Newton's Third Law

Sir Issac Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction.

I feel that this law is very profound and applies to much more than just physics… it applies to music. (and the physics of brass playing!)

Newton’s law is extraordinarily relevant when speaking of exhalation while/for playing a brass instrument. The type of energy you put into the horn directly governs what sound comes out of the horn.

I always chuckle at brass players who love to talk about backpressure.

The psuedo-phenomenon of backpressure is created by the player using wind inefficiently... not by the horn, nor by the mouthpiece. (1mm of a backbore difference is not going to effect your exhalation all that much…)

Lets examine the term backpressure and apply Newton’s Third Law.

Backpressure = pressure moving back.

So, to have the unfortunate effect of pressure moving back, what must be moving forward?

PRESSURE.


Ok. Lets go a step further.

Ask yourself this:

Is the word "pressure" what we would use to describe or create a great brass tone?
Is it akin to Fluidity? Grace? Agility? Artistry?

Nope.

So, to get a thick, dark, fluid, agile, graceful, artistic tone on the horn, guess what kind of wind you would want to use? (or NOT want to use??)


A truly great thing about playing a brass instrument is that the horn is so good at responding exactly how you tell it to. Our process directly dictates our result.

Learn to think more like an artist, rather than a firearms technician and your horn will repond better!

Keep the result, the goal, the prize in mind and worry less about the process. Your horn responds like a mirror - learn what to put into it based solely on what you want to get out of it. If what is coming out is any different than what is going in, look in "the mirror."

Dont worry about pressure, it will take care of itself, as naturally there is probably much more than you already need.

Concentrate on the musical goal (the "song") and air quantity (the "wind")

More on this to come…..