Archived under: Embouchure, Horn study, Performance & Playing | William Brophy
Brophy on Pitch Bending
One topic I get asked about, as it is one of the exercises in The Brass Gym, is that of pitch bending. I think of it being basically a muscular thing, forcing the note down in the “groove.”
I just noted that the Brophy book has a section on pitch bends where he describes how to bend pitches. William R. Brophy wrote Technical Studies for Solving Special Problems on the Horn (1977) during his tenure as Professor of Horn at Ohio University. He used pitch bending to open up the sound in the lower register. He explains how to best bend pitches.
The pitch change is accomplished by opening up the oral cavity and throat, but a slight downward and forward movement of the jaw if necessary, and by some slight relaxation of the embouchure, though a minimum amount of lip change is desirable. Do not help the pitch change by closing the bell with the right hand.
Strive to match the tone quality of the “bent” not to that of the “real” note. Be sure that the lowered pitch is supported with the same amount and intensity of air as the starting note.
I don’t know much else about Brophy himself besides he wrote this book that is a standard still used by horn teachers. I have not used it much but may use it more after looking it over again. I still recall being told of this book as a young professional by another pro who liked it a lot; at that time I had never even heard of the book, it was outside of the materials my teachers had used with me.
I would love to hear from someone with more biographical details on Brophy. I can however as one last item in this post point you to an interesting clip of him speaking on the HornPlanet site. Check it out: http://www.hornplanet.com/entersounds/brophy2.wav
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