Tag: buzzing

Buzz-R : Product Review
Gear Review

Buzz-R : Product Review

Leslie SaidakLeave a comment

It is always intriguing to receive new trumpet gadgets through to try out and review. I have always used mouthpiece buzzing as an important part of my practice as well as my teaching, so the Buzz-R looks like an interesting prospect. Finding an effective embouchure calisthenic aid that can realistically be incorporated into a practice regime is also difficult – could the Lipmaster be the answer?

Both of these products are designed and made in Germany by Markus Arnold and have received great reviews already. You can read the interview that I did with Markus earlier this year here, and also visit his website.

Buzz-R

There are lots of buzzing aids on the market. Their general purpose is to try to add a little more resistance and resonance to the mouthpiece so that it gives more like the sensation of playing the trumpet.

The Buzz-R actually has 2 playing settings: The first is with both of the side holes open giving a full sound. The second is with a finger covering one of the holes for a more muted sound.

VISIT THE ‘EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES’ PAGE FOR FREE WORKSHEETS AND LINKS TO PUBLICATIONS

The first setting is where the real benefits are – the buzzing sensation really is similar to playing the trumpet. There is enough resistance to be able to articulate clearly – I generally discourage students from doing anything other than long notes and slurs on the mouthpiece, but with the Buzz-R you can add in articulation without the tongue moving too far forward in the mouth.

I have tried a couple of prominent brands and found them really useful up to a point. And that point is generally top-of-the-staff G! It becomes so resistant that the sound cuts out with all lip vibration stifled. So an important question that I wanted to ask of the Buzz-R was whether I could play freely across the range – YES!

The second setting with one hole closed is also really useful. It mutes the sound for when your buzzing is going to annoy your locked-down family members!

Lipmaster

The Lipmaster is a calisthenic device for strengthening the embouchure while away from the trumpet. I have tried various techniques with students for focusing the embouchure, and my concern with all of these (my favoured one is just to grip a pencil between the lips) is that playing a musical instrument is never as simple as just focusing on just one thing. Whilst said device is between your lips, you can no longer breathe in or out through your mouth. As we all know, this is THE fundamental necessity and I believe that whatever technical aspects you are working on, the flow of air needs to be an important part of the procedure.

So here is the thing… With the Lipmaster, you can! The gaps in the wood allow you to focus on breathing at the same time as gripping with your embouchure. Suddenly these exercises are transformed from stand-alone muscle building, into a more all-round and worthwhile task.

VISIT THE ‘EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES’ PAGE FOR FREE WORKSHEETS AND LINKS TO PUBLICATIONS

The other big benefit of the flexibility of the wooden strips is that the embouchure aperture remains flexible, as of course it needs to be when we are playing.

Both of these products are really welcome additions to the practice aid market and I am really glad to have had the opportunity to try them.

The Buzz-R is available to purchase here

The Lipmaster is available to purchase here

You can visit the Buzz-R website for more information on these and the other Buzz-R products.

Sign up here for new blog articles emailed direct to your inbox:

Design Innovations : Markus Arnold
Advice · Education · Gear Review · Interview

Design Innovations : Markus Arnold

Leslie Saidak1 Comment

The challenge of adding resistance to the mouthpiece buzz is one that a number of people have tackled, but always with big compromises to be made. German trumpet player, educator and designer, Markus Arnold talks to me here about his journey in designing the acclaimed ‘Buzz-R’.

Can you give us a little background to starting this design process?

My father taught me how to play trumpet at an early age. Since then I’m playing professionally in very different styles of music (classical music, bigband/jazz, german/austrian folk music, etc.).I also do workshops, band/orchestra coaching, clinics and private teaching.

The Buzz-R is handmade out of high quality wood and was developed in cooperation with a woodwind instrument manufacturer. We tested quite a few different sorts of wood and after a while we found the perfect one in terms of vibrance, resistance and longevity. The form of the product is designed ergonomically so the Buzz-R is easy and comfortable to hold. 

What are the primary purposes of the Buzz-R?

First of all, the main concept of this training device is added resistance. The mouthpiece alone makes it quite hard to produce a relaxed buzz. There’s much more embouchure and lip tension needed than if you would play your actual instrument. Especially Kids and Beginners are having a hard time with this lack of resistance. I think that buzzing the mouthpiece should feel like playing the instrument. And that’s why the Buzz-R works so well. You can adjust the degree of resistance, depending on your individual taste, with closing one hole or one-and-a-half or letting both holes open for a freer feel of blow.

