Louder Shouldn't Automatically Mean More Tongue

#BrassQuote of the Week:

"I found that the louder I played the harder I tended to tongue. I needed dynamics and articulations to function separately."

—Warren Deck#tuba #brass #pedagogy pic.twitter.com/3OcpofqpWO

— The Brass Junkies (@pray4jens) June 11, 2018

So many of us brass players automatically tongue a lot harder when we play louder and we don't even realize it. These two things must be separated. In fact, the best professionals are able to separate all aspects of their playing and adjust them independently of each other.

When a conductor asks the low brass to play louder, they have not also asked for it to be heavier, slower, sharp and with a bad sound. We just frequently throw all of those in as a bonus!

I once heard Joe Alessi say that air and tongue can be adjusted like the oil to gas ratio in a mower. He went on to say that playing forte is 90% air and only 10% tongue which I agree with.

I think most of us, from the very beginning, use way more than 10% tongue when we are playing forte. This has to be reprogrammed which takes a lot of intentional practicing over a prolonged period of time.

The proof of course lies in recording yourself. If you hear too much tongue, adjust it. In fact, keep adjusting it until you have gone too far. You have now framed the problem and know that the perfect solution lies somewhere in between where you started and where you ended up. Always let the recorder be the ultimate arbiter.

It's also worth noting that this kind of self-awareness is universal in players who are able to reach the world-class levels that Warren Deck, former Principal Tuba of the New York Philharmonic, reached during his playing career. He wouldn't have gotten to the root of his over-tonguing problem by simply tonguing less on a case-by-case basis. He figured out that he was doing this every time he played louder and so was able to address it on a much more fundamental level (which I'm sure led to a permanent fix with just the occasional exception.)

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The above tweet from Warren Deck was the first weekly brass quote we are posting on the Brass Junkies Twitter feed. Every Monday we will be posting a quote using the hashtag #BrassQuote.

If you happen to know of any sources for quotes from brass players, please send them along. I'm particularly looking for quotes from women of all brass instruments as well as euphonium and horn quotes. Shoot me an email with any good references and I'd be awfully grateful!

The Brass Junkies 87: Craig Knox

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TBJ87: Craig Knox of the Pittsburgh Symphony on premiering the Jennifer Higdon Tuba Concerto, European road stories and the joys of palinka

Craig is one hell of a tuba player and teacher and a great guy. It was a lot of fun chatting with him about the many things he does in his career.

From the show notes:

Craig Knox is Principal Tuba of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and a founding member of the Center City Brass Quintet. With these ensembles and others, he has performed for audiences across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and been heard on recordings, and radio, television, and internet broadcasts around the world.

Mr. Knox works regularly with music students through his teaching positions at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music in Pittsburgh, and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, as well as at music festivals, seminars, and conservatories around the world, where he appears as a guest clinician.

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.

It's Not About You

"Blend towards the ticket buyers, not each other."

—Marty Hackleman

I have seen countless chamber ensembles fail to grasp the vital principal behind the above quote. The audience experience is everything.

Don't sit in the easiest possible configuration for your group to interact with each other. Sit in the configuration which makes it easiest for the audience to feel like they are interacting with you.

Don't just make sure something is balanced on stage. Make sure it is balanced in the hall.

Don't lift your stand up higher than it needs to be. Put your stand at a level where the audience feels like they are a part of the experience and not just allowed to peer over your shoulder.

Don't just check for dynamic contrast on stage. Make sure that contrast is reaching the last row of paid seats.

Don't match articulations on your side of the bell. Be sure they are matching at the back of the hall.

This list could go on and on...

I couldn't believe how much left edge I had to put on notes when I first joined Boston Brass. Like, I was dumbfounded. What my colleagues were asking me to do sounded stupid on my side of the bell.

But guess what? Those comments were coming from a rehearsal technique that we frequently used. One player would go out into the hall and listen from out there (ie the only place where it matters what it sounds like!) They would then ask for adjustments until it sounded right out there.

They would ask for so much attack that I thought it sounded stupid. But I trusted them so I did it.

Then I would listen to a recording of the performance from later that evening and I'll be damned they were always right. I had to very gradually adjust what I thought it "should" sound like on my side of the bell.

I have yet to find anyone who will pay me to in an orchestra, band, quintet or as a soloist based on me sounding good on my side of the bell. No one cares.

Literally your only job is making sure it sounds (and looks) good in the audience.

You Can't Break a Bad Habit

"Don't additional problems arise when correcting bad habits? Do not correct habits. Skirt them by adding another dimension to your playing. Adding and practicing a new habit can gradually replace an old one."

— Andrew Hitz (@JacobsQuotes) April 9, 2018

This is precisely why it is so important to not rush through things and learn them the wrong way when practicing. The key word in the last sentence of the above Arnold Jacobs quote is gradually.

