. Set down the log after each rep in the last set, to do full reps including clean as it will be in the comp (only that it will be an 80kg big log with which i'll get 0 reps anyway ).

Stones:
105kg stone: 1, 1, 1, 2, 2 reps, one minute breaks in between.
No platform, i just lifted it up high and put it down again. The very first rep was quite hard, but all other first reps/singles were really easy. The problem was that i wore 6 layers and 2 trousers due to the cold weather, so the stone kept slipping which made it harder.

Abs, stretching (inside! ).

Good session overall, not bad for the first time. Doing the yoke, I felt muscles in my legs and hips that i never trained before. Good idea to not start too heavy and get into it by volume.

I used my christmas present for the first time:
My training journal

My first entry: Today's cartoon:

Looking forward to the next training!
I feel not as tired as usual, maybe that's because i've never done only 3 exercises before

Agreed.

I finally started working out of the book this past week. While my schedule (work, personal, and playing) has been horrific so I've not had the time I'd like with it, I find myself surprised by how cleverly it's laid out. After reading the material up front, there are additional notes throughout, and the material is arranged so that you can focus on a number of areas and hit them where you need them, be it range, articulation, dynamics -- you name it!

I find myself starting some of the studies at different "focal points" depending on my abilities to handle certain exercises (or not). Of the many tens of method books I have, I can count on one hand (OK, maybe two, but a small fraction of the total) the ones that cover such a broad range of different exercises and provide enough actual printed exercises to make it easy to start where's needed, both for my level of development and to allow for those "cool" and "hot" days that pop up.

IMO, too many books present one line then say "do this in all keys" or some such... I personally appreciate being able to pick up a book like Focal Point and simply focus on the music on the page. One less thing to think about, and I can focus on sound while following the exercise printed out instead of going "wow, that was good/bad, which note did I start on, and what's that progression again?" There are pluses and minuses to this approach, of course, and I don't always want/need everything printed out (especially if it leads to books much thicker than the shelf on my stand ), but it works very well in Focal Point.

And, just to mention it again, the sheer breadth of exercises in Focal Point is amazing. Guaranteed to find a few weak areas, humbling little exercises, and even a few strengths. The breadth also provides a very balanced practice session, another thing that's all too easy to let slide...

Bravo, Rich. - Don

Robert D. Weast, my former teacher at Drake University used to publish a magazine for 8 years called Brass World.
He stopped publication in the late 70's
I believe it was a quarterly magazine.

There is much historical value, including the advertisements, interviews with famous trumpeters, including his teacher, Maurice Andre.

I have discussed with him making them available on a CD, like ITG does for all of its magazines.

Would anybody be interested?

What would be a reasonable fee?

More about Robert Weast:
Professor emeritus at Drake University.

Prior to ITG, there was the National Trumpet Symposium.
Robert Weast was chairman from 1971 to 1976.

He was a student of Maurice Andre at the Paris Conservatory

He was a clinician for Olds trumpets

He has published several brass books:

Brass Performance by Robert D. Weast. McGinnis & Marx, 1965, SS, 87 pages. An analytical text of the physical processes, problems and technique of brass. Its purpose is to define and evaluate the basic principles of the brass players' physical performance and present them in practical applications. The main topics, which are covered in detail, are tone production, the embouchure, air dynamics, diagnostic and remedial procedures, specifics of brass, and a precise guide to controlled playing.

Keys to Natural Performance for Brass Players by Robert D. Weast. McGinnis & Marx, SS, 63 pages. The book contains instruction and exercises designed to promote "natural performance" which will lead one to reach their full potential. Topics (many with musical exercises) include: Chromaticism: Key to Correct Response, Repetition Key to Consistency, Timing and Coordination, The Pressurized Air Column, Mouthpiece Pressure, The Warm-Up, Strength and Endurance, Awareness Performance, The Growing Edge of Development, The Aural Image, and Learning Through Analogous Experience.

