Sharon, the first thing you have to check, is he mouth piece. Often, the mpc is too small in the inner diameter, as observed many times. Even the regular mps.If "one Dime" can be placed on top, the diameter should be appropriate. Next to check is the bore of the mpc. It should not be below 4,5 & not exceed 5,0 mms. Look in the internet for the conversion into US "drilling" measures.
Third, you should check, if you play the low notes below low c with a "relaxed but still controlled" embouchure, lips not "puckered" too much, and with enough lip opening. If the lips are "squeezed" into the mouth piece, no chance for these low notes. To produce the appropriate lip opening, try to pull open your lips by jaw down movement, while the mpc is on place. You will notice the positive effect immediately. Forget all these "low exercises", but do your regular scales exercises WITHOUT omitting the low range. Start your exercises from c1 downwards all the scales until f-major (noted) to arrive at the bottom F on the Bb-side and extend it to E, also on the Bb-side. These low notes sound very strong, even you do not feel them as loud. But the resonance is quite strong for these notes. Support them by releasing a bit more air, just a bit. Let it stream. Never just "fart" these notes out. It would sound ugly & be contra productive to your task. Good luck. If you have more questions, do not hesitate to ask me. Prof.Hans Pizka -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Sharon Curtis Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2003 11:14 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Hornlist] Low note practice I was wondering what other people had found most useful in practising low notes. (I feel suddenly inspired to practise them especially, what with Shostakovitch Symphony No.5 pedal E coming up in January.) In particular, I was wondering about: * what types of practice exercises are most useful * what sort of attack might work best, and the shape of the mouth * going down to low notes "cold" rather than working down to them * mouthpieces, and whether a different shape might help slightly At present I have the Farkas book which suggests some exercises, and I have a book of trombone studies for low practice, but some of the very low notes I have difficulty getting to speak in the first place, so I'm looking to improve on speaking in particular. Any comments on what worked for you, would be very welcome! Thanks, Sharon _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/hans.pizka%40t-online.de _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
