Don’t Grab Notes! (or play huge bass trombones)

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[@clarencespears5253]

As a small tenor/bass doubler, found your observations very insightful Having the proper horn/mpc setup for the sound you wanna produce is SO important!

[@johndowson7929]

I totally agree it's the very same with a tenor trombone. But one thing about grabbing notes playing in the high range such as the A from G in the 2nd position , it is very difficult at times but reaching for such notes builds our range and endurance . I have no teeth so a 3rd of my embouchure is missing so to combat this i have to have a little more than the norm , it's working out , I had nearly a 30 Yr off n 4 yrs back into it with no teeth has been a challenge yes but nailing it 😊 grabbing notes is a chop killer. Play these notes more relaxed with little pressure onto the MP . Less pressure than i thought possible. Im now playing Stardust with intro , it's the best part .

[@jeffgrubin1874]

Valuable information here. I will be more aware of this going forward. I seem to be more aware of it down low now. If I try to force out a low note it usually doesn't work. So the only way is to let it happen.

[@elowcow]

Aidan back with the wisdom

[@AidanRitchie]

funny enough, I don't hear you do this

[@brucemangan3807]

I would wager that excessive or forceful mouthpiece buzzing might contribute to this same issue. Feeling the need to MAKE your lips buzz to achieve a pitch would carry over to the tension and "grab" problem. What you're describing is something I had to get out of the habit of when trying to recover from dystonia issues where everything seems out of control so you try and build muscle and grab notes for control... but just compounds the problem.

[@AidanRitchie]

I don't personally buzz right now, but I can totally see that being a problem!

[@tubadylan]

Excellent advice. Thank you!

[@bontrom8]

I'm doing a reset where I have to practice softly which is helping me start a new horn leadpipe mpc config. If I start to grab notes, my tone gets bad because my familiarity with the new setups is in the early stages of strengthening. So I slow down and take more breaks so I can control the ends like you say. I am trying to maximize a single bore horn with larger leadpipe and mpc throat cup and rim. Took a year to get here and I think it will work with patient practice ... We shall see.

[@AidanRitchie]

Yup, it takes a lot of time and introspection!

[@vincentsilverPS5]

This is 100% me. I am going to have to spend time letting the notes happen. My difficult range begins at F bottom of staff and most notes in that partial (v1-v6). 2nd trigger doesn't really seem to play differently. Better when I'm building resistance with both valves. I have an inefficient embouchure, due to lack of consistency when playing. Bach strad 50K3L, big trombone.

[@WyGuyW]

Hey Aidan, I recently got my first F Attachment and I have the ultra pure bottle that you have recommended (the rotor oil, the small blue bottle, and the small red bottle) but I don’t know where to use the oil. Could you tell me where to use each bottle? I have a Hagmann Valve (Bach 42A)