Once you have established a habit, the only way to replace it with a new one is gradually over time. Translation: it's a lot of work.

I was also always taught that the brain does not respond well to the word don't. If you write something like "Don't Drag" in your music then your brain first comprehends "Drag" which is not exactly ideal. I always have my students write the positive version of whatever they're working on so "Don't Drag" becomes "Groove" or "Steady Tempo".

Ideally, we don't ever learn something wrong in the first place because the extra time we take to learn something with slow and deliberate practice will be more than saved by not having to relearn it the right way. But if we do, rather than focusing on not doing it wrong, we need to replace it with the correct version and then have the patience to see the entire process through which will take a while no matter what we do.

The Brass Junkies 86: Listener's Choice - The Falcone Festival

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TBJ:86 Listener's Choice - The Falcone Festival

For episode 86 of The Brass Junkies, we did a deep dive on The Falcone Festival. Lance won the first ever Falcone euphonium competition (he is OLD!) and had lots of great stories. I learned a ton from this one.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Andrew’s medication
• Lance’s summer plans
• Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Simmons
• Boston Brass Portuguese cell phone story
• Falcone Festival
• Lance winning the 1st contest in the student level
• Judging the competition and judging in general

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.

Less Facts, More Stories

“To hell with facts! We need stories!”

―Ken Kesey, Author of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

Ken Kesey

 It is natural for classical musicians to get wrapped up in getting the facts right. We obsess from an early age about playing the right notes and the right rhythms.

This is of course critically important, but can not come at the expense of having storytelling as our primary focus.

I have encountered so many musicians who feel they are owed a living from playing their instrument once they are able to operate it at a certain level. Or once they have worked X hours a week for Y years in a row.

(Note: This is almost never said aloud but some variation of this feeling of entitlement is frequently just below the surface.)

But this is a false premise.

Literally no one pays money to see artists execute the technical aspects of their art at a high level of proficiency. At least not for that reason alone.

That's not how art works.

Let's take a filmmaker as an example. Who cares if you are a master of many aspects of filmmaking. Lighting. Camera angles. You name it. If your film doesn't take the audience on a journey, it won't make any money and it certainly won't be talked about in 100 years. Hell, it won't be talked about in 100 weeks.

We need stories, not great lighting!

To be clear, great lighting and creative camera angles are integral parts to telling a great story with your film. But to only focus on mastering the lighting leaves you one step shy of the promised land and it's really the only step that matters.

Once you have spent the 10,000 hours mastering the tools, what do you do with them?

In this blog post from 2014, my teacher and mentor, Rex Martin, blew my mind just like he did for four straight years at Northwestern. He took many years to master the ability to play softly in all registers.

But who gives a crap? The question is what has he done with that tool once it was in his musical toolbox.

A number of years ago I flew out to Chicago to see him perform the Vaughn-Williams Concerto for Tuba. I've seen that piece played a 1,000 times and wasn't particularly excited to see it specifically. I flew there to see him. I flew there to hear his story.

The end of the 2nd movement has a four-note ascending line in the tuba that is quite pretty when played well. Mr. Martin played that line with a gorgeous diminuendo and hit the final held note with no vibrato at all. While then barely diminuendoing further he added just the slightest bit of vibrato at the very end of that note, all while continuing to get softer. He then ended the movement with a perfectly tapered release.

It made me hold my breath.

A piece I wouldn't be sad if I never heard again for the rest of my life took my breath away. That's the power of music.

Or rather, that's the power of storytelling.

I would never purchase a plane ticket to see someone operate a tuba at a really high level. But to see someone tell a musical version of anything as powerful as those four notes? I'll fly or drive anywhere for that (which is exactly why I have driven through 44 states plus Ontario to see Phish.)

You will be compensated if enough people find the musical story you are telling remarkable. Remarkable meaning worth remarking over. As in I felt I had to tell some of my friends about the end of Mr. Martin's 2nd Movement of the Vaughn-Williams.

("Enough people" is quite possibly a much smaller number than you think. I did a TEM episode on it that's less than 25 minutes long.)

So don't only focus on the facts. The question is what you do with those facts. Ken Kesey is right. While facts are quite important, what we really need is a good story.

Staying in the Middle Third

"Often, incorrect playing is in the middle third of the breath, never refilling back to the top of the capacity."

— Andrew Hitz (@JacobsQuotes) May 10, 2018

This observation by Arnold Jacobs is why I find breathing exercises out of The Breathing Gym so beneficial for students. Getting them to experience the sensation of taking in a large amount of air without having the horn in their hands is invaluable and gives them something concrete to model when they do pick up the instrument.

