Klarinet Archive - Posting 000827.txt from 2000/11

From: "Kevin Fay (LCA)" <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Song and Wind (was Article: Breathing and Support)
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 10:45:35 -0500

Floyd Williams posted:

<<<There is an excellent article/interview with Arnold Jacobs,the famous
brass pedagogue and Dr. David Cugell,MD in the book,"Arnold Jacobs:The
Legacy of a Master" P.104.>>>

Arnold Jacobs dedicated a great deal of effort in exploring the
technical, physiological side of wind playing. He designed a series of
devices to train correct breathing, which he saw as an essential
foundation for music-making -- sort of "weight training" for wind
musicians. =20

Fortunately for us, much of his teaching has been preserved; my
brass-playing friends would send you to http://www.windsongpress.com/.
I have a copy of "Song and Wind"; it's an interesting read indeed.

Breathing technique was the means, of course, not the end. Here's an
excerpt:

Excerpted from Arnold Jacobs: Song and Wind*=20
By Brian Frederiksen=20

One of Jacobs' most famous phrases is Song and Wind. During his lecture
at the 1995 International Brassfest in Bloomington, Indiana, he
explained:=20

"My approach to music is expressed as Song and Wind. This is very
important to communicate a musical message to the audience.=20

"This approach is one of simplicity as the structure and function of the
human being is very complex, but we function in a simple manner. When we
bring it to the art form it becomes very simple.=20

"Song, to me, involves about 85 percent of the intellectual
concentration of playing an instrument, based on what you want the
audience to hear.=20

"You cannot get anywhere without wind. If you think of a car, the wheels
will not turn without an energy source--the engine. Brass players must
have a source of energy as there must be a vibrating column of air for
the instrument to amplify and resonate. The musical engine is the
vibration of the lips. However, the lips cannot vibrate without wind.=20

"When we combine Song and Wind, the musical message, song, is the
principal element comprising 85 percent of the consciousness. The
remaining 15 percent is the application of the breath, wind, to fuel the
vibration of the lips."=20

Adolph Herseth puts it another way, "You have to start with a very
precise sense of how something should sound. Then, instinctively, you
modify your lip and your breathing and the pressure of the horn to
obtain that sound."=20

Wind is the energy source used to fuel the conceptual message of the
song from the brain. His emphasis of Song and Wind shows how much
importance Jacobs gives to musical conception. "Study the product, not
the method. Mentalize music by making statements, not by asking
questions."

. . . so there may be something we can learn from our compatriots in
the row behind us!

kjf

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