RODDY o-iii<O

Days Off (Good or Bad?)

…and Lip Swelling

Here are 3 main points/questions for you to think about....

1. People who find taking time off a problem are POSSIBLY too mpc.dependant and MAY benefit from free Lip Buzzing.

2. People who find taking time off a problem, POSSIBLY, are using too much mpc.pressure... and the taking of the time off may be pointing to this area.....

3. Test your own lip efficiency....my 10 min. efficiency test on my website!...

End of short version!!!

 

READ ON FOR MORE DETAILS OF THE ''DAYS OFF THING!!''

 

Some people have commented :

''The idea about inefficient buzzers can't afford as much time off makes sense on the one hand. However, these players, who generally use more pressure, need more time off because the swelling of the vibrating tissue''.....[end]

Yes, I agree!

Also......POSSIBLY . . people with a less efficient buzz, (let's not get into degrees of efficiency) use more mouthpiece pressure, and, PROBABLY don't 'buzz' like they 'play' (great lip buzzers: Clarke, Mendez, Gordon, Jacoby)

Swelling, (be it to different degrees, PROBABLY happens to most people.)

Some more severe than others.

''Mouthpiece or lead pipe buzzing is not a substitute for free lip buzzing.'' [Pops]

....go read Clint McLaughlin…. and buy the books....

http://www.bbtrumpet.com/articles/39.html

Something which we can ALL (possibly) agree on ''I think'' is.....

TOO much mpc. pressure is bad and leads to swelling and or bruising to differing degrees.

Here is a clip from Eddie Lewis' site: ''Inflammation (swelling) vs. Muscular playing...

''An inflammation embouchure is an embouchure which requires an exact degree of swelling inside the lips, where the mouthpiece rests. Back when I played this way, I not only had a lump inside my lips but I also had bruises.

The way the bump works is that it gives you an alternative to muscular strength. Instead of controlling the pitch with the muscles in the lips, you control it with pressure as applied to the lump. The harder you push, the higher the pitch. The problem with playing this way is that the lump isn't constant. The more you push on them, the more they swell up. They keep swelling until they won't vibrate at all. When this happens, you put your horn up and declare, "I'm shot".

No one ever said or thought about it as swelling. No one ever said that we should maintain a proper amount of swelling. And when I warmed up, I thought of it as warming up, not as being a process of causing that inflammation. But I know, in retrospect, that that was exactly what I was doing.''......[end]

http://www.flash.net/~tigerlew/gcs/trumpet/INFLAM.HTM

This article helped me understand ''enormously'' a while back as I saw some of this in myself although not as severe as Eddies picture on his site..OUCH! ....Eddies books also taught me the value of heavy / light days...but I went on from there and included ''days off'' myself. Eddies books are great ..go get 'em!!

 

The Tasteebros say that...

"The great thing about using your air efficiently is that your practice time will be cut down a lot. If you develop the important muscles (abdominal, etc) you will not have to worry about the far less significant muscles (eg. the ones around your mouth)" [end]

I would extrapolate from this, that if the above is true...days off from the horn

(for this type of player using ''air not chops.'') are less of a problem.

( go buy the books!) www.tasteebros.com

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BASICALLY - IF YOU DO SUFFER FROM SWELLING IT'S UP TO YOU TO FIND A SYSTEM THAT REDUCES IT, BY REDUCING YOUR MPC PRESSURE.

 

I would like to nutshell the above....we were talking about why some people find taking ''days off'' good/bad.

To reiterate....

1. People who find taking time off a problem are POSSIBLY too mpc.dependant and MAY benefit from free Lip Buzzing.

2. People who find taking time off a problem, POSSIBLY, are using too much mpc.pressure, and the taking of the time off may be pointing to this area.....

3. Test your own lip efficiency....my 10 min. efficiency test on my website!