Valuable Repetitions for Brass Players by Robert D. Weast. The Brass World, 1980, SS, 80 pages. The author has selected scales, chords, note markings, tonguing and rhythms from the body of performance techniques. They have been reduced to their simplest form and presented in exercises that feature repetitions. This books is for all brass players and all exercises are in both treble and bass clefs.

I may soon be selling them as well.
Email me if interested:

Hey everyone,

Well it has happened. Over the last few years I have been pursuing a Music Education degree and I am now currently teaching Middle School band. I wanted to pick people brains about how to present certain ideas and concepts for students at the 6 - 7th grade level.

One of my biggest realization about teaching so far is the simple fact that even though I play trumpet extremely well, I find it hard to troubleshoot and correct some horrendous habits some of my students have. Why? I honestly think it is simply because it came so easy for me when I started that I don't really understand some of the issues people face. The other problem is that working in an inner school, there is no such thing and pullout lessons ans such. Every concept and ideas must be imparted in a 45 minute period to all different sections five times a week. Let just say I have new found respect for my former band directors.

Another issue is not getting to analytical with diagnosing issues because as we all know that just leads to more confusion. What follows are some issues that are occurring with my brass sections that I cannot seem to be able to rectify. Most of these students have not been taught by scratch from me but I inherited them from a band director who cared more about the notes than establishing good foundations. Here goes...

1. Proper supporting notes without producing a blaty unfocused sound.
2. Articulation (i.e. understanding they need to use their tongue to just interrupt the air stream instead of stopping it)
3. Pitch accuracy: even though many have been playing for over a year, they are still finding notes instead of knowing exactly where it is. I tried singing, which is near impossible to make them to do, and buzzing (cannot even glide between notes).
4. Overblowing

Any advice on simple imagery and exercises I can use would greatly be helpful.

Another fear is my beginning band. How should I introduce concepts and ensure proper playing habits. Should I start with buzzing on the lips or the mouthpiece. What concepts should I tell students that is not too complicated to show them that blowing like crazy doesn't get that much sound. How can I get their embouchure strong enough that they can play a full C major octave in say a month and a half. What warmups, exercises, etc, should I give my groups and when should I introduce them.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

John

I think all the arguments about various biofuels or green options are largely academic.

Things could be likely to go Pete Tong long before any of those solutions will come online.

The Israeli ministry of defence recently asked for a lot of money because it plans/forsees a lot of commitments in the coming financial year. Israel also had not incosiderable influence and interest on the ground in Georgia recently, and of course has a certain nuclear reactor in its bombsights, and has even played exercises to that end, which of course reassure the owners of said reactor nicely.

Pakistan, another nuclear country with certain strategic importance in the global war on error is in trouble this morning again.

The Poles, aware of how many times they've been offed from the map in the last few centuries, have just agreed to the US ABMs being stationed there.

Yuschenko, aware of Moscow's spotless history in Ukraine has offered use of its missile warning systems to western Europe. If it doesn't join NATO, it can expect trouble. If it does, we could all expect trouble, or at least the destruction of NATO because countries wouldn't honour the article 5 commitments.

...Seeing as Europe is worried about the gas bill from Russia. A key part of the recent war in Georgia was devoted to shutting down the BP pipeline. Back in Moscow, BP employees have been accused and arrested as being CIA agents several times in the last year or so.

On the flipside, MI5 are concerned that Russia has the highest number of intelligence officers on the ground in London since the late eighties. Whether the same is true in Moscow, who knows.

I think certain people in Whitehall are painfully aware that the armed forces and NATO are in no position to deal with even present commitments, let alone the spectre of a new cold war, other than tweaking Trident. Unfortunately nobody told David Milliband this shoddy state of affairs before he slagged off the Russians.

The UK expects a recession, as does the US, not entirely unconnected to rising energy and food prices. The scary thing is, if the Iraq war was about oil, in twenty years time, people are likely to applaud it as prescient.

