Gliss, Shakes & Playing pop tunes
I鈥檇 like to ask how to play gliss & shakes well? I started playing in a big band and noticed the charts often have things like upward gliss into notes or downward gliss after note, and shakes too. I attached a few screenshots.
What鈥檚 the best way to play these gliss? Is it half valve + bends? But when it鈥檚 fast tempo, I鈥檝e found it harder & also seems negligible because it鈥檚 a subtle effect. I鈥檝e tried note bends but it鈥檚 harder for higher notes.
What abt shakes? Someone told me it鈥檚 lip trills?
Another question I have is, how do you play pop tunes in a more natural way that doesn鈥檛 sound stiff? I鈥檓 guessing it鈥檚 to do emphasising syncopated beats and varying the articulation between slurs & tongues? I transcribed a Justin Timberlake tune & tried playing it but felt I sounded way too stiff. Any tips for this?
7 replies
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Hey Edmund! Great questions, and I can certainly clarify some of this a bit for you.
First I'd advise finding a great recording of the tune you're playing and seeing what those performers do. Try to find a recording of the same arrangement too. Then at least you'll have an audio reference of what's most appropriate.
The first two markings at rehearsal 36 are bends. I wouldn't call these glissandos because they aren't starting at a fixed note. Instead, they instruct us to simply begin somewhere below an E-flat and bend up to an in tune E-flat. You can practice pitch bends (something like in Dan Rosenboom's Activation lesson) to get the hang of this. Technically, a lower bend is performed by opening up the chops, slightly lowering the jaw, and slightly speeding up the air. So, an upward bend would be the inverse.
In most big band contexts, in addition to bending, I'd also use a bit of half valve. I don't know the tempo of this tune, but if it's quite slow, a really long and sloppy bend can be hip. I'd keep the 2nd finger down the entire time, but experiment with halfway depressing the 1st and/or 3rd valves until you get the sound you're hearing.
Then, the mark on the accented C is a fall. This means to wiggle the fingers randomly as you descend and fade out to nothing. Play a clear C for the duration of an 8th note, and then fall for about an additional 8th note. The exact length, timing, and style will depend on what the lead player does (if you're playing lead/1st, then you better listen to the recording!!!)
Finally, the shake is a chaotic lip trill. Some tips for this:
- Usually a shake starts slow and gets faster
- It's very important to work daily on lip trilling and flexibility! Check out all the flexibility courses on tonebase and get three books: Irons Advanced Lip Flexibilities, Bai Lin, and Laurie Frink's Flexus. Start slow and simple and no more than 5-10 minutes a day. Eventually you'll learn how to use a quick flick of the tongue to trill quickly between two harmonics.
- The exact note we trill to doesn't matter a lot, but typically it's the next note up played with the same fingering (so a G).
- Together with this, I also shake the horn a bit, so it's much less refined than a classical lip trill and a bit more violent.
I hope this answers your questions!
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As for playing pop tunes in a way that's less stiff:
Again, listening to the recording is super important. Don't overthink what you're doing technically, but just try to sing and express through the trumpet. Sing the rhythms with your voice... really get into it! Don't worry about getting it perfect. Yes experiment with articulation, note lengths, accents, ghosting notes, but there's no scientific formula. If it sounds good, it is good! -
Hi Edmund,
Try F Eb E. and use a metronome to check your time. It,S fast. See if you can listen to a recording.
pop tunes: Learn the words and sing along .Then play the tune with the words in your head.It will help get rid of the stiffness. Record yourself singing or not ,this scares me half to death but you asked.馃榾
sid
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re pop stuff. listen to the words carefully even if you can't sing it and speak itwith the same rhythm and feel. What syllables are accented, elongated or shortened. Most phrases have a direction. Don't kill it with too much exactitude just bring some attitude.