By Dr. Logan Chopyk
I was honored to spend all day yesterday coaching a local middle school band program’s low brass players. Working with these students is always a rewarding experience, but it also highlighted a trend that I think is fairly universal for players of this age and experience level: the tendency to play softly and with a massive amount of tension in the breath, shoulders, and face. If young players start out holding their air back and squeezing their lips together, their development will be stunted. Here is why we need to encourage our beginners to clear that tension, let the air flow freely, and simply play loud.
The Trap of the Timid Beginner
It is incredibly common for new brass players to shy away from making a big sound. In an effort to control the instrument (or perhaps out of a fear of making a “bad” noise), they tense up. The breath becomes shallow, the shoulders rise to the ears, and the embouchure becomes a pinched, squeezed mechanism rather than a relaxed, vibrating one.
To clear this out during my coaching session, I walked the students through a simple exercise:
- Find the Feeling: I asked them to notice what a relaxed, good feeling felt like in their bodies.
- Air Without Tone: We kept that relaxed feeling going as they moved air through the instrument without trying to produce a note.
- Let the Tone Happen: Finally, while keeping that relaxed, flowing air, I asked them to simply let the air “find” the tone in the instrument.
The result was stunning.
Finding the Resonance
Once the physical tension is cleared, students can experience what I believe is the absolute most important sensation for young beginners: loud resonance. This happens when air is flowing completely freely and fully activating the air column of the instrument.
To achieve this, we have to allow them to “blast.” If a student can only get a soft tone at first, ask them to crescendo. As they get louder, they will eventually hit a point where they experience a distinct “edge” in the sound.
- Can they surf that edge sound with their air for a longer time? * Can they internalize and remember that physical feeling?
- Can they do it repeatedly?
Pro Tip for Educators: A teacher demonstration works absolute miracles for this pursuit. Show them exactly what that free, resonant, edgy sound looks and sounds like!
Resonance Before Refinement
Why is this loud, uninhibited playing so crucial? Because once they have that fundamental feeling of resonance, they can do anything else. Once the instrument is truly ringing, a student can learn to resonate softly. They can add crisp articulation. They can tackle any other complex type of playing. But if the fundamental approach is built on tension, restricted air, and a pinched face, those advanced techniques will always feel like an uphill battle.
The Bottom Line
Trust me on this: Band directors would love to have a loud and present low brass section. It is infinitely better for a student to get “the hand” from the podium telling them to bring the volume down than to never be heard at all and play in total obscurity.
So, to all the beginner brass players out there (and the teachers guiding them): Relax, let the air flow, and don’t be afraid to play loud!