buzzing the trumpet mouthpiece

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Buzzing the Mouthpiece

Time for a Revision of Teaching Pedagogy

Neil Hansen

In this writing I will state the case that recent research warrants the updating of brass methods

textbooks which advocate the buzzing of the brass mouthpiece as a prelude to success in playing a brass

instrument. Most texts used in college brass methods classes were first written twenty five to forty

years ago and still promote mouthpiece buzzing in contradiction to recent research which proves that it

is contrary to its assumed benefits. Acceptance of this research may also encourage those who teach the

trumpet and other brass instruments to update their approach. Most of the research quoted in this

writing is entirely focused on the trumpet however most of the information will also apply to other brass

instruments.

In the

world

of

brass

players

there

is

agreement

that

a good

daily

warm

‐up

routine

should

include

long

tones, lip slurs, tonguing exercises, scales, etc. For many players the preparation to play almost becomes

a ritual which in the extreme may include intense physical activity such as calisthenics. In contrast to

these well accepted concepts, there is one area which seems to create controversy among teachers and

players alike: whether or not to buzz the mouthpiece.

When the subject of buzzing the mouthpiece is raised, there appears to be no middle ground among

knowledgeable players and teachers concerning this aspect of trumpet pedagogy. Those who do buzz as

part of a warm‐up are convinced it is one of the only ways to properly prepare themselves to play. Some

ignore this concept and utilize other means to accomplish the same goals. I have encountered players

who buzz only for a few seconds before beginning to play while others advocate spending a few seconds

up to as much as forty‐five minutes doing buzzing exercises on the mouthpiece before playing a single

note. Although this may provide some benefit to the student in the area of ear training, research shows

that buzzing the mouthpiece will introduce unwanted tension into the process of making music.

One of the main reasons mouthpiece buzzing has been advocated for so long has been the perceived

belief throughout the brass community that it helps develop the embouchure for playing the trumpet,

horn, trombone, euphonium, or tuba. One of the best descriptions of the brass embouchure comes from

the respected trumpet professor William Adam. He described the formation of the embouchure in a

1975 clinic address as follows.

I am

convinced

that

the

most

workable

embouchure

is

one

that

has

the

area

behind

the

mouthpiece

in

a state

of

resilience and quite relaxed. At the mouth area outside the corners of the mouth there is firmness, but not a real

tightness, and this feels like a warm tension. The trumpet muscles, or the buccinator muscles, are the muscles we

utilize when we are getting ready to spit. The muscles should form a passageway for the air to be accelerated

through the lips and through the horn. If we can retain the resilience and relaxation of the embouchure, we make

it possible for our air to get through the lips and the horn without too many restrictions. The more we can cut

down on the resistance of the air stream, the better the tone will be, and also the easier the horn will play. (Adam)



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The buccinator muscles on either side of the face (cheek muscles) and are described in the Merriam‐

Webster Medical Dictionary as:

… a thin broad muscle forming the wall of the cheek and serving to compress the cheek against the teeth and to

retract the angle of the mouth (Merriam‐Webster)

Adam continues

in

the

same

address

to

make

the

point

that

when

the

mouthpiece

alone

is

used

to

create a buzz it will result in unwanted tension in order to produce an audible sound. He suggests

instead using the mouthpiece and leadpipe combination as a preface to playing the trumpet. Here is

how Adam described this technique to a skeptical audience of trumpet players:

To try my exercise, first buzz your mouthpiece. Note that there is a certain amount of tension with that action.

Now instead of buzzing your lips, just think of not pre‐setting the embouchure in any way, shape or form, but just

place the mouthpiece in the lead pipe and think of moving your air through that tube. Does that seem easier than

buzzing the mouthpiece? (Adam)

I have found that to make the mouthpiece buzz, I must bring it into closer contact with the lips by using

more pressure

against

the

lips

than

I would

otherwise

desire

to

apply.

