Whisperroom

Hey all,

It has been awhile since I wrote anything, I did make a rather large purchase recently to improve my quality of life as a musician, and well… allow myself to practice properly again.

Long story short, I live in a condo, horns are loud, neighbors can only be so understanding… oh ya, we have all been at home for a year, and realistically at least for me up here, the end isn’t obviously in sight.

So I got a 4848 Standard WhisperRoom to practice and record in. I’ll give a post later that goes more into it, but here is a quick video showing it in action, hindsight should have busted out my dB meter, but I didn’t. The video cuts to the chase and just shows how much more my neighbors will let me continue to be here…

Oh ya, this also means I can stream again, so doing that again on YT.

Getting Started teaching online - compiled

I was going to write one of these

I have been helping many people get their online teaching going, so I thought, hey Mat! Write a blog post. Then everyone beat me to it. SO, in turn I am going to create a list of sources I have seen that are solid and put them all in one place.

So Eric wrote what is becoming the essential guide, so here is that link if you consult 1, this is the one.
The Best Services and Settings for Remote Music Lessons (with step-by-step instructions)

Eric also wrote a good article on getting setup for cheap
Setup guide

If you are on windows, read this! Turn off the enhancements!
How to turn off audio enhancements on Windows

Jason Heath of Contrabass Conversations provides some great insight
Newbie’s guide to teaching online

JazzEd Network has a good video (long but covers some great information)
Online teaching for non-online Teachers

Finally take two minutes and watch Hojoon Kim tell you how to not have your lessons suck
Your online lesson sucks. Let’s fix it.


There is a ton more out there, but this is a good place to start.

Self Plug

Learn about my online horn lessons

Daily Horn “group Sessions” at 10:30AM (MST) on YouTube

Quick Tips for Lesson Audio Setup

Hey everyone I know we are working quick to get setup to teach remotely and online I want to give a few ideas that can help this process. There are lots of great resources out there but here are things I’ve learned over a few years of experience.


For you and the student

  • If you get distorted audio try the following

    • Move away from the mic/phone

    • If you can turn down the gain

    • Place the mic off axis (think of this as follows, aim the phone/mic so it isn’t aimed directly at you or the student. This can help a great deal. Just consider what you need to see vs. what you want to hear.)

  • Use headphones and level the mic for playing level not talking.

    • It is a fine balance. If you have a way to setup a knob (digital mixer, route the mic through a DAW first, etc) automate some levels for playing and talking.

      • I do this at times I just run it to a midi controller and assign the controller to the control knob I need in my digital mixer.

    • You may need to be ready to move the mic back and forth for you (Tripod arms can help this or a my favourite common solution… a wheely chair. Push! Zoom!. You may even get a chuckle.

  • Be aware of how loud you (the teacher) are playing. With online teaching, if we aren’t setup with an interface, a good Lg. Diaphragm condenser, etc. we may not be able to play super loud, so don’t… It is an adjustment but it one we have to consider using the platform.


Student Checklist

Here is my “setup” list for the student.

  1. Microphone 3 feet away to the Left and forward. ( i play horn.. so this makes sense based on where the sound is propagating from, for bell front brass this is a pretty good spot as well, but be ready to drift it sideways a bit)

  2. Use only a single ear phone of ear bud, keep the ear by the horn bell open.

    • Be ready to take it on and off I tend to work with older students

  3. Be able to see the laptop/computer screen, we will share some sheet music. If you are using the laptop/tablet for the microphone we may skip this step, or use it less sparingly.

    • If this is the case I will send pdfs for the student to print in advance of anything I would otherwise share.

That is it. The rest we can adjust on the fly.

Final ideas

  • In general level things a bit lower than you think (we can always turn up the audio on the device) .

  • Consider using a high pass filtre to cut down some of the scratchy upper stuff on your end (I’d not worry about this with students…)

  • Be flexible, be ready to use your voice to sing and demonstrate if the mic starts getting in the way. Singing and hand gestures can be teaching gold online.


Now my personal plug (sorry… I have to)

10:30AM (MST) daily “group horn” warm ups on YouTube

$15 online lessons right now during the current world affairs we find ourselves in.

Remote and online teaching

Remote teaching and online learning

Hey everyone, we are in interesting times right now. As a freelancer you can guess I now have a great abundance of time. I do. I am hoping to use that time for projects that have sat dormant, catching up on admin, but also trying to create some access for people looking to keep learning.

