Material posted is for players familiar with the AirPlay rules. Although it is helpful for all players, the AirPlay users will find it of significant importance as the second step in the method.
Play it where you see it?
Play some of the simple Arbans or Clarke exercises one time through. Then Play it an octave higher while still "seeing" it where it is. Causes you to relax and breath easy.
What makes a note higher?
Faster vibrations.
What makes a note louder?
A longer distance of travel from top lip to bottom lip.
What cause both of these?
Your intentions!
Which takes more air. High or low notes?
Low notes!
Which moves first?
Your air or your muscles?
Your mind and air simultaniously.!
Does the tongue attack or release?
Release!
Think about it!
How often should I work on my Range and Endurance?
The answer is that humans need time to recover and re-build after strenous work. It's a fact of life we live with. If you run, or lift, or other physical workout, then you have an idea of how long your body needs to recover and rebuild. Most of us would do well to really work specifically on these 3 times of week. Realize that everytime you play you are contributing either positive or negative improvement to range endurance and techinque etc. But to speciffically target range and endurance (same things) start with 3 times a week. Mon - Wed - Sat.
When you build endurance you are building an elastic power and not brute strength! The playing should be sprint like. Repeating hundreds of times simple exercises and graudually moving both higher and lower. Endurance is best built by tonguing lightly for long periods of time while sustaining the tone on a long even column of air.
When you work on range you are using the power muscles in your body core. The difference between this and lifting weights is that you must also maintain a relaxed flow. There are no "jerks" in range building.
Range is a combination of breath, tongue, mouth cavity, lower jaw, lips resisting air, and then the timing of all of these to produce ease as you go up and stay up. When you succeed at a mid register exercise that combines these elements and have repeated it hundreds of times correctly - THEN you move it up and up. At the point you feel an all-over fatigue you know you have done it correctly. If you are only tired in the lip you have been using too much lip - same for other elements - it must all work together.
When you play a low C with your teeth and jaw open and the air moving easily this is the same position you want to maintain as you ascend. The wedge air increases, the face responds, the tongue may arch forward in your mouth - but the position of your embouchure most remain in the same place. When all of your playing "machine" gets used to flexing and relaxing in this base position - your range will increase as a result.
It is when things move closed, tight, pinched, tongue into an EEE back throat place that the upper range is impossible.
gR
When to breathe?
I suggest you breathe in through your corners on the upbeat prior to the entrance. depending on tempo - but about 1 second long. Drop the corners and do not stretch them back. Turn the air right back around and out on the first note. The key is to always remain in a relaxed, closed lip position, and allow the air to inflate your front of face like a little pillow with the intent to release such and such a note, at such and such volume.
When you need a catch breath during the phrase make it happen at a musical point. Keep the contact and whatever setting you have in your core while pulling the corners down and gulping about .5 second of air. If you perfect this you will maintain the relaxed setting with the same "force" of the note prior to catch breath as after you inhale. With your lips still touching you will not experience the negative opening and not quite closing syndrome that leads to tired chops and airy sound.
Posture -
For all PowerPlay exercises you must use an upright yet relaxed body position. When you inhale the air must flow deep then to the sides and to the back then filling upwards as you raise your breast bone. The right arm must be relaxed but raised to an almost parallel position to the floor. You do not need to stand.
Here is an MP3 of an actual Skype lesson you will enjoy. We cover the Tuning slide removed workout, as this is editied from a much longer session, I need to tell you that this exercise is played with the largest mouthpiece available. The student on a Laskey 80 and myself on a B&S 1.5C.
With your right arm in position, play a controled forte G above the staff. Now a G in the staff. If you are average you felt the G in the staff to be stuffy. This is becaue you used airForce to play the first G above the staf. Now play the G above the staff but see in your mind a G in the staff. Next play the G in the staff. It was much easier and not stuffy.
What you did was use airPowr for this 2nd G above the staff. The same mindset golfers use when they hit a 300 yard drive and remain fluid.
Here are two more PowerPlay PDF's for you to use. When there are lower and upper octave choices use the lower first then next time play the upper but look at the lower to keep a fluid relaxed flow. Click here to download #3 Click here to download #4
