Rocco, Roger. Brass Pedagogy and Performance Practices (blog) This site is dedicated to the memory of Arnold Jacobs. These concepts are published to fulfill my promise to "Jake" a few months before his death in 1998. "Your work will continue through your students." Harvey Phillips, "Arnold Jacobs is our national treasure." Friday, April 19, 2013 THE PARALYZING IMPACT OF AIR AND EMBOUCHURE ANALYSIS BRASS PLAYERS WORLDWIDE MOURN THE PASSING OF ADOLPH HERSETH ON APRIL 13, 2013. THOSE WHO WERE FORTUNATE TO SHARE A STAGE WITH “BUD” KNOW THE MAGNITUDE OF HIS GREATNESS AS AN ARTIST PLAYING THE TRUMPET AND HIS INSPIRATIONAL MUSICAL LEADERSHIP. BUD'S PROFOUND INFLUENCE WILL IMPACT MY WORK FOREVER. BUD AND JAKE ARE TOGETHER AGAIN. Adolph Herseth There is nothing wrong with your chops. Your mind is messing them up. Paralysis by Analysis. When encountering problems technically or musically, first sing (vocally) then buzz (mouthpiece).Transfer the singing and buzzing to the instrument. Arnold Jacobs I believe that it is best to be somewhat unconscious of our physical maneuvers but highly conscious of our musical goals. We must not give dominance to the instrument or our various body parts. We must give dominance only to the music. Roger Rocco THE BRASS TRILOGY 1. There is no reason for success or failure other than our state of mind. 2. Sound motivates function. 3. It’s just the singing. Self-doubt is a self-inflicted wound that results from an expectation of failure. We always realize our expectations. In over forty-five years of teaching, no inexperienced young wind player has ever asked me one question about air or embouchure. However, countless more experienced musicians have said that they have air or embouchure malfunction because someone told them so. Much of my current teaching is directed to professional brass and woodwind players worldwide who have lost their ability to function. They have been told by other musicians, teachers, and the medical community, that they have Focal Dystonia, an incurable neurological condition. Sometimes they are needlessly prescribed injections into their embouchure. With the exception of some woodwind players who experience paralysis in their hands, most wind players experience the symptoms of tongue, air, or embouchure malfunction. Often they are advised by teachers or the medical community that they cannot continue their career. THE MORE A MUSICIAN CONSCIOUSLY ATTEMPTS TO CORRECT THEIR SYMPTOMS OF FAILURE, THE WORSE THEIR PARALYSIS BECOMES. IN EVERY INSTANCE, THEY HAVE CONSCIOUSLY ANALYZED THEIR TONGUE, EMBOUCHURE, AIR, OR HANDS UNTIL THEY BECAME PARALYZED. TRAGICALLY, PARALYZING SELF ANALYSIS IS PRESCRIBED AND ENCOURAGED BY MANY TEACHERS AND MUSIC SCHOOLS WORLDWIDE. When giving a lecture or masterclass, I frequently ask attendees if they think they have air or embouchure problems or if they have been told they have problems. I’m not surprised that about one third of the musicians in the group respond affirmatively. I always assure them that there is nothing wrong with their malfunctioning body parts. Their physical symptoms of failure are the result of a problem with their conscious state of mind. I HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED ANY WIND PLAYER WHO HAD ANYTHING PHYSICALLY WRONG WITH THEIR EMBOUCHURE, FINGERS, TONGUE, OR ABILITY TO EXPEL AIR. HOWEVER, I HAVE ENCOUNTERED MANY MUSICIANS WHO THINK THEY HAVE SOMETHING PHYSICALLY WRONG. THEIR PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS OF FAILURE ARE THE RESULT OF AN INEFFECTIVE STATE OF MIND. Several years ago a professional trumpet player contacted me regarding his "embouchure dystonia". His first words just before his initial lesson were, "Roger, I have bad news. I have just returned from the doctor. He told me there is nothing physically wrong with my chops." I replied, "That's the good news!" A teacher once told me that if I could cut the tongue out of my mouth, I would be a good brass player. Yes, my tongue was not functioning well to articulate notes playing the tuba. However, I had no problems when I used my tongue to talk or chew food. THERE WAS NOTHING PHYSICALLY WRONG WITH MY TONGUE. Another teacher noticed that I was not breathing well so he told me to sit in front of a mirror and observe the expansion and contraction of my chest and stomach. A week later at my next lesson, I told him that the visual analysis he had prescribed, paralyzed me to the point that I could barely play. He angrily exclaimed that if I didn’t do the visual analysis, I would never play. I WAS QUITE HEALTHY,SO IT WAS OBVIOUS THERE WAS NOTHING PHYSICALLY WRONG WITH MY ABILITY TO INHALE OR EXPEL AIR FROM MY LUNGS. Still another teacher told me that I had embouchure problems because there wasn’t enough room between my upper lip and nose to shift the mouthpiece 2/3 upper lip-1/3 lower lip. He told me to cut the upper rim of my mouthpiece so there