So unless conversations about CHP, solar, wind power etc. were taken seriously at the highest level about ten years ago at the latest, forget it. They weren't then, and they're not now. Nuclear power is probably going to feature heavily out of necessity. Unfortunately, the multiple-reentry instant-sunshine type of nuclear power may do as well.

I suggest this PRVF be in the Southern hemisphere, and have substantial stockpiles of food well above above sea level. Anyone have Infinity foods on speed-dial?

You can't spot reduce weight. Nutrition/diet and a combination of weight training, bodyweight exercises, and cardio help reduce bodyfat.

What type of exercises do you like to do? How long have you been working out and what does your present and past exercise routines look like?

Could you formally introduct yourself in the New member introduction section. We look forward to meeting you.

Ben:

Players who don't agree can describe to you here very well what they feel when they play.

The bottom line is that you have to work it out in your daily practice with a progressive, systematic routine.

If you start out tense in the staff, and continue to attempt to go higher in an improper manner, you only get more tense the higher you go.

"During my professional experience of many years, I found it advisable to change my method of playing ... a number of times. My constant aim was to produce proper results in an easy manner and through a common sense method of playing..." - Herbert L. Clarke form Preface of Setting Up Drills.

"The Tongue...must function with the muscles of the lips when contracting and relaxing." - Herbert L. Clarke page 3 Third Vital Point of Setting Up Drills.

I view of the above I would make every effort to relax your lower jaw which will in turn produce more forward, relaxed lips before mouthpiece placement. Then strive to allow the tongue a more relaxed and natural position at the mouth floor. Do not force the tongue tip to be anchored or pressed firmly against the back of the lower teeth, but allow it to float, sometimes even between the teeth and slightly touching the lower lip. Some say the tongue has to stay out of the way of the air, but it channels the pitch!

By the way, the Wedge mouthpiece is one of the best equipment antidotes to a "tense in the staff", smile-type embouchure. It fosters a relaxed forward pucker feel. Actually, I don't like the term "pucker" as that is tense at the opposite end of the spectrum from "smile".

"1. The air does the work. 2. The tongue channels the pitch." - Claude Gordon page 24 of Brass Playing Is No Harder Than Deep Breathing

Perhaps you have too much tension in the staff. If so, perhaps you need to work on pedals to help readjust your embouchure. Can you start on a G on top of the staff and play a three octave descending major scale down to pedal G without losing the vibration or shifting to a different mouthpiece setting? If not, then you most likely need to develop it until you can in a relaxed manner.

It may also be the case that you may be attempting Colin Flexibility Exercises that are too advanced for you at the present time. In that case, Embouchure Builder by Lowell Little and Fundamental Flexibility Studies will help you restart and build a more efficient and relaxed foundation on which to build.

Cytat: An interesting post.

Only last night I played the lead pad on a couple of tunes - afterwards our lead guy told me i had a good sound for such stuff. I replied that could be true but that I was struggling with my range and with getting the brightness of sound for the chart. i play a Bach 1 1/2 on a strad and i think I am perfectly capable of developing on this kit in the lead area of things. He gave me a couple of pieces and said try these - currys, shallow. I tried - awful, and he confirmed i sounded better on my original equipment.

It seems Jason that you're saying a good way to go is to be able to play on smaller or larger pieces, depending on the situation. This sounds desirable/ realisitic. I however simply cant play on smaller mouthpieces than 1 - 3cs - just not happening for me. Furthermore my endurance suffers greatly, the smaller I go.

I am no pro but i have a good sound and reasonable chops. i am also open to suggestion although my present set up is ok. How does one go about adjusting to smaller pieces, seemingly at the sacrifice of your sound?

