Matching Students to Instruments; Assembling Instruments;

Holding Positions

Handouts = Facial Characteristics.docx; Altered Mouthpiece.bmp (me only)

Test #1 is through Embouchure and Mouthpiece Placement

1. First – why people choose to play brass
   1. Thrill of sound production
   1. Certain personality types lean toward it
   1. Non-musical reasons (parents played, in the attic, TV personality, shiny)

• Particular brass instrument
  • Personality type – instrument and/or music; shapes personality?
  • Physical size
• Tuba needs large lung capacity
• Longer arms needed for trombone (slide extenders) and trumpet
  • Cost
  • Good ear
  • Instrument already owned by family
  • Arkadelphia schools – all students try most instruments

• Facial characteristics
  • Some lead to successful brass playing, others away from it
  • Tooth structure, muscle fiber, lip size
  • Good features
• Devoid of bad features
• Four strong and even front teeth, the more square and flat the better – braces thin lips for tpt and horn
  • Neutral features
• small overbite, ¼” or less – can compensate for it
• small under bite, ¼” or less – usually better range, worse tone
• crooked teeth, but not to an extreme
• dislocated incisor (front center teeth) forces player to play off center (no problem)
  • Bad features
• teeth
  • corner of any tooth protruding tends to cut lip, perhaps dentist can help
  • Extreme spacing of front teeth
  • Overbite, which cannot be compensated, not a good foundation
  • Single front tooth sticking out cuts lip
  • Overcrowded teeth often cause crooked teeth
  • Very crooked teeth, often causes cut and bruised lips, disturb air flow
  • Inward slanted teeth
  • Extremely protruding jaw requires more practice
• Lips
  • Upper lip which is short (see gums when smiling)and must stretch to cover upper teeth usually stretched beyond a position of strength
  • Very stiff lips
  •  Not determined by size
  •  No easy range
  •  Slow response, air heard before tone, note start hard
  •  Very impure sound
  • Fleshy part of upper lip which hangs down excessively
  • Hidden flap on upper lip
• Solutions to dental problems
  • Braces- which can cause other problems – more on this later
  • Bent mouthpieces or cushion rim on mouthpiece

• • Sharp edge on tooth because tooth is twisted can cut lip; dentist can take the sharp edge off with a grinding wheel
  • Facial structure is more critical on high brass than on low brass – smaller mouthpiece, greater tension, faster lip vibrations
  • Thin lips tend to move successful on high brass
  • Features which usually work better on low brass
    • Lips
      • Heavier thicker lips
      • Short upper lip shows when student smiles
      • Hidden layer of flesh
      • Some response problems in lips
    • Teeth – open bite
    • Muscle texture some students will require 3 times as much effort to play high brass

Rule: Let the student try it before you make a judgment- many students overcome seemingly extreme physical disadvantages if they have the talent and the desire