Mystery to Mastery - Performance

What is The BLUZZ?

The BLUZZ - BLOW/BUZZ is a term used to describe the sound that is made when you firm the corners of your mouth, setting your Lip Aperture into vibration.

LIP BUZZING you might say!

NOT AT ALL! The term lip buzzing seems to suggest a tightening at the centre of the Lip Aperture to create a tight buzzing sound like a bee. That is not the intention of the BLUZZ! All that a tight buzz manages to achieve is abdominal tension, a strained throat and chest, and fat, tired lips.

The lips make no sound in the mouthpiece. To play freely in all registers, you must have a relaxed and responsive Lip Aperture, not a tight manipulated one.

The Lip Aperture vibrates due the rising and lowering of air pressure being fed back by the acoustics of the pipe (trumpet), the pitch of which is determined by the posture of the Aperture Corners. As the Aperture Corners firm up, higher harmonics begin to resonate through the pipe.

All notes are the result of a balance between airflow and aperture posture. The centre of the lips need to vibrate to create sound so if you tighten or pinch your Lip Aperture, or you use too much arm pressure, the vibration will stop and the sound will cut out.

BENEFITS OF THE BLUZZ:

- allows you to develop your buccinator muscles (the muscles at the sides of your mouth that you use to spit with) that control the tension of your Aperture Corners.

- good warm up exercise to get blood circulating in the embouchure muscles.

- great for discovering how the corner muscles of your mouth work.

When playing pedal tones, playing in the high register or bluzzing, the same concept applies; air moving freely through a relaxed Lip Aperture with the Aperture Corners staying firm.

HERE’S WHAT TO DO

- Keeping your jaw low and relaxed, take a Trumpet Breath and while exhaling, pretend you are fogging up a mirror. Slowly bring the corners of your lips together until you get the sound of the BLUZZ.

- The BLUZZ should be airy but have an obvious pitch.

- Practice BLUZZING with a keyboard. Play an F below middle C then BLUZZ that pitch.

The only purpose of copying the pitch is to find the degree of tension used by the Aperture Corners. It just so happens that the note that speaks on the trumpet, when the Aperture Corners are set and the Lip Aperture is relaxed, is about an octave higher than the pitch of the BLUZZ.

Once the pitch is established, keep the Aperture Corners in the same position and open the Lip Aperture. Blow air into the WindTarget keeping the same tension in the Aperture Corners but making no sound at the lips. That is how to play a middle (second line) G on the trumpet!!

You have set the tension of the Aperture Corners, just like setting the tension of a string on a guitar. If the Lip Aperture is totally relaxed, the only note that can possibly speak is a middle G.

——————————

Light a match and hold it close to your mouth. Blow at the match and make the flame flicker. DO NOT BLOW THE MATCH OUT!! Feel how lightly you have to blow to NOT blow the match out. That is all the air that it takes to create a middle G.

The trumpet creates the note, NOT YOU. You give the air and the lip surface to the trumpet and because of its acoustical properties, it feeds the pressure wave caused by your blow back to the relaxed tissue of your Lip Aperture which begins to vibrate creating sound.

Trumpeters seem to want to create the note themselves. In doing so, they pinch the lips together and blow far too hard, creating all kinds of inner strain while not giving the instrument the correct airflow to work efficiently and correctly.

——————————

Mastering the BLUZZ will teach you the degree of tension needed in the Aperture Corners to allow the trumpet to produce whatever pitch it is that you want to play.

Read this page many times to grasp what Greg is talking about!

——————————

When blowing using the mouthpiece, the Lip Aperture needs to remain relaxed. The BLUZZ should sound around about an octave lower than the note you are playing. If this is not the case, your aperture is too tight.

Be aware that the process of playing the trumpet is different to lip and mouthpiece blowing. You can blow through the mouthpiece without any vibration or sound and as you place the mouthpiece into the leadpipe, a note will begin.

THE BLUZZ
What is The BLUZZ? The BLUZZ - BLOW/BUZZ is a term used to describe the sound that is made when you firm the corners of your mouth, setting your Lip Aperture into vibration. LIP BUZZING you might say! NOT AT ALL! The term lip buzzing seems to suggest a tightening at the centre of the Lip Aperture to create a tight buzzing sound like a bee. That is not the intention of the BLUZZ! All that a tight buzz manages to achieve is abdominal tension, a strained throat and chest, and fat, tired lips. The lips make no sound in the mouthpiece. To play freely in all registers, you must have a relaxed and responsive Lip Aperture, not a tight manipulated one. The Lip Aperture vibrates due the rising and lowering of air pressure being fed back by the acoustics of the pipe (trumpet), the pitch of which is determined by the posture of the Aperture Corners. As the Aperture Corners firm up, higher harmonics begin to resonate through the pipe. All notes are the result of a balance between airflow and aperture posture. The centre of the lips need to vibrate to create sound so if you tighten or pinch your Lip Aperture, or you use too much arm pressure, the vibration will stop and the sound will cut out. BENEFITS OF THE BLUZZ: - allows you to develop your buccinator muscles (the muscles at the sides of your mouth that you use to spit with) that control the tension of your Aperture Corners. - good warm up exercise to get blood circulating in the embouchure muscles. - great for discovering how the corner muscles of your mouth work. When playing pedal tones, playing in the high register or bluzzing, the same concept applies; air moving freely through a relaxed *Lip Aperture* with the Aperture Corners staying firm. HERE’S WHAT TO DO - Keeping your jaw low and relaxed, take a Trumpet Breath and while exhaling, pretend you are fogging up a mirror. Slowly bring the corners of your lips together until you get the sound of the BLUZZ. - The BLUZZ should be airy but have an obvious pitch. - Practice BLUZZING with a keyboard. Play an F below middle C then BLUZZ that pitch. The only purpose of copying the pitch is to find the degree of tension used by the Aperture Corners. It just so happens that the note that speaks on the trumpet, when the Aperture Corners are set and the Lip Aperture is relaxed, is about an octave higher than the pitch of the BLUZZ. Once the pitch is established, keep the Aperture Corners in the same position and open the Lip Aperture. Blow air into the WindTarget keeping the same tension in the Aperture Corners but making no sound at the lips. That is how to play a middle (second line) G on the trumpet!! You have set the tension of the Aperture Corners, just like setting the tension of a string on a guitar. If the Lip Aperture is totally relaxed, the only note that can possibly speak is a middle G. —————————— Light a match and hold it close to your mouth. Blow at the match and make the flame flicker. DO NOT BLOW THE MATCH OUT!! Feel how lightly you have to blow to NOT blow the match out. That is all the air that it takes to create a middle G. The trumpet creates the note, NOT YOU. You give the air and the lip surface to the trumpet and because of its acoustical properties, it feeds the pressure wave caused by your blow back to the relaxed tissue of your Lip Aperture which begins to vibrate creating sound. Trumpeters seem to want to create the note themselves. In doing so, they pinch the lips together and blow far too hard, creating all kinds of inner strain while not giving the instrument the correct airflow to work efficiently and correctly. —————————— Mastering the BLUZZ will teach you the degree of tension needed in the Aperture Corners to allow the trumpet to produce whatever pitch it is that you want to play. Read this page many times to grasp what Greg is talking about! —————————— When blowing using the mouthpiece, the Lip Aperture needs to remain relaxed. The BLUZZ should sound around about an octave lower than the note you are playing. If this is not the case, your aperture is too tight. Be aware that the process of playing the trumpet is different to lip and mouthpiece blowing. You can blow through the mouthpiece without any vibration or sound and as you place the mouthpiece into the leadpipe, a note will begin.