would be room to move it higher on my face. THERE WAS NOTHING PHYSICALLY WRONG WITH WHERE I COMFORTABLY PLACED THE MOUTHPIECE ON MY LIPS WITHOUT SHIFTING UP OR DOWN. There is plenty of air at your lips when you play cracked (“rejected”) notes. You are an expert breather. You have been breathing to sustain your life for a long time. Arnold Jacobs The key to playing well is found in speech. No child studies their breathing, tongue manipulation, or vocal chords in order to say words. Their ability to speak is motivated by their awareness of the sound of words. It’s the conscious awareness of the sound of words that motivates the subconscious mind to execute all the physical mechanics that are required to speak. THE DETECTABLE vs. THE UNDETECTABLE ELEMENTS OF PLAYING We are all familiar with the “toys” many brass teachers use to detect air and embouchure. They include embouchure magnifying mirrors, clear plastic mouthpieces, embouchure visualizing rims, bags, balloons, tubes, respirometers, and other medical devices. In all my years as a professional musician and teacher, I have never once observed a competent brass player using any visual or mechanical devises. The only brass players I have seen using them are those who are struggling to play. These devices are useless because they attempt to substitute weak conscious awareness of playing mechanics for a powerful conscious awareness of sound. The subconscious mind has complete awareness and command of all the mechanical skills that are necessary to play an instrument or do anything else. Those skills are motivated by sound not paralyzing analysis. To motivate complex mechanical function the subconscious reactive mind is much more powerful than the conscious intellectual mind. A flea has no intellect yet it can execute great mechanical skill in order to fly. Our subconscious mind skillfully execute thousands of commands to our various body parts to sustain life, walk, or talk . Substituting weak conscious intellect for powerful subconscious function inevitably results in failure. We must not bypass the immense power of the subconscious reactive mind by attempting to substitute with weak conscious intellect. We cannot detect motion or pressure of air, muscular manipulations, or frequency of pitch using the sense of feel which is relatively weak compared to the senses of sight or sound. To an extent, we can detect air flow and pressure away from playing by blowing on our hands or into a mechanical device. However, there is very little ability to detect air flow or pressure while playing. We have great ability to detect sound as we play. Awareness of sound is a powerful motivator mechanical function. Feel and fail are four letter words to a brass player. Attempting to play by feel is like trying to empty a swimming pool with a straw. When you try to play by feel, you are going the wrong way down a one way street. Arnold Jacobs We cannot motivate function through the use of sensory symptoms. We must motivate function through motor (muscular) systems. The use of mechanical “toys” attempts to bring awareness of playing mechanics to the sense of sight. There is an important reason why there are no mechanical devises or mirrors in my studio. WE CANNOT PLAY AN INSTRUMENT BY MOTIVATING THE SENSES OF SIGHT OR FEEL. OUR GOAL PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT IS TO PRODUCE SOUND. AWARENESS OF SOUND MUST BE THE MOTIVATING ELEMENT. WE HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL FOR AWARENESS OF SOUND IN OUR IMAGINATION. THE SOUND THAT WE PRODUCE EXTERNALLY WITH AN INSTRUMENT MUST ORIGINATE INTERNALLY IN OUR IMAGINATIVE MIND. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE THE COURAGE TO FOCUS PRIMARILY ON THE SOUND OF THE INTERNAL INSTRUMENT. IF WE ARE LISTENING TOO INTENTLY THE EXTERNAL INSTRUMENT, WE WILL ATTEMPT TO CREATE FUNCTION WITH SENSORY AWARENESS. FAILURE WILL BE THE INEVITABLE RESULT BECAUSE ONLY SOUND AWARENESS WILL MOTIVATE FUNCTION. Some teachers use the sense of sight by using mechanical devises to distract the student from the paralysis resulting from their intellectual analysis. I have found that non-musical mechanical devises take the player further away from the sound rather than bring them closer to it. All of the devises in my studio are instruments that function only to create musical sounds. Their purpose is not to become more aware of air or body parts. Awareness of sound is the ultimate distraction from paralyzing analysis because it directly and powerfully motivates the mechanical skill required to produce sound. Adolph Herseth Think sound not mechanics. Roger Rocco Sound motivates function. Imagination is much more powerful than intellect. IMAGINATION vs. INTELLECT Arnold Jacobs We can have an intellectual understanding of the music but we must not be intellectual about how to produce it. We must have the (non-intellectual) mind of a child.