PHOTO : BARB MCDOUGALL
BRASS
Ian McDougall is an award-winning Canadian trombonist , composer , and educator . He is best known in his role as lead trombonist with the Grammy and Juno Award-winning ensemble Rob McConnell ’ s The Boss Brass . He is also a Yamaha artist and clinician . For more information , visit www . ianmcdougall . com .
By Ian McDougall
The Most Important Basics
When teaching new students , I often start by giving them a short lecture that goes something like this …. “ You ’ ve joined the school band and you have acquired an instrument to start you on your way . After receiving it , you think to yourself , ‘ Gee , this is a real musical instrument – there must be something special I have to do to make it work !’ Well ,” I continue , “ this simply isn ’ t true . It ’ s all within your natural being to begin to play the instrument successfully !”
It is really quite amazing how many beginners – and veteran players , too – try to fight their own bodies and somehow come up with their own special methods of breathing and blowing . Hopefully , after they realize how it all works , they will eventually let their natural body mechanics do what they are supposed to do .
Breathing Let ’ s start with breathing , something you already do naturally . If you decide to stop , then goodbye ! Think of a child ’ s stomach as they nap on their backs – the tummy rises and falls as they continue sleeping . If your dad is snoozing on the sofa , same thing . Lie on your back , relax , and check it out . This is how we humans take in our air , whether sleeping , standing , sitting , or engaging in athletics . Some ( like me ) call it “ belly breathing .”
I have done dozens of clinics at schools all across the country and internationally , and in getting started at these events , I ask the class / band members what sort of organ or mechanism we use to breathe while taking in the air . Someone will usually say , “ The diaphragm pulls in the air .” “ Correct ,” I reply . I then ask them what we do to get rid of the air , and after a bit of a pause , I usually get the answer , “ The diaphragm pushes it out .” “ Wrong ,” I say , “ The diaphragm doesn ’ t do anything ! It just relaxes , and the air leaves the body as the diaphragm gets ready to repeat the process .”
By the way , upward movements of the shoulders have nothing to do with it ! So , now you know how the air is taken in naturally , and other than natural breathing , we have to learn how to control the air when blowing .
I always insist that my students take in a full breath every time they begin to play , even if it is for just one eighth note . This gets one in the habit of being in complete control of the air and , therefore , the instrument . The way we use the air defines the sound that we make , and making a wonderfully resonant sound is what we are striving for first and foremost . It is up to the player to seek that sound by listening to what they are playing , and if they are not satisfied , they must fix it !
Blowing It is difficult to demonstrate this verbally , but I will do my best . ( I will be making a YouTube video that will be available on my website , and of course a picture is worth a thousand words .)
Take a full breath , and purse your lips as if you were about to whistle . Let the diaphragm do its thing , and as it relaxes , just let the air flow freely – keep doing this for a few cycles . Next , put a little more effort on the exhaling , as if you were blowing out a candle – not a short quick one , but an extended release . You ’ ll find a little more tension in the belly – do this for a few cycles , and close your eyes and imagine what your belly is doing . You don ’ t want the diaphragm to completely collapse or relax as you did in the first exercise ; you are now seeking control of how you release the air . At first , let your abdominal muscles help you to take over some of the control and you are now blowing in a basic way .
The most important point here is : do not suck your belly in toward your backbone ; keep the abdominals in control until you have completed expelling the breath . I really do recommend that you do this with your eyes closed , while mentally visualizing the process that is going on in your body .
Food For Thought When mentoring school bands , etc ., I always boast that I can make a band sound better in five minutes . More often than not , I see virtually every sax , trumpet , and trombone player sucking in a scant spoonful of air , then using that to make a weak attempt at producing a sound . Then I tell them the following little tale :
Yesterday , I had to travel from Toronto to Ottawa to perform in a music festival . I got in my car and started off . After a couple of minutes , the yellow light came on , letting me know that I was very low on gas , so I stopped at the first service station and asked the attendant for a cup of gas . “ Yes sir ,” he said as he put in the gas , “ That will be 15 cents .” I paid him , and off I went . A few minutes later , guess what ? The yellow light came on again . So , I stopped at another station and did the same thing . Toronto to Ottawa is about 450 km , and if I have to stop every five minutes , it will take me a couple of weeks to get there . “ So ,” I ask the class , “ what should I have done at the first service station ?” And of course , I get the obvious answer : “ Fill it up !”
Fill it up , blow , and enjoy playing your music !
30 • CANADIAN MUSICIAN