So what is actually happening when playing low pitches?
- Wayne
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Mar 22, 2025
I see several threads on high note playing, which makes sense as that is where a lot of players struggle and where a lot of public embarrassment happens.
However a lot of a player's work on third trombone or even second trombone happens in and below the staff.
If high range is about creating a faster buzz (resonance wave in the horn if you like) and if the consensus is that to do that requires a combination of air pressure, lip tension and a horn/mouthpiece angle that lets the right part of your lips do the work, then what is the consensus on low range.
For me, it is about letting the lips relax enough so the right buzz/wave happens. That is accomplished by reducing the "grip" in the corners of the embouchure and probably (without really thinking about it) reducing the pressure of the mouthpiece just a little. At the same time the isometric contraction I use from my torso that supports the high range also relaxes. I get a mental image/physical sensation of the note occupying the space from my belly to the end of the horn, then filling the room. Very high notes by contrast seem to vibrate mostly in my head and the room.
Physics of low range playing anyone?
[Edit: when I mention air pressure and resonance I am taking as understood that the workings of the oral cavity are involved as well as the rest of the body.]
However a lot of a player's work on third trombone or even second trombone happens in and below the staff.
If high range is about creating a faster buzz (resonance wave in the horn if you like) and if the consensus is that to do that requires a combination of air pressure, lip tension and a horn/mouthpiece angle that lets the right part of your lips do the work, then what is the consensus on low range.
For me, it is about letting the lips relax enough so the right buzz/wave happens. That is accomplished by reducing the "grip" in the corners of the embouchure and probably (without really thinking about it) reducing the pressure of the mouthpiece just a little. At the same time the isometric contraction I use from my torso that supports the high range also relaxes. I get a mental image/physical sensation of the note occupying the space from my belly to the end of the horn, then filling the room. Very high notes by contrast seem to vibrate mostly in my head and the room.
Physics of low range playing anyone?
[Edit: when I mention air pressure and resonance I am taking as understood that the workings of the oral cavity are involved as well as the rest of the body.]