Structure of the Trumpet by Yamaha
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I was surfing the Internet and found this really neat site. Its by Yamaha called The Structure of the Trumpet and covers a lot of good stuff like what are the parts of a mouthpiece, how a scale is played, why C, G, and high C have the same fingerings, and slide use.
Hope you find it a good read and useful
Enjoy!
https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/trumpet/mechanism/mechanism002.html
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This site looses credibility from it's first line:
The trumpeter produces sound from the trumpet by buzzing his lips.
This is just wrong. There are some of us that do not produce a sound from a buzz. Myself as an example and Tine Thing Helseth is another. I remain in good company, yes?
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The site says: "There are various different mouthpiece shapes-a mouthpiece with a deep cup will produce a mellower sound, while a mouthpiece with a shallower cup will produce a bright, piercing sound."
Again, I disagree. A deep cup gives more vibratory potential for the lip as Dr. Mark demonstrated in another post by Adams, yes? Perhaps a more centered sound, but not necessary mellower. The trumpet takes care of most of that. From my 50 years+ of playing experience, I believe the throat of the mouth piece has more to do with the sound quality.
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The information as to the physics of the trumpet is a nice review.
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please go to 21:18 where Sarah talks to Tine about buzzing and how Tine can't free buzz but makes buzzing the mouthpiece part of her warm-up.
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It's at 22:09 and she says"I can't buzz". And doesn't. When she plays the mouthpiece then pulls it away... she sounds the phwoooo... which is identical to the sound my embouchure produces. Really... Watch this closely once again. When she pulls away, there is no buzz. A sound can be made without buzzing and Tine and I make this same sound. Again, watch carefully and closely.
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The sound has to come from someplace before it is amplified by the trumpet. And how is it possible to produce sound with one's lips kept apart?
Also, a buzz can take place inside the mouthpiece/horn and then lose it's formation when the contact with the mouthpiece is removed . . . unless we have a different concept on how to define buzz.
I thought this was resolved. When there is no sound, it can't be further amplified. No buzz no sound. The sound-source doesn't manifest itself out of the blue.
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@Kehaulani said in Structure of the Trumpet by Yamaha:
And how is it possible to produce sound with one's lips kept apart?
I have a problem free buzzing but when I place the mouthpiece to my lips, it causes them to buzz. Possibly due to resistance caused by the mouthpiece itself. Never the less, I like buzzing the mouthpiece to wake up the face.
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@Kehaulani said in Structure of the Trumpet by Yamaha:
...When there is no sound, it can't be further amplified. No buzz no sound. The sound-source doesn't manifest itself out of the blue.
Kehaulani. All you need is vibration, whether it's the classic buzz or whether it's phwooooo. Try it. Produce phwooo and as you hold out the oooo... place the mouthpiece against your lips. You will get the same sound as Tine Thing. Then do the classic buzz, and you will also get a sound that is a bet harsher. Both techniques produce a vibration that moves air within the mouthpiece.
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@Kehaulani said in Structure of the Trumpet by Yamaha:
I thought this was resolved.
What's to resolve? There is no fight here. There is no "one way is better than another". All I have been trying to do in all of these threads that I bring up the phwoooo technique is to enlighten our readers that there is more than one way to put the vibration from the lips into the horn. Dr. Marc even posted a lecture (Dr. Marc posts amazing material) where an individual lights a torch to produce sound in a glass tube. Any energy form that moves the air inside a tube (in the case of the mouthpiece the cup and throat, will produce a vibration in the material in contact, which at the beginning of the process is the mouthpiece. There is nothing in need of resolution here, OK.
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If you can just blow air into the mouthpiece and produce a sound without your lips touching, you have discovered something rare, indeed.
I have another question, too. Where are all the other forum members and potential members? Too theoretical and pedantic for them?
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@Kehaulani said in Structure of the Trumpet by Yamaha:
If you can just blow air into the mouthpiece and produce a sound without your lips touching, you have discovered something rare, indeed.
Lips are touching. Watch Tine Thing in the video, please watch the video. You will better understand.
Then try it. OK.
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If her lips are touching then we seem to be talking about the same thing using different words. Regardless, I'm out of this one. "Hast la vista, baby."
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Free buzzing is a good way to get somebody quickly on the instrument, but I fear that it does more damage in the long run. Why? Beginners tend to make "farting" sounds, if you will, without any airstream backing them. Perhaps, this is part of the reason that beginning band concerts sound more like quacking ducks than anything else. "Buzzing" is not really how brass instruments work. The resonance of the instrument, along with a constant airstream passing through a properly formed embouchure creates a standing wave throughout the instrument. It doesn't even take all that much air (in terms of volume) to begin with.
I like to think of a "rushing river" of air passing through my lips and the instrument. The vibration should be almost automatic if things are correctly formed.
We need not be too critical of the article, however. We sometimes split hair over things that seem obvious to us, but not to the rest of the world. For example, I work as a software developer. Therefore, everybody assumes I know everything about computers and can fix their busted printer. Not so! I just write software. However, it's OK if somebody says I work in IT, even though I technically do not, because it may not seem so obvious to the outsider that IT and Software Engineering are two different curricula.
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I could never buzz my lips without unnatural facial contortions, but have no problems making trumpet noises with a horn.
This video from Greg Spence shows airflow straight from the chops, with a mouthpiece and then with mouthpiece and leadpipe. Not sure where the quote can from, but this seems to demonstrate that "you do not play the trumpet, the trumpet plays you". It also made me feel better and that lack of a "naked" buzz was no big deal
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Reverse lead pipe. And its SILVER! He is a pro;) And correct.
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@N1684T Doesn't have to be silver or even a lead-pipe. I attended a workshop run by Mr Spence where he'd asked everyone to bring their mouthpiece. He handed out large bubble-tea straws and all the attendees were able to replicate the demo.
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@Kehaulani said in Structure of the Trumpet by Yamaha:
I have another question, too. Where are all the other forum members and potential members? Too theoretical and pedantic for them?
Good question, Kehaulani. Some of these recent threads seem to quickly become aggressively confrontational. I find them to be a hostile virtual environment.
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Just trying to be funny. Why i added the "hes right"
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@tjcombo said in Structure of the Trumpet by Yamaha:
I could never buzz my lips without unnatural facial contortions, but have no problems making trumpet noises with a horn.
This video from Greg Spence shows airflow straight from the chops, with a mouthpiece and then with mouthpiece and leadpipe. Not sure where the quote can from, but this seems to demonstrate that "you do not play the trumpet, the trumpet plays you". It also made me feel better and that lack of a "naked" buzz was no big deal
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. NO BUZZING. JUST PHWOOOOO. THIS IS EFFICIENCY. TRY IT EVERYONE. IT WILL CHANGE YOUR TRUMPET PLAYING LIFE!
