Thanks, Herb Foster, for your comments. I'll respond to them below: Herb: Hey, if it works... One person's meat is another's poison.
Val: So true, so true. When it comes to making music, the end justifies the means. Herb: The flat chin is right for most, including me, but perhaps not all. Val: THANK YOU! Why is it some folks are so hung up on the one size fits all approach? It's almost like religious dogma. Drives me nuts. Herb: I also have considerations about the tone you get with the rolled in lips. Unless you have heavy lips, the tone might be thin and harsh. Record yourself in a hall. Once you have found your high range, you could find yourself becoming more "conventional." Val: See the response I posted about this to Hans. You, like he, have misunderstood Jeff Smiley's program. The roll-in is a development exercise, NOT a prescribed embouchure. My embouchure is NOT a radical departure from convention. The changes that have occurred in my embouchure are physically tiny, almost microscopic, but have yielded huge results. Very tiny movements or changes in direction bring great changes in vibrating frequency. And, you are right, Herb, I am a work in progress. I expect changes to continue for years to come. I haven't "arrived", but I've definitely stepped out. I'm so grateful for Jeff Smiley's program for getting me over my biggest hump. Herb: I'm guessing that Farkas, being an experimentalist, probably tried this technique, but found that it didn't work for him. Val: What I find interesting, is that often what we perceive our lips & tongue, etc. as doing are not what is really happening. For example. I remember reading about a trumpet player who insisted that his tongue DID NOT ARCH for high notes. Keeping the tongue low in the mouth was part of his teaching method, his dogma. When he submitted to X-ray photography, it was proven that he actually did arch his tongue to reach high notes like all other trumpeters. He didn't "feel" like he was arching his tongue, but he was. So who really knows what the heck Farkas's lips were doing inside that tiny mouthpiece? When it comes to analysing & describing it, it's all based upon "feel." [Sorry, but I don't buy the little embouchure visualizer thing. That's not real life playing.] Farkas wrote down and taught what he "felt like" he was doing, and that has become the Farkas method, but who knows what he really did? That's what all teachers do, they teach what they "feel like they do" to others. The teachers that are the most accurate in communicating reality in a way that the students can understand & incorporate are the most successful. To me, RESULTS are what counts. Doing Jeff Smiley's exercises made it possible for me to break into & begin developing a strong upper range. That what matters to me. Herb: Good luck on your lonely quest. You won't get much agreement. Been there, done that. Val: Thanks, Herb. I don't mind being a lone voice in the wilderness. I'm always amused to see other people freak out & get ugly when confronted with opinions they don't agree with. It's funny! Valerie_______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