Doing exercises with long inhales like 6-7-8-9-10 or any variation of In for 8 > Hold for 8 > Out for 8 (also 8>16>8, 12>12>12 or even 16>32>16) are great for feeling the sensation of moving a lot of air.

And as always, Mr. Jacobs was dead on with this observation. So often, mediocre brass players never get close to full and never get close to empty. Getting them to experience this is a great way to encourage them to eventually do it on their own.

The Brass Junkies 85: Tom McCaslin, Tubist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra on audition prep, recording yourself and all things Canada

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My good friend Tom McCaslin joined us for Episode 85 of The Brass Junkies. Tom is the Principal Tuba for the Calgary Philharmonic. He is a great dude and a monster musician. 

From the show notes:

TBJ85: Tom McCaslin, Tubist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra on audition prep, recording yourself and all things Canada

Tom McCaslin, Tubist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Soloist, Teacher, and Clinician has been described by Fanfare Magazine as “one of the contemporary tuba virtuosos”. Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan Tom’s playing and teaching have taken him around the globe. He has performed and taught in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Portugal, Finland, New Zealand and Australia.

• The Boston Brass “I Left My Pants in Sarnia, Canada” story
• New gig in Calgary
• Canada jokes!
• Audition preparation
• How he developed his ears with the help of Sam (Pilafian) and then on his own
• Put a premium on recording himself (84 hours worth!)
• Trust in your own abilities
• Use physicality to override thought, play your way out of it
• Audition prep with Sam at Tanglewood
• Systematic
• Used a randomizer app, put excerpts in and created rounds for himself
• Daily round of most likely candidates
• Day of audition, puts himself in a cocoon, noise-cancelling headphones
• Listened to Bill Simmons podcast and pop music to keep his head clear
• Studying with Sam Pilafian at Arizona State University
• Travelin’ Light
• Studying jazz
• Boston Symphony audition
• The support within Sam’s teaching studio
• Recording solos with Sam as producer
• Christmas his first year at ASU story, audition prep, followed by turkey prep
• Teaching at East Carolina University
• Looking for the quality of person more than quality of player
• Teaching studio curation
• The importance of the Studio Class hour, setting the expectations
• Studying with Roger Bobo in Switzerland
• The Dog Whisperer
• “Sack of nicknick” story at Banff
• Lance’s spot-on Jens impression
• Andrew’s Banff story with Joe Alessi in Jens’ Porsche
• Sweat out the bad

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.

Article: Director’s Toolbox – Lead from the Bottom by Patrick Sheridan

Here is a fantastic read by my good friend Patrick Sheridan on engaging and challenging the tuba players in your band. This is must-read!

From the article:

Children want to be given responsibility! There are three responsibilities (opportunities) that belong to the lowest voice of an ensemble. The laws of acoustics dictate this scientifically.

They include:

1. Sound foundation of an ensemble
2. Intonation
3. Time

Patrick expands on all three of these points. Read the full article here.

You can also click on the logo below to hear my interview (along with Lance LaDuke) with Patrick from Episode 35 of The Brass Junkies.

The Brass Junkies 83: Donna Parkes

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We had a blast interviewing the phenomenal Donna Parkes, Principal Trombone of the Louisville Orchestra. She told us all about her fascinating journey from Australia to Kentucky with a few stops along the way.

It's always so great when musicians who are as accomplished as Donna is are so down to earth. It really was a treat to speak with her!

From the show notes:

TBJ83: Trombonist Donna Parkes of the Louisville Orchestra on having a “Yes!” attitude, sleeping bags and growing up in Australia

Donna Parkes, Principal Trombone with Louisville Orchestra joins Andrew & Lance to detail her amazing career, from Australia to Kentucky, with stops in Chicago, Alaska and Doha, Qatar.

In this fun and lively conversation, we cover:

• Playing Principal Trombone with Louisville Orchestra
• Playing with the Colorado Music Festival
• Coming from Indiana, I mean Canberra, Australia
• Coming to the U.S. after her undergrad to study with Charlie Vernon at DePaul
• The differences between the Australian and U.S. markets
• Studying with Michael Mulcahy early on in Australia
• Playing freelance gigs in Sydney for a year before moving
• Getting a lesson with Arnold Jacobs and Ed Kleinhammer
• Working with 80-year-olds in Virginia
• The size of Andrew’s tongue (don’t ask)
• Sleeping in her sleeping bag with her trombone in a hostel on her first night in the U.S.
• Taking pictures of snow
• Tips for flying to Australia
• Playing gigs in Sitka, Alaska twice a year
• How she recently got married in Australia
• A typical week in Louisville, which is anything but typical
• The importance of being flexible and being a good colleague
• Having a “Yes” attitude
• Playing in Doha, Qatar
• An important life lesson, “Don’t smell it first.”

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.