Working out the Low Range
In two very recent posts I wrote about how in my teaching this past week in Taiwan I had mentioned air and hand position issues quite often. A third popular topic is the low range.
Low range work is critical to playing with a great tone. In the warm up you want to include plenty of low range work; too much focus on the high range can lead easily to a tight, trumpet-like tone. You want to keep your “center of gravity” lower than that of a trumpet player.
The embouchure in the low range will vary from person to person somewhat, but a jaw drop of some type is certainly an element of correct low range production. The drop may be gradual or may include one or more “breaks” (or a combination of both, which is what I do). Dropping the jaw is an essential key to playing well into the low range. Think “open and fairly firm,” not loose and closed which is more typical of students. To test what you are doing, take your right hand out of the bell, put your thumb on your chin, and observe what the chin does as you descend. Most students are surprised to see how little they are dropping the jaw compared to how much I drop mine.
Another key is to practice in the low range loudly. There are many ways to play in the low range softly but you have to be close to your optimal setup to play loudly in the low range.
For low range work I love the Neuling low horn etudes and also the horn version of The Brass Gym , which contains a lot of great low range exercises.
As an update on how things are going in my travels here, the first of my two solo performances with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra Wind Ensemble was tonight and went well! Early next week we are off to Shanghai!
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