It

appears

that

the

typical

brass

player has two ways to create the buzz: either by increasing the pressure of the mouthpiece against the

lips or by blowing harder. It does not make much sense to add this tension to the warm‐up routine and

then later work to eliminate it. Instead, according to Adam, the embouchure is blown into position by

the air. Although buzzing the mouthpiece may provide some benefit to players by helping to train the

ear or mentally prepare for music performance, it necessitates the creation of too much pressure to be

included as part of a regular practice routine.

In his address Adam did not discount the fact that the lips do indeed interact with the standing wave in

the trumpet and thereby produce a sound. (Some may refer to this sensation while playing as buzzing,

but for

the

purpose

of

discussion

I will

limit

references

to

the

term

buzzing

to mean

the

sound

created

with the mouthpiece only.) Adam quotes research by Arthur Benade who, in a 1973 article titled

“Physics of Brasses” published in the Scientific American, proved that when a sound is created on the

trumpet the lips do not move until the acoustic energy is transferred back from the bell of the trumpet

to the mouthpiece. This research, which was published two years prior to Adam’s presentation,

demonstrated that the lips are then set into vibration by the standing wave and a sound is created.

In a more recent study of the physics of playing the trumpet, Thomas Moore, Professor of Physics at

Rollins College, set out to determine if what Adam stated in 1975 was accurate. In his research Professor

Moore created artificial lips and teeth and connected them to a wind source and a trumpet mouthpiece

both with

and

without

the

complete

trumpet.

Moore

proved

the

trumpet

mouthpiece

alone

does

not

produce a sound until it has been inserted into the leadpipe of the trumpet. In this study, published by

the International Trumpet Guild in 2001, he and his students proved what Adam had declared almost

thirty years earlier: the lips do not move until the mouthpiece is inserted into the trumpet.

Instead of buzzing the mouthpiece to warm‐up Adam advocated that players insert the mouthpiece into

the leadpipe only. Unless the player has a leadpipe available the easiest approach is to simply remove



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the main tuning slide. On the trumpet this use of the mouthpiece with a standard length leadpipe will

produce a pitch which typically sounds a concert Eb. As Adam has often demonstrated in his

presentations, and Moore’s research substantiated, air is first blown through the mouthpiece without

creating a buzz. Then the mouthpiece is moved into the trumpet. As the mouthpiece begins to slide into

the receiver of the trumpet the sound as the standing wave occurs. This sound will transpire without any

change in

the

airflow

through

the

mouthpiece

as

it

makes

a connection

to

the

leadpipe.

However, this does not mean this process has been generally accepted in the trumpet community. In his

article ”Mouthpiece Buzzing Confusion” Nicholas Drozdoff is well aware of both the previously quoted

articles but almost derides the concepts presented by Adam and Moore as uninformed. He does not

mention Adam by name but makes reference to his lecture presentation in the following paragraph:

In fact, one of these teachers even claims that one shouldn't actually be able to properly sustain a tone on a

mouthpiece when it isn't in the horn! This is not quite complete. What we have here is an incomplete

understanding of physics. While it is possible for some trumpeters to find that their buzz stops when the trumpet is

removed from the mouthpiece, it is just as possible to find trumpeters who can sustain a buzz while playing and

removing

the

horn

and

then

even

the

mouthpiece,

buzzing

only

the

lips!

It

turns

out

that

there

are

rather

complex

models for understanding how a trumpet and trumpeter works. ( Drozdoff)

In reading this article it becomes apparent that Drozdoff refuses to accept these documented studies

but does not present any scientific evidence to support his position. The serious student of the trumpet

might be wise to discard such unsubstantiated statements and rely instead on the documented facts. I

realize that many players will be reluctant to accept Adam and Moore’s conclusions. Most likely these

are the individuals who spend several minutes a day buzzing the mouthpiece and believe it has

benefitted their musicianship as a result. I have found in my own playing, and in that of my private

students, that the tone production on the trumpet at lower volume levels is not similar to what is

required to achieve a buzz with the mouthpiece alone.

Each year across the country university music departments teach countless aspiring music teachers to

learn the basics of brass instruments in methods classes. These courses usually utilize textbooks as part

of the class instruction. These same texts will likely become valuable references for future educators and

may provide them with a resource to answer questions concerning brass pedagogy. Therefore it is

imperative these textbooks contain the most accurate and scientifically based information.

