The air compression is the key thing but not the only thing but if the air isn’t right, everything else falls off the cliff. Someone once said that brass playing is no harder than deep breathing. I think they were onto something.
I’m glad to hear that Phil had some anger because I am going through this right now. I played for the Lord for fifty years and started to have lip problems that I blamed on misaligned teeth. At the age of 68 I decided to get braces and that might have been a bad choice. I have nice straight teeth now but after initial early satisfactory progress, I’m having a terrible time getting my sound back and comfortable on the mouthpiece. I have faith and I won’t give up but I am definitely depressed. 🙁🙏🤔😊
How interesting it is that life took Phil to the top of the mountain and now he is in the valley looking up in total amazement at the ride he has been on. Be grateful for being alive and for all the blessings that have been sent your way.
Ouch. “Why do they call it Indian giver? The phrase was first noted in 1765 by Thomas Hutchinson, who characterized an Indian gift as "a present for which an equivalent return is expected," which suggests that the phrase originally referred to a simple exchange of gifts.”
“…just forget what you know, go back to being 7 and not knowing anything. You might know too much…” My very thought today as I walked (slinked) away from my practice session.
There is a cure for all of that. I am a person who pass true that symptom and I understand the concern of many players under this condition with the only difference that at the time it happened to me I was professional frelancer with big name with my musical genre with a good ears enough to understand music medicine and technology. It took me time getting well informed and trying to organize a very understandable language for anybody with this condition. As physician grand son I sat down to understand it. Believe or not it is a communication issue and it is a lot better understand the direction of solution or make it disappear than trying to be rehabilitating under a alternative or new playing direction because with the second choice the issue still in your organism. But gets what I am coming with the widest info about it and a technology artifact that will disappear it naturally. Again it is a communication problem between music medicine and technology. for 100's of years our career pedagogy or philosophy is no wrong but incomplete. I hope you see me with the best for us soon.
I don't believe it has to do anything with God to pull this from Phil. I personally think that this is inefficiency came from facial muscles disbalance that led into this which some would got earlier and some later in their career. Don't get me wrong Phil is and always will be the great example for many. I accidentally discovered Claude Gordon and his approach on playing the trumpet. Not to mentioned CG is very particular interms of leaps, stating that we need forget about the lips since its only job to vibrate, thus tongue forming the pitch and the air doing the rest...Phil, take a look at his stuff you will be miles ahead and will sound even better! God bless you! James 1:13 " When under trial, let no one say: “I am being tried by God.” For with evil things God cannot be tried, nor does he himself try anyone. "
Thank you for your words Phil and I feel your pain as well as shedding many tearful moments also! I too suffer from Embouchure Dystonia and it has been very distressing to have had to "retire" because of "chop problems" after 49 yrs of performing (Principal Trombone) with the Syracuse Symphony in 2009. [By the way, I was a member of the USMA West Point Army Band from 1963 to 1966] I have tried to work through this by myself, by going back to the Fundamentals, which has worked sometimes but however with too much inconsistency, making playing professionally impossible due to the absence of a "reliable" response. I have Lucinda's books and have yet to reach out to Jan, which I may or for that matter - should do - but I keep thinking I might be able work this out by myself by some miracle happening, which to date, has not happened. I, too, am totally bewildered as to "how it happened" and hope and pray that some "miracle" will occur. If it does - AWESOME - if it doesn't - well - It's been a great ride and I am very grateful to God for the many successful years I have had! golfbone200@gmail.com
The advice here is very much misleading and it shouldn't be distributed and sends people off on the wrong path. Particularly the breathing. If you like me to elaborate on this you can always write to me. Kind regards, Peter
I’ve been playing for about 30 years and now I am beginning to listen to classical trumpet playing intensely. I am mostly a Salsa, Merengue, Latin Jazz, Funk etc… trumpeter. I’ve always enjoyed listening to classical but now I’ve opened my heart to knowing to intricacies of this beautiful music. My practicing consists of (everyday) long tones, scales, slurs, and tonguing. That is it. Of course I do practice the music that will be played for the upcoming event. But that is it. I’ve never done buzzing and did not do anything that will hurt me. I really appreciate Phil’s honesty and humility. I also appreciate his reverence and humbleness towards God. Thank you.
I remember you from Juilliard when I was a trumpet major viola minor. I do not play trumpet these days and focused on viola more. We all knew you were such a fine player. Great that you continue to inspire younger players. Sorry you have to deal with dystonia and yet I sense an overall humility in the face of music and of life and surely the experience brings a profound perspective to your teaching!. Bravo on the very fine interview. Eric Shumsky
The greatest recordings and performances in brass playing (that I have ever heard) were American brass players, Austrian brass players and Swedish brass players. Maybe I am too subjective, but whatever. If you don't have mastery of judicious use of tounge-stopping and "thing-in-the-sound" sound core... well fart on ya.
The GREAT American brass players have the same thing in common with the GREAT Austrian brass players... COMPACT, FOCUSED, SERIOUS "thing in the sound" CORE, and... TOUNGUE-STOPPING. British? Not so much.
"Been There Done That" I Praise the Lord because this is a great testimony. Took me years to find out that I suffered from FTSED and Dale Warren and Jan Kaagarice put me back on track. Today, after 27 years, through tears and Joy, God always provided and taught me how to help people in Brazil to recover from it. God, Good Doctors, love and friends
No, c'mon. EVERYONE knows you MUST buzz. Buzz, Buzz, Buzz. Well, buzzing with some of the best teachers killed my trumpet playing. My throat closed such, that I couldn't play anything anymore. 9 years of not playing and I decided to play again, but NOT trumpet. So I picked up a trombone. 1991 I started with a guy who didn't want to hear buzzing didn't want to hear scales. He told me "Go for the sound. If the sound is good, chances are you're doing it right." Got my teaching certificate for tenor and euphonium in 1996. In 1995 I even stopped playing tenor and switched to bass EXCEPT for my final exam pieces which I played on the tenor and that was just about the last time I played tenor. Played bass in a trombone quartet for almost 20 years and a local orchestra as bass trombonist for 5 years. I do not do any buzzing. The closest I come to exercises is starting a kind a chicowiz exercise to start with a great sound in the middle and expand in both directions at the same time, just going for the great bass trombone sound. But no buzzing.
