Aims and Objectives
The objective of this exercise is to put you in contact with the muscles that control your air stream and teach you the coordinated movements of them enabling absolute pitch and control at any volume. Along with the muscular coordination and control, we need to find a way to remember positions of those muscles as to enable their recall when practising. This exercise is important for developing your sound, pitch and dynamic range.


Exercise

Set up your mouthpiece, as if you are ready to play, without attaching it to your horn. Blow into your mouthpiece, producing a whistling sound. Keep your hands away from the back of your mouthpiece. Find a pitch which is comfortable for you and begin reproducing that sound. Try different pressures on the reed. Notice the changes in pitch. The lower pitches are achieved by loosening the pressure of your bottom lip, thus pitch is controlled by your bottom lip.

Then glissando (A sliding from one pitch to another, a distance away) from the highest note you can to the lowest and back again.

Repeat this exercise until you feel your tongue and throat move into different positions for the different pitches, and you are supporting your sound with your diaphram pressure and muscles.

Try playing scales and pieces on your mouthpiece.