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lauriet
Posts: 73
Joined: May 06, 2018

by lauriet »

I'm working on:

Keep the air flowing through out the passage, and use the tongue to interrupt the air to produce the notes.

Should I blow like blowing through a straw OR

should I blow like I'm misting a mirror / sighing out ???
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Doug_Elliott
Posts: 4155
Joined: Mar 22, 2018

by Doug_Elliott »

Yes

You can think about it either way.

I prefer to think of it as continuous sound. As in "Keep the sound flowing throughout the passage"

But use whichever works for you.
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sirisobhakya
Posts: 445
Joined: Jun 11, 2018

by sirisobhakya »

I use blowing through straw feeling with high notes and fogging mirror feeling with low notes.
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u_2bobone
Posts: 474
Joined: Mar 25, 2018

by u_2bobone »

Visualization can be very useful in this regard. Go on YouTube and find a cello recital. Observe the player's bow action. If it isn't moving, there is NO sound. That bow is YOUR airstream. Happy music-making !
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Kbiggs
Posts: 1768
Joined: Mar 24, 2018

by Kbiggs »

I’d say a combination of the two. The aperture of the embouchure is pretty small, often smaller than the hole of a straw. A lot of what we play in the middle to upper register might feel similar to blowing through a straw.

Personally, I don’t like the idea of fogging a mirror, but that’s my experience. The jaw drops down too far. However, the feeling of fogging a mirror is helpful, especially the relaxation in the throat and oropharyngeal area (back of the mouth before the esophagus starts, and above the voicebox).

Fogging a mirror while blowing through a straw... maybe...
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GabrielRice
Posts: 1496
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by GabrielRice »

[quote="2bobone"]Visualization can be very useful in this regard. Go on YouTube and find a cello recital. Observe the player's bow action. If it isn't moving, there is NO sound. That bow is YOUR airstream. Happy music-making ![/quote]

Yes!

I've stopped blowing entirely. I think about keeping the air moving and maintaining contact with the vibration, just as the bow is moving and maintaining contact with the string.
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baileyman
Posts: 1169
Joined: Mar 24, 2018

by baileyman »

The care and feeding of the buzz...