G

For me it was a combination of a few things. First was being aware that I had a problem and then focusing on fixing it. My lips were descending into the cup so I had to figure out how to stop that from happening. Besides just starting to gradually downsize I starting doing a lot of lip, or "pu" and starting doing a little bit of simple Stamp type exercises (lip buzzing to mouthpiece buzzing to the horn) on the first page of the Michael Sachs book. I starting doing more mouthpiece playing, especially extremely short notes to focus on the attack. This is great for intonation and for making sure that there is a good lip pop at the very beginning of the note. I also started trying to play the mouthpiece very quietly. Basically, I did a lot of exercises aimed at getting control of my lips. Improvement happened fairly quickly.

Jason

and Good Afternoon, Ladies and Resident Alien!

Funny how a genealogy question will bring me out of the woodwork!

Grammybug, Runners has it right--biologically, genetically and genealogically speaking, he is your great-nephew and nothing can change that. However, legally, by adoption, he is also your nephew and you can certainly refer to him as that in situations where biological/genealogical precision is not required.

And Congratulations! on getting the job.

The last few days I've been KUOP (keeping up with posts) but mostly busy eating several elephants. Yes, I know. One bite at a time!

There's the elephant we all deal with daily, AKA the 3 D's, and since today is my laundry day I'm up and down stairs tending that. But I pretty much am staying on top of these.

There's the elephant labeled "physiotherapy exercises", which consumes about 25 minutes per set, and I'm supposed to do three sets a day--for ONE MORE WEEK! And then I can go to maintenance once a day . . .
until the second hip surgery early in August, and then we're back to square one again.

There are four small elephants I'm riding herd on. Two are now under control and the third is nearly there.

Then there is the herd of enormous elephants collectively known as "dealing with the CHAOS in this house." That breaks down into:
(roughly in descending order of size)

All the stuff which had to be shifted when I had the laundry room/basement renovations last winter. Underlying this elephant is all the other stuff in the Rec Room, the storage room and the back basement.

All the stuff in the den/craft room

All the stuff in my study

All the stuff in my bedroom upstairs

Smaller elephants include the stuff in the upstairs hall closet, in the kitchen, in the living room, in the dining room, and in the bedroom I'm currently using.

98% of the elephant-type "stuff" in the last is the residue of Starrball's tenancy, and right now it's a very low priority. I may eventually dump it all in boxes and say "Here. YOU deal with it."

Not even thinking about the "stuff" in DS' room!

At present I'm working on the stuff from the renovations and in my study. The rest will wait its turn.

And of course this will all grind to a halt when I have that second surgery.

In other news of note, we finally got the cats to the vet this afternoon for their annual checkup. FatCat has lost 4 lbs! From a high of 28 lbs, he dropped the first year to 24, held for a year, and now has dropped again. SmallCat has lost about 6 ounces, but she is no longer barely half his size.

I know there were a couple of other things I wanted to comment on, but they've slipped my mind. I'll have to go re-read.