I have discovered two of the most commonly used texts, Guide to Teaching Brass and A Complete Guide

to Brass, advocate the teaching of buzzing as a prelude to performance on the trumpet. Many music

teachers in the public schools across the country have learned in their college methods classes that the

first thing

to

be

taught

to

beginning

trumpet

players

is

the

concept

of

buzzing

the

mouthpiece.

In

fact,

when presenting the various band instruments for beginners to choose from, some educators may have

potential brass players attempt to produce a buzz with only the mouthpiece as a sort of “test” to better

predict their future success on that instrument. Here is what one such brass methods book states

concerning this practice:



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It is suggested that each student practice the buzz until the embouchure can be held steady without air pockets.,

and that he practice on the mouthpiece until he has a range of approximately one octave, which can be played

freely without undue strain, closed throat, or excessive pressure. (Hunt)

Other brass method texts promote buzzing the mouthpiece in more detail. Scott Whitener devotes

three entire pages of his book A Complete Guide to Brass to mouthpiece buzzing, advocating it as a

prelude to producing a tone on a brass instrument. Although he does warn against the use of excessive

pressure, he encourages future teachers of beginners to use this method. This results in valuable

instructional time being spent teaching students to play exercises on the mouthpiece alone.

At first glance this might seem to create a serious problem which will follow a musician for as long as he

or she plays an instrument. In most cases, however, the beginning trumpet player will quickly dispense

with buzzing the mouthpiece when the ability to play melodies on the instrument occurs. Regardless of

the impact, it is likely that most teachers of beginners believe that buzzing the mouthpiece is a positive

concept to teach young students.

Often it

is

only

when

the

player

advances

and

may

begin

taking

private

lessons

with

a specialist

that

the

concept of mouthpiece buzzing will be reintroduced. It is the private teacher who is most likely to

advocate this approach to warming up on the instrument, perpetuate its practice, and indoctrinate the

player into continuing to utilize it. As Adam promotes in his teachings, it would be better for these

students to begin their practice routine with a few minutes spent playing the mouthpiece/leadpipe

combination. This process more closely resembles the way the trumpet is actually played. If ear training

is the goal of the teacher then asking the student to sing or whistle the sounds would be more

beneficial.

I realize that many of the thoughts presented here may conflict with long held beliefs concerning tone

production

on

the

trumpet.

I,

too,

was

skeptical

of

many

of

these

ideas

when

I

first

heard

about

them.

After careful study and observation of my own playing and that of my students I have come to agree

with this update to brass pedagogy.

As stated earlier most of these textbooks were first written in the 1970’s and 1980’s and have been

revised in more recent editions. Unfortunately none have incorporated any of this recent research in

their revisions. I would hope that as the ideas presented here become more widely known that the

authors might change their pedagogical information to reflect this research.



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References

Adam, William. "1975 Clinic Address." Everythingtrumpet.com. Ed. Mark Minasian. 16 Sept. 2007

<http://everythingtrumpet.com/Bill‐Adam/articles/ClinicAddress.html>.

"Buccinator." Merriam‐Webster Medical Dictionary. Merriam‐Webster.com. 17 Sept. 2007

<http://www.m‐w.com/medical/buccinator>.

Benade, Arthur. "The Physics of Brasses." Scientific American (July 1973): 24‐35.

Moore, Thomas. "Playing Without Buzzing: Fact or Fiction?" International Trumpet Guild Journal 25.4

(June 2001): 51+13.

Drozdoff, Nicholas. "Mouthpiece Buzzing Confusion." GeoCities.com. 16 Sept. 2007

<http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/3941/poppycock.html>.

Hunt, Norman J. "The Embouchure." Guide to Teaching Brass. 1968. 3rd ed. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown,

1984. 23.

Whitener, Scott. "Tone Production." A Complete Guide to Brass. 2nd ed. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thomson

Learning, 1997. 139‐141.

buzzing the trumpet mouthpiece

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