$15 Skype Lessons

Right now, and for the foreseeable future I am going to be doing my online teaching for $15 (USD) an hour. That is right, remote horn lessons for $15.

Group morning sessions

I am also exploring bringing back some “accountable practice” streams and treating them as group horn sessions, each one focusing on certain aspects of horn playing.

My current plan is 10:30AM (MST) on YouTube, as I am personally navigating the changes it may not be everyday but I will share on social media when I go live. I’ll also have a link here.

We are in it together, lets take the opportunity to learn

Flutter Tongue Exercises

The Flutter tongue

Hey everyone, first off the obvious plug. I wrote a book about flutter tonguing, it is a systematic approach it is available in a digital edition from Qpress

This post though is a supplement to the book, and has some thoughts you can apply right away to start either learning to flutter tongue, or improve the control you already have.

Exercise 1 - The foundation

This exercise is all about learning to flutter. Work without the horn and focus on air. For details on how this works watch the video below. A quick outline is that we work to create tongue motion with an emphasis on air flow by working on holding the tip of the tongue in place at the contact point of the articulation stroke as we blow emphatic air against it.

The view outlines it better than I could write it here breifly.

Exercise 2 - Into the resistance

The greatest challenge for fluttering is learning to work with the added resistance and perceived lack of space that is created when we flutter. To do this we play flutter tones on the horn. Flutter tones are made by fluttering without a buzz on the horn creating a super low pitch.

Once you have the flutter tone try to slowly bring the embouchure into focus until pitch is created. This, like long tones from air teach us to find and control the initial point of vibration. This is called control.

Exercise 3 - The transition

As flutter has become more and more common our need to control it at many dynamics has grown. As well another common application is to move either from a flutter to straight sound or vice verse. The exercise here is to learn to do that, to disengage the tongue without stopping the sound.

Practice this by starting a note with a flutter and then trying to retract the tongue back into the vowel part of your articulation (the Ah, of TA for example) without causing the sound to stop. It sounds easy but fluttering creates some crazy things inside your mouth around the air… so take some time and learn to control it.

Happy Practicing.

Check out the Youtube channel, subscribe, or pick up a copy of “Flutter Tongue”

Breathing device videos

Working with air

If you have followed my practice sessions, you know I generally incorporate breathing, what brass player doesn’t? It is so critical to what we do, it is also full of habits. To help me with those habits I make use of various breathing devices in a focused way as a bridge between conception and playing (read the book Song and Wind)..

I have been fortunate to work with some of the best breathers out there (most of them studying with Jacobs at some point, or one of Jacobs' students). Breathing devices can be complicated, or simple depending on how we use them. What they do allow us to do is introduce strangeness into our air, and provide a means of visual information and feedback. We can then use that information to inform our playing.

Since everyone doens’t have access to the same resources I am slowly releasing videos that deal with the use of various breathing devices that I use and have been with me for awhile.

The first two are below and more are on their way.

Happy practicing.

(My youtube channel - feel free to subscribe as I am planning some other videos on playing beyond breathing)


In the grind with Arbans

Summer work

I love the summer, you can get really deep in your playing and we tend to have more time to really pull things apart. For me it is more of the same honestly, Arbans, Schlossberg, etc. BUT the fun part… more of it!! Below is my current regime for the AM.

Summer lesson deal. I am also running a deal on online lessons right now Learn more below (it is a pretty solid discount, and limited space) (40% off single lessons, 50% off bookings of 4)

LEARN MORE

The Session

Arbans (any missed note is isolated and attacked 2 times on air and 3 times with tongue)

  • First studies: 1 page a day. (Different keys or pick a key of the day, play in all registers)

  • Flexibility: 16/17/18/19. Down an octave.

  • Syncopation: 1 page a day (Play in all registers)

  • Chromatics: Pick 2 or 3 exercises. Play those in all registers back to back. So you should get one exercise in 3 octaves, rest between each exercise, but not registers.

  • Slurring or legato: no.13, 14, and

  • Intervals: no.1 Pick a few lines, play all variations

  • Double tonguing: Pick 5 or 6 exercises

  • Slur and double tongue: Pick a few exercises (remember you can take them into different registers)

  • The Art of Phrasing - Pick one or two

  • Kopprasch players choice.

That is it. It is a slog, throw on a movie or something if you need to.