John Henes
Practice Suggestions
John is a student of :
- Arnold Jacobs
- Adolf Herseth
- Vincent Chicowicz
- Louis Davidson
- William Carrington (Alexander
Technique)
- (Indiana Univ.)
Equipment:
- Monette B1-2 Prana Trumpet Mouthpiece
- Monette AP6 Picccolo Trumpet
Mouthpiece
- Monette (early model) Bb Trumpet
(serial #500)
- Monette C
- Monette Eb
Fundamentals:
- Schlossberg #5 (1st line)
- Schlossberg #9 (1st line)
- Schlossberg #13 (1st line)
- Schlossberg #17 (all)
- Schlossberg #99 (single tongued)
Suggested Etudes:
Fundamental Suggestions:
- breath
- exhale all air and wait (without
holding the breath)-air will rush back in
- whispered "ah" should move
in and out in a cycle
- do not try to reach your 100% capacity
(perhaps only 80% before turning around)
- test the flow of the "ah" by
speaking in a resonant voice while exhaling
- tongue out of the way
- when you open a paper bag does it fill
with air? (is there effort)
- in order to inhale we simply create
space
- how does a muscle work? (either
contracted or not)
- opposite muscles work in pairs (bicep
and tricep)
- internal rib muscles aid in inhale (as
does scm secondarily)
- external rib muscles aid in exhale
- if you hold on to one group the other
can't take over (squeeze the ribs and arms and try to
breathe in)
- fist clench is a good demonstration
for how slow releasing muscles are
- very little sensory awareness exists
for ribs (and none for daiphragm-only feel secondarily)
- on the inhale movement of the ribs is
up and out (like a water pump or bucket handle)
- no compression on exhale
- movement of diaphragm is from sternum
to bottom of the ribs only (relatively small)
- diaphragm is either domed up in exhale
or flat in exhale
- no isometrics-valsalva
manuver-diaphragm pressing against abdominal wall
- test resistance by stopping air with
hand during exhale (while continuing to blow as if the
hand was not there)
- resistance is built up outside body-by
an external source-not internally
- flow in flow out no stopping to set
- air in through nose and mouth
- quick breath is no problem if you
don't have to let go of tension before inhale and reset
tension after
- quick breath poses 2 problems
embouchure reset and body tension reset (why not
illuminate both)
- first breath 100% 2nd is 50%
usually-not so if there is no tension and no setting
- train quick breath using concone with
inserted breaths of extended length (breathing from the
point of stopping until the moment of playing)
- 1 breath for all activity (sports,
music, life)(yoga breath exercises are only to strengthen
to to use for playing)
- embouchure
- corners should remain in repose until
a note is sounded
- no setting before playing (this
creates excess tension)
- no different set or preparation for
any register
- if you have difficulty moving high to
low it is because you are set for high
- breathe up until point of playing
- to find this: start
"normally"; then stop note (freeze embouchure);
and, SLOWLY release the corners so you feel sensory
change; begin a new note from there
- watch yourself in the mirror ONLY if
you are doing it the same way while looking
- 5 min. a day-then forget it
- find the buzz point with a finger
- lips must touch before sound can be
there (during inhale)
- take care the setting doesn't pull
lips apart
- missed notes is a sign of mis setting
or excess tension manifesting after the first note
- tongue
- practice the cowboys and indians
approach to tongue (with woo-woo)
- repeat without the vocal sound, only
air
- repeat without the hand, tongue only
- holding horn
- holding (raising) is not from the side
or shoulders
- lifting (supporting) is from
underneath
- create a pyramid shape that is narrow
and steep
- when raising the horn take care not to
compress ribs or raise chest
- elbows should be free and flexible
while playing
- horn weight is balanced with the left
hand and thumb only
- horn angle
- (for students whose band director is
after them about the horn angle being level or up)
- if horn movement comes after horn is
in place and is brought to face, there is no problem
- if body is brought to the horn there
will be tension before beginning
- availability and choice are the issue
(non-habitual movement or rigidity)
Musical Suggestions:
- think of the character you want
- be a storyteller
- seek a MUSICAL teacher not a
pedagogical teacher
- some who can teach by playing (sound)
- schuman 2
- don't approach this by thinking mf and
holding back
- firebird
- reduce the melody to 1 pitch
- make the line have forward motion even
though it is on one pitch
- work from long notes down to shorter
- work from lighter to harder tongue
- this is not about hard tong with
little air and sound
- this is about a lot of air and sound
and little tongue
- royal fireworks
- convert the melody to a simplified
version and make sure your direction is clear through
that line
- all notes lead to a target
- downbeat is the strongest (and
slightly longer) pulse
- consider slightly longer notes, softer
tongue, lighter approach for baroque
- take care not to accent sixteenth
pickups (that may need to be done from the back of the
orchestra)
General Suggestions:
- performance anxiety
- Alexander is not the only solution but
it does deal directly with the symptoms by inhibiting
them at all times
- performance anxiety is startle reflex
slowed down
- startle reflex is fluttering/blinking
eyes, tightening the neck, pulling the shoulders down,
shallow breathing
- great quotes
- Alexander is not a non-doing when it
comes to the trumpet
- Chicowicz wanted you to flow this,
flow that, flow everything
- Bud would just play something, when
you asked him how, he would scratch his head, think, and
play it again and say "like this"
- Alexander work is a process of always
starting (never finishing)-you don't "stay" up
- having the choice is the most
important (offering that choice-once freedom is
established-to a student is the greatest gift)
- the taskmaster approach rarely works
for students, allow the compassionate approach of
alexander technique to filter into your teaching