If we can agree that there are over one hundred consonances in Languages,
and if we can agree that articulation is virtually the consonance of the
musical language, then how many types of articulation are there in music, and
much more specifically, how many types of articulation do we have the possibility
of producing on brass instruments?
Vocal consonants have been used successfully in teaching brass instruments
for a very long time; every brass player has learned to start a note with Ta,
Da or an occasional Ka, but, in fact, there are huge differences between consonants
in speech and articulations on brass instruments.
Nature created our vocal mechanism in a very functional and wonderful
way; the sound source comes first and the consonant comes second. It works
beautifully, the vibration from the larynx reaches the mouth and with vowels
and consonances we have an infinite possibility of sounds, in fact, we have language.
But what happens when the articulation mechanism (the tongue) comes
first and the sound source (the lips) come second? The results are so different
that comparisons can be dangerous or at least difficult.
Still, most of our references to playing brass instruments come from
vocal concepts. I was very surprised in 1990 when performing and recording
Verdi’s Il Trovatore with the Maggio Musicalli di Firenze with Luciano
Pavarotti singing the lead. I was amazed to hear Pavarotti vocalizing (warming
up) on one of the exercises in my book, an exercise from the famous James Stamp
trumpet book which I took and modified and which Mr. Stamp had taken and modified
from the time proven copious repertoire of vocal exercises. From Maestro
Pavarotti I was hearing this exercise in its original form for the first time.
These old vocal methods work for brass instruments and they will continue to
work, but there are a few differences that need to be addressed.
For example, what is the difference between Ta and Da? Ta, is what
linguists call a non vocalized plosive, first we hear the sound of the
consonant (articulation) then the sound of the vowel (tone); this works very
well on a brass instrument. But Da, the articulation that we are taught to use
for a softer attack is a vocalized plosive, quite a different situation.
With Da, first is the vocal sound then the consonant. That’s not possible on a
brass instrument, except when connected to a note that is already
sounding. Ta and Da have nevertheless worked well for generations to guide
brass students to discriminate different articulations, but they are limited in
their scope.
There are four aspects to articulating on brass instruments and when a
player can coordinate those four things, the capacity for a wide spectrum of articulations
is enormous. The four aspects are:
1. Airflow
at impact.
2. Embouchure
resistance at impact.
3. Tongue
placement at impact.
4. Air
compression released by the tongue at impact; i.e. Articulation.
Of course, airflow at impact is determined largely by dynamic and
register, the lower and the louder requiring greater airflow. Embouchure resistance is created when the air meets the embouchure.
That resistance together with the airflow broadens even more the potential
verity of articulations.
Tongue placement modifies attack in a very important way. Like the
different Ts mentioned above, tongue placement changes the articulation from a
clear instant attack when it is forward and a less instant attack with the
tongue further back in the mouth. It should also be noted that generally the
low register responds better with the tongue forward, even between the lips,
and in the higher register to avoid being too abrupt, it works better further
back in the mouth. The compression of air behind the tongue at impact determines the type
of the attack. Suddenly, the potential becomes evident. The possibilities are enormous.
Now come two tasks: learning to use these four articulation functions
and far more importantly, which mix of the four possibilities serve best our
musical purpose?
With essentially an infinite number of possibilities these articulations
need to be on demand from the information in our musical mind’s ear; this is
one of the many reasons for listening to music of all kinds. The more we know
and the more we have experienced, the more sonic vocabulary we have to call
upon for expressing our own individual musicality. The danger here is that we too easily learn a small vocabulary of
articulations and dogmatically continue using only those that are familiar.
In an essay on articulation, something should be said about starting a
note without using the tongue at all. This can occasionally be a good therapy
for correcting poor response but as a normal day-to-day articulation it is very
limited. Articulation is the fine-tuning of rhythm and most of the time the
rhythmic energy of the music requires articulation be focused and clear.
In language when we are unclear with our consonants we have a tendency
to sound either drunk or stupid, we all know that sound! But when clear consonants
are returned in our speaking we can give the impression of intelligence! It’s
very much the same with musical performance particularly in lower instruments.
In low registers the human ear hears less clearly, therefore we who play in
those low registers need to make a special effort in articulating clearly.
Music becomes more enjoyable to play and to hear.
As William Bell used to say for his goodbyes, “Tatakatut”
Hiroshima, Japan, January 22,
2006
Modified November 4, 2008,
Tokyo
Revised July 4, 2012, Tokyo