RULES

1. Find three that play the same in unaltered state.
2. Alter one - document change - write it down - you WILL lose track - label mouthpiece with masking tape as altered, and what you did to it for later reference.
3. Play it - determine what you like by playing a set series of excerpts, slurs, etc. BE certain to play the same set of excerpts, exercises, etc. in the same exact way. Don't play different things, you'll mess with the test. Don't pick things you "hope to improve". Pick things that you already play well, and know well, so that the differences in playing characteristics are apparent immediately.
4. IF you like it, alter a second similarly. If they match, and you like both, great. Continue tests with #1 and #2. IF they don't, the mouthpieces did not match from beginning, which means additional variable are in the mix (the unaltered mouthpiece was likely similar, but for different characteristic in backbore, cup shape, etc.)
5. If they don't match, alter the third one. If the third one altered matches, then continue with #1 and #3, and set #2 aside.
6. If alterations match, and you still want to alter because it feels "better", does more, etc., then alter the #1 mouthpiece again, and record results, document on paper and masking tape, and play as before.
7. If you like this change, before altering #2 or #3, pick out something you have played musically that you were hoping to improve through an alteration of the mouthpiece, and see if the desired effect is present. IF it is, or if the change is starting to get better, try the mouthpiece that matched from the first round of testing, and make sure the second round alteration does indeed make the difference. If that test is successful (which means the #1 mouthpiece still plays better than #2 or #3), then alter the #2 or #3 mouthpiece to match the original, and try it. If the result is the same, continue process of altering the #1 mouthpiece, testing, and then altering the second or third to match. This way, you keep a "control" mouthpiece unaltered, and in doing so, always have a mouthpiece that is better than the original, and is altered to the point that it works well. You can go too far, and the first mouthpiece is usually the sacrificial lamb, so to speak.
8. Once you find an alteration you like, play it for two-three weeks to insure you like it. If you do, send the altered mouthpiece off to a good custom mouthpiece maker/copy maker and have it measured and duplicated. Tell the maker what you settled on for this mouthpiece, and ask him/her during the process to examine the piece for irregularities. They generally have the ability to make greater measurements than we do in our homes and studios.
9. NEVER use an electric drill for alterations. If you are good with a drill press and own one, that's ok. If not, hand alterations are preferred, as you have more control than with a drill.

This method of approach should limit the paperweights to one every time, and not ten or twelve through a haphazard approach.

Hi, Bieneke

You wrote: "By "taalklas.nl grammar and exercises topic", do you mean grammar explanations and exercises based on content of the taalklas.nl website?"

Exactly it!

My idea is someone who knows Dutch very well create exercises for each lesson. I studied just lessons 1 and 2. I could understand that there are 3 parts each lesson:

a) vocabulary. Lesson 1, "De Huis", has 20 new words such het huis, de deur, de muur, de huiskamer, de tafel, de stoel, de kapstok, de trap, de keuken, het water, etc... It is great the way they teach them. I could listen, write and know all of them perfectly, including soft differences like "de douche" and "de doos" (lesson1), or "het oog" and "het oor" (lesson2)

b) phrases. Lesson 1 gave us 16 such these:
- De muis is in de doos;
- De muis zit wel op de doos;
- De muis zit niet onder de doos;
- Kees gaat naar boven;
- Linda en Sanne gaan naar beneden;
- Tim helpt in de keuken.
- Kees is in de badkamer.

c) the numbers from 0 to 10 on lesson 1, and from 11 to 20 on lesson 2.

Dit is moeilijk!! I copy the phrases to BabelFish translator from Dutch to English and then I can understand better what they mean...

There is not a grammar content to be studied in paralel. Taalklass.nl did not explain the differences between "de" and "het". I thought "de" was a masculine article and "het" the female one.

Another example:
- Kees gaat naar boven;
- Linda en Sanne gaan naar beneden;
"Kees" is "he". "Linda en Sanne" are "they". Taalklass does not teach personal pronoums, and also does not teach all present tense of the verb "to go" (= gaat, gaan). Two wonderful phrases to teach the verb and its conjugation. But I don´t know how to say:
I go up/down
you go up/down
he/she/it goes up/down
we go up/down
you go up/down
they go up/down

There are 25 words, parts of the body, on Lesson 2. And 12 phrases. These are just 4 of them:
- Sanne kamt het haar.
- Het haar is kort.
- Het haar is lang.
- Linda knipt haar nagels.

Great chance to teach possessive pronoums... As I said at my last post, why not teach something like this?
I cut my nails
you cut your hair
he/she/it cuts his/her/its trees
we cut our flowers
you cut your papers
they cut their clothes

That's because I propose the creation of a topic such a "textbook" based on taalklas.nl. I may repeat in loud voice all words and phrases and get a perfect pronunciation as if I lived all my life in Amsterdam, but I really want to know what I am saying, and more, I want to be able to create new phrases to express myself correctly.

That's why I'm asking DutchGrammar help

Again, forgive my English mistakes.