Mr. MacBeth obviously missed my point. I never said that the Maggio System does not work. I said that it's not the right system for everyone. No rebuttal was neccessary.

I'll respond more on a point by point bases below:

In a message dated 97-06-30 06:24:30 EDT, Carlton MacBeth writes:

<< This is a rebuttal to the statements that Ed Lewis directed to me in
> which he stated " I personally try not to let my tone change and thus
> avoid the syllables.  However...the tone sounds best when the oral
> cavity is open at exactly the right amount to enhance the resonance."
> Then he goes on to defend his theory.

This part of my post was not directed towards you. I was simply stating my current work in this area.
 
> Mr Lewis, what I understand about resonance is it usually related to the
> developement of a singer or in the bowels of the instrument such as a
> trumpet, violin, piano and etc.  There is no way you can get the
> resonance of the trumpet sound until the air creates a viberation of the
> lips and thats after it passes through the oral cavity.

Perhaps.......but I do hope you are not saying that the size of the oral cavity does not effect the sound. I may not know all of the techno-jargon involved in the physics of sound, but I do know that playing the same note with an Eee syllable produces a totally different sound from the same note with an Oooh syllable. I really hope that you don't believe otherwise.
 
> The theory is as simple as this:  To play the trumpet you have to assume
> the role of a human bellow, push the air between lips that are loose and
> relaxed so you can send a maximum of viberation through the trumpet,
> trombone or any other brass instrument. Then and only then will you get
> a resonance from your horn.
 
> The object of all of this is to be able to play from pedal c to the high
> g, a, and b flats above high c. With the same embouchure.
> Then you can play the music that is written for todays trumpet players
> and not be concerned with whether you can play the parts.
 
If that is your object, then I have absolutly no need for your system, wether I can play those notes or not. Playing trumpet should never be reduced to a range issue and I strongly believe that anything done in efforts to gain
range and nothing else are efforts towards musical vanity. (here I go again)

> Also this is a system of minimum pressure and because your body is
> relaxed increased endurance.
> "LEARN TO PLAY EFFORTLESSLY AND YOU CAN PLAY ALL DAY." Maggio,
 
> The reason I am answering this rebuttal Mr.Lewis is because that many of
> the players on the internet are students and looking for a better way to
> play and increase their progress.

I also have concerns for these students. My main concern is that they should have enough of an open mind to know that there isn't only one right way to play the trumpet, even in respects to syllables. That is why I responded to your post in the first place. I didn't think that it should go uncontested.

I purchased the Pocket Edition of the Maggio System about two months ago. I did this as part of an ongoing project of mine to expose myself to as many different ways to play as I can become acquainted with. I began this accumulation of knowledge after reading Herbert L. Clarke's "How I Became a Cornetist". I was inspired by Clarke's open mindedness and have made it an important part of my approach ever since. As a result, I've bought at least fifty books in the past four months and I study them earnestly. Having done so, even for this short ammount of time, I realize how difficult it would be for any player to achieve greatness on this instrument without trying more than one approach.

I say this in efforts to explain that I am not mounting a personal attack on mr. MacBeth nor the Maggio System. If I am attacking at all (and I feel that I am not), then it is an attack on closed mindedness in general. I encourage everyone on this list to become familiar with the Maggio System simply because it is such a prominent approach......BUT PLEASE......don't stop there.

Clarke said that each method was basically a summary of how the author plays. By exposing yourself to more different authors (thus trumpet players and their approaches) you increase your chances of finding something that works for you. Looking at from that angle, I can't see what could possibly be more important to an up and coming trumpet player than an open mind.

Eddie Lewis
TigerLewis@aol.com
Houston, TX
http://members.aol.com/TigerLewis/gcs.htm