1.2 The Musician’s Interpretation of the Brass Playing Experience
21
the best intonation and timbre often require a complex fingering pattern known as
‘cross-fingering’ or ‘fork fingering’.
With valve and slide instruments, most notes can be played with more than one
fingering or slide position: the shortest sounding length gives the greatest security in
hitting the desired note in a series of natural notes since the natural notes higher in
the series are closer together. However, a player may use a longer alternative valve
fingering or slide position on occasion to achieve a different quality of sound, to
achieve a smooth transition from one note to the next or to reduce valve or slide
movement.
Timbre is also dependent on placement of the mouthpiece on the lips, on lip
muscle tension and on the configuration of the vocal tract. Brasswind pedagogy
places great importance on breathing techniques in producing a ‘good tone’. A large
part of the perceived quality of sound is in the way notes are initiated: the ‘starting
transients’ in brass playing, which in many cases depend on the use of the tongue,
separate beginners from experienced players.
We can also mention vibrato here: although strictly speaking independent of
timbre, vibrato is heard as an aspect of tone quality. On brass instruments, vibrato is
more of a matter of pitch variation than dynamic variation. It is achieved by inducing
an oscillation in air pressure in the mouth with a frequency of a few Hz, variation in
lip muscle tension (in some cases involving moving the whole instrument backwards
and forwards) or both; on instruments with a slide such as the trombone, it is
commonly achieved by slide movement.
A concept often discussed by musicians is ‘projection’, meaning the ability of a
musician to be heard throughout an auditorium even when partially masked by other
sounds. There is no way this can be achieved which is independent of dynamics and
timbre. The use of vibrato increases the salience of a solo voice over an orchestral
accompaniment (Deutsch 2013). In brass playing, vibrato is not always appropriate,
and at a given dynamic level, producing a brighter timbre can be the only means to
increase projection.
1.2.8 Blowing Pressure and Air Flow
The normal breathing process involves the regular repetition of inhalation and
exhalation. In the inhalation phase, the lung volume increases, and air flows in
through the nose (and the mouth if it is open); in the exhalation phase, the lung
volume reduces and air flows out again. To sound a note on a brass instrument,
the player expands the lung cavity by breathing in, usually through both mouth and
nose; in exhalation, the soft palate is normally raised to close the aperture connecting
the back of the throat to the nasal cavity, so that all the air flows through the player’s
lips into the mouthpiece of the instrument.
A complex array of muscles controls the expansion and contraction of the lungs
(Watson 2019). These muscles do not operate directly on the lungs, but on the
surrounding chest walls to which the lung surfaces are attached. The principal
21
the best intonation and timbre often require a complex fingering pattern known as
‘cross-fingering’ or ‘fork fingering’.
With valve and slide instruments, most notes can be played with more than one
fingering or slide position: the shortest sounding length gives the greatest security in
hitting the desired note in a series of natural notes since the natural notes higher in
the series are closer together. However, a player may use a longer alternative valve
fingering or slide position on occasion to achieve a different quality of sound, to
achieve a smooth transition from one note to the next or to reduce valve or slide
movement.
Timbre is also dependent on placement of the mouthpiece on the lips, on lip
muscle tension and on the configuration of the vocal tract. Brasswind pedagogy
places great importance on breathing techniques in producing a ‘good tone’. A large
part of the perceived quality of sound is in the way notes are initiated: the ‘starting
transients’ in brass playing, which in many cases depend on the use of the tongue,
separate beginners from experienced players.
We can also mention vibrato here: although strictly speaking independent of
timbre, vibrato is heard as an aspect of tone quality. On brass instruments, vibrato is
more of a matter of pitch variation than dynamic variation. It is achieved by inducing
an oscillation in air pressure in the mouth with a frequency of a few Hz, variation in
lip muscle tension (in some cases involving moving the whole instrument backwards
and forwards) or both; on instruments with a slide such as the trombone, it is
commonly achieved by slide movement.
A concept often discussed by musicians is ‘projection’, meaning the ability of a
musician to be heard throughout an auditorium even when partially masked by other
sounds. There is no way this can be achieved which is independent of dynamics and
timbre. The use of vibrato increases the salience of a solo voice over an orchestral
accompaniment (Deutsch 2013). In brass playing, vibrato is not always appropriate,
and at a given dynamic level, producing a brighter timbre can be the only means to
increase projection.
1.2.8 Blowing Pressure and Air Flow
The normal breathing process involves the regular repetition of inhalation and
exhalation. In the inhalation phase, the lung volume increases, and air flows in
through the nose (and the mouth if it is open); in the exhalation phase, the lung
volume reduces and air flows out again. To sound a note on a brass instrument,
the player expands the lung cavity by breathing in, usually through both mouth and
nose; in exhalation, the soft palate is normally raised to close the aperture connecting
the back of the throat to the nasal cavity, so that all the air flows through the player’s
lips into the mouthpiece of the instrument.
A complex array of muscles controls the expansion and contraction of the lungs
(Watson 2019). These muscles do not operate directly on the lungs, but on the
surrounding chest walls to which the lung surfaces are attached. The principal