Hi John;
You asked these questions.
<<<1. Tuba players and horn players are routinely taught
not to pivot by
many teachers as it is physically cumbersome for a variety of obvious
reasons.
For the lower register, the mantra is "drop the jaw."
For the upper register, it is a simple matter of embouchure development
to control the aperture. >>>
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John this IS ALSO routinely taught by some trumpet teachers. It was
taught by Don Jacoby. The lowering of the jaw is a type of pivot. IT changes
the angle of attachment of the lips to the mouthpiece.
The statement about embouchure development is almost a direct quote
from the Farkas Book.
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<<< The problem with dropping the jaw for low notes on
the trumpet is
that if you drop it very much, the bottom lip pretty much starts
to
slide out of the mouthpiece, and the ideal placement of the mouthpiece
for the rest of the trumpet register is compromised.>>>
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It does NOT take much to accomplish the objective. The amount needed
is about 1/4 what most people who try it actually do. The same with a pivot.
IT is normally very over emphasized. Too much is NOT a good thing.
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<<<The purpose of practicing a downward bend to the note
is to promote a
"pouting" of the lower lip, thus opening up the aperture. Combined
with
the pivot towards an upstream position and a general reduction in
mouthpiece pressure, this pouting motion allows us to reach the
lowest
notes without dropping the jaw and compromising where the metal
hits the
flesh. It is important to note that we aren't just pivoting to get
the
low notes. There must be a reduction in pressure and a pouting of
the
lower lip or the jaw is going to drop. The pivot allows the lower
lip
the freedom to pout further. >>>
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True BUT TOO much pout or rolling of the lips can be bad as well. Proper
playing is a series of compromises. We attempt to reach a balance so that
we can maintain a good tone in all registers. When you play with rolling
the lips out to go low and in to play high it
is easy to change the timbre of the registers. I find that a very slight
lowering of the jaw and or a pivot combined with a broader air stream does
not create as much timbre change. I also stress relaxing the corners, and
the chest to allow the low notes to come out. They will NOT be forced out
with a good sound. Jake told us to think of letting a Low G roll out of
the bell onto the floor. We blew the high notes across the room.
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<<< Now we must consider the most common
pivot for the upper register and what it attempts to accomplish.
To
begin with, this pivot is nearly always accompanied by, if not preceded
with an increase in mouthpiece pressure.
I think there is some general agreement that we increase pressure
as we
try to play higher because the aperture needs to get smaller or
at least
maintain its size as the air speeds up.
When the lips lack the strength to do this, we help them with mouthpiece
pressure. >>>
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John here is a quote from The Art Of Brass Playing. (page 54) "The
more pressure he uses, the less the lips will develop - the less
the lips develop, the more pressure he uses." This is NOT from a no
pressure player. It is from a symphonic player.
People it is ALL about embouchure development and air usage.
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<<<1. Many players, especially younger players tend to
let the jaw
recede as they perform this upper register pivot. It is my observation
that if this jaw recession in the upper register is pronounced,
the
results aren't so good.
2. Many of the strongest players I've known do the lower register
pivot
but don't do a very pronounced upper register pivot, if any at all.
If I
can notice a pivot in a player with a strong upper register, the
jaw
usually doesn't recede much.>>>
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Yes Stevens taught a forward jaw position. Look at who else taught
one.
The Art of Brass Playing (page 7).
"The thrust-forward jaw position is not only NORMAL, but, in my opinion,
is an absolute necessity if one is to get that air-column directed straight
through the horn for a big, rich and free tone."
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<<<3. Whenever the upper register pivot is observed,
you know the
player is only good for a few more notes, perhaps a P5 or so. My
teaching philosophy is to tell students the higher they can go before
doing the upper register pivot, the better the upper register.>>>
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I don't know of anyone saying that a pivot will add an octave to the
range. The only claims that Reinhardt, Jacoby and others made was that
a pivot made quick register changes easier. It does that. Again
range is about getting a small aperture, proper embouchure development
and good air usage.
The best parts of The Encyclopedia of the Pivot System dealt with embouchure development and breathing. A pivot is only one very small part of playing and Reinhardt acknowledged that.
Information about my trumpet & embouchure books.
http://www.BbTrumpet.com
Best wishes
Clint 'Pops' McLaughlin