One other great feature is that you can practice almost everywhere. Because of its quiet sound and small size you can use it in the car, on a trip, on holidays and at home. Especially whenever it is unable for you to bring your instrument with you.  The Buzz-R is also excellent for warming up. 

What challenges did you face along the way with this design process?

Of course it can be very difficult for a family company to grow and compete with the big brands. But our strong spirit and love of detail  helped us to make brass players from over the world become better players. We’re receiving messages everyday from happy customers, telling us about their progress. That’s a very satisfying feeling!

How long was the process from initial conception to the product reaching the market?

The process was quite long. I thought about the idea for over 20 years. And this idea wasn’t commercial at all in the beginning. I built the first example for myself after experiencing positive effects from buzzing the mouthpiece with added resistance, especially with wood. And so the “Buzz-R” was born. More and more colleagues got interested in the concept so I decided to produce more. 

What were your main ways of launching and marketing the Buzz-R?

In the beginning I was mainly advertising my products through social media like facebook and instagram. It took not very long and big shops like Thomann and Amazon got interested. Meanwhile there are dealers all over the world who are selling my products. And even famous players like Wayne Bergeron or Eric Miyashiro are talking about using the Buzz-R in their workshops and clinics. This is also not too bad 😉

Is there anything that you would differently?

Nothing!

What new developments are you currently working on?

We have a new product available in our online shop, called the “Lipmaster”. It’s a unique training device, which is also handmade out of high quality wood. With the Lipmaster you can train your embouchure and lip muscles easily and isolated, away from your instrument. You can find it on our website www.buzz-r.de.

We’ve also planned to publish a new brass method book in the near future where the concept of the Buzz-R is explained in detail. It will be an innovative compilation of common topics like embouchure, breathing, efficient practice, etc. This book also includes some instructional videos, exercises with funky play-alongs and practice routines.

So stay tuned! 

For further information, please visit www.buzz-r.de

Sign up here for new blog articles emailed direct to your inbox:

[jetpack_subscription_form show_subscribers_total=”false” button_on_newline=”false” submit_button_text=”Sign up” custom_font_size=”16″ custom_border_radius=”0″ custom_border_weight=”1″ custom_padding=”15″ custom_spacing=”10″ submit_button_classes=”” email_field_classes=”” show_only_email_and_button=”true”]

Trumpet Artist Profile: Allen Vizzutti
Advice · Education · Gear Review · Interview

Trumpet Artist Profile: Allen Vizzutti

Leslie Saidak1 Comment

Regular readers will most likely need no introduction to Allen Vizzutti – an artist of the highest calibre: soloist, recording artist, composer, educator and master clinician!

On a visit to the UK earlier this year I caught up with him and wanted to discuss two main topics with him – a fascinating topic on which Allen often talks in clinics and also in his method books that have become standard literature for students around the world: whether there is an over-emphasis on the word “buzz” in a trumpeter’s vocabulary; and also the design process behind the impending launch of the new Yamaha Vizzutti Model Trumpet.

I had a (brief!) opportunity to have a blow on a new prototype 9335V when Allen was touring Europe recently, and my first impression was that it felt very similar in response and tonal character to the 9335NY New York model. There was perhaps a slightly richer tonal core across the range though. I very much look forward to having a proper test-drive when the instrument is launched later this year – watch this space!

Below, Allen tells us a little about the thoughts and processes behind this new model:

“ The new Yamaha 9335V Bb trumpet will be launched in it’s second iteration in November. The Vizzutti model idea was born in a conference room in Japan several years ago and I was given the go ahead to help design a personal model from the ground up. It was an exciting opportunity and one for which I am very grateful. I worked on the project with Yamaha genius designers Bob Malone and Wayne Tanabe in New York at the Yamaha Atelier on 5th Ave.

Even though we had permission to start from scratch I had been enjoying using a gold plated but otherwise stock New York Xeno for some time. Logically we chose to start with that trumpet as the basis for the new model. If that didn’t prove successful we could always begin again from scratch. I would like to make clear that I am not a trumpet designer. My input was based on evaluations of the physical feel, the sound, timbre and the trumpet’s characteristics in different registers. Again, I was pretty happy with my stock Yamaha New York Xeno. I should note that I brought along a Bach Strad that belonged to one of my students because there were characteristics of that horn that I liked and wanted to reference.

The short story is after a few hours of experimenting with different small part changes we were getting amazing results. We blew the Bach away early on. Changes consisted of using different small parts made of varying materials and having different weights. We moved bracing and tested myriad slides, water keys and valve parts. I would ask for something and Bob and Wayne would head into the workshop and return to the testing room with changes. The final result came relatively quickly. The new 9335V had a better harmonic structure and was slightly more open and free blowing without being a large bore. It was much easier to play above high C regarding both response and resistance. The sound was a little darker than the New York Xeno. In reality, the improved characteristics of this trumpet are most noticeable by professional or near professional level players. When played with maximums of flexibility, power, control and beauty it is the best horn I have had.

Later when production was in full swing I tried 40 examples of the trumpet. Asked to pick 2 for my personal use I couldn’t really tell the difference between them. In the end I randomly pointed at a couple and those were the horns I ended up using. Unfortunately the first run of the 9335V was limited to a small number of units. The good news is the newer version will be unlimited!

Yamaha 9335V 2.0. What’s been changed? Over a couple of years Bob Malone worked on small tweaks to the 9335V. After he was happy with it I tried out several examples. We ended up with a minimal version of changes through evaluation most of which you cannot see. The water key structure is probably the most observable difference to the newest 9335V. It plays great. I like it a little better. I can honestly say I would be happy performing on either version.

Like a great automobile company, Yamaha is committed to constant development and improvement. The evolution never stops. The Yamaha 9335V should be available in November 2017. “

Regarding the question, “To buzz or not to buzz?”, Allen has kindly pointed me towards the relevant page in his method which I have reproduced below this. From my perspective, buzzing has always been a fundamental part of my teaching and important concept for beginners to grasp early on. The main priority for me is that the buzzing is used to show students how relaxed the chops should be and to put the emphasis on the air and support.

Aged 16, I was put through quite an aggressive embouchure change that set the mouthpiece onto a “buzzing embouchure”. This meant that my embouchure barely moved across the range of the instrument, but unfortunately my sound went to crap! It was only when I started at the RCM at 18 that James Watson told me to ignore the past 2 years, and I suddenly had my sound and flexibility back! Therefore Allen Vizzutti’s theories below strike a chord with me…

“ The use of the word buzz in trumpet study is pervasive. When creating sound with the lips alone or playing the mouthpiece alone it is easy to understand why this is true. The sounds created are sounds of buzzing. However, buzzing one’s lips into a trumpet mouthpiece will create an unwanted “beginner’s” sound. Even actual beginners can avoid ever having a beginner’s sound when taught to blow and not to buzz.

Using the embouchure [described on page 153], one can learn to send a steady and firm airflow through the aperture – made by the lips, into the trumpet, creating a wonderful tone without ever thinking of buzzing. The tense, tight sound of buzzing and the accompanying weeks of frustration associated with “unlearning” this habit can be completely avoided. Unfortunately, for most of modern history, the conventional wisdom of trumpet pedagogy has been to instruct beginners to buzz their lips. Aggressively sending air through the trumpet without buzzing causes the air column to cycle in waves against the tubing of the horn. The vibrating air column is a result of the air meeting the resistance set up by the lips, mouthpiece and leadpipe. The trumpet bell amplifies the vibration. The smoother one blows through the horn, the smoother the sound. Buzzing does not create the sound.

ls there any purpose in buzzing? Actually, yes. Buzzing is just a different entity than trumpet tone production. Buzzing the lips without the mouthpiece and trumpet, including flapping them (loose and low-pitched), is a very useful relaxation technique. I do it to loosen my lips, warm down and as an emergency substitute when warming up may be impossible. Lip buzzing exact pitches to then match on the trumpet, as suggested in some educational material, is of little value (other than ear training), in my opinion. My range on the lips alone is very limited. My range on the trumpet is much more extensive.

Playing the mouthpiece alone is often referred to as mouthpiece buzzing. lt can be very useful as part of an organized warm-up. The concept of playing the mouthpiece should be the same as playing the trumpet. lmproving one’s mouthpiece sound can really help improve one’s trumpet sound as well. Eliminating the trumpet and its sometimes-confusing technical concerns can encourage successful breathing and relaxed blowing. Playing melodies on the mouthpiece is very helpful for ear training and embouchure pitch control. Ultimately, the smoothness of playing the mouthpiece alone will translate to a smooth and steady trumpet sound. “

To find out more about Allen, his projects, recordings and publications please visit www.vizzutti.com

Sign up here for new blog articles emailed direct to your inbox:

[jetpack_subscription_form show_subscribers_total=”false” button_on_newline=”false” submit_button_text=”Sign up” custom_font_size=”16″ custom_border_radius=”0″ custom_border_weight=”1″ custom_padding=”15″ custom_spacing=”10″ submit_button_classes=”” email_field_classes=”” show_only_email_and_button=”true”]