Description
Flex on the Move
There are many great books on flexibility (or “lip flexibility” as it is commonly called) available to today’s brass players. The commonly used books include Irons 27 Groups, Smith Lip Flexibilities and Colin Advanced Lip Flexibilities. Flexibility studies do go all the way back to Arban and St, Jacome, but became a staple of brass pedagogy in the early 20th Century through teachers and authors like Del Staigers, Herbert L. Clarke, Earl D. Irons and Walter M. Smith.
There are different categories of flexibility exercises. There is “Long Flexibility” like those found in Colin’s Vol. I of Advanced Lip Flexibilities. With Long Flexibility you stay on one fingering and play a long line that takes you through a large range. Then, there is “Short Flexibility” similar to what is found in Irons and Smith where you play a repeated pattern on one fingering. Most flexibility falls into the Short Flexibility category. With this book, I would like to add “Moving Flexibility” to the list. With Moving Flexibility you play a short pattern that takes you up and down through all the fingerings, covering a large range on your instrument. The idea of Moving Flexibility was first introduced in Arban p. 45 #16 and later in Charles Colin, 100 Original Warm-Ups.
Why Practice Flexibility?
Chances are, you’re not going to stand in front of an audience and perform flexibility studies. Flexibility studies are a means to an end, not the end. Most trumpet players practice some form of flexibility every day as it improves overall technique and gets you ready to play music. In our lessons, Claude Gordon would tell me how a particular exercise or routine he was writing would “get me feelin’ good.” So, that is my goal with these studies, to get you “feelin’ good”.
Technique
There are many beliefs among players as to what makes a brass instrument “work”. Some believe it’s the lip, some believe it’s the tongue, some believe it’s the air, or some (like me) believe it’s a balance or coordination of all three. I don’t think that your chosen methodology will matter when practicing these exercises. If you practice them religiously and correctly, you’re playing will certainly improve.
Samples:
- Clarke & Claude (free preview)
- Flex on the Move – Trumpet (free preview)
- Flex on the Move – Tuba (free preview)
- Flex on the Move – Trombone (free preview)
David H. Bailey –
I just purchased and printed this ebook and once again Eric has come up
with a winner! The organization of increasingly more complex
flexibility exercises is very good, as the ever increasing ranges are as
well.
Realizing of course that we can all make up such exercises without
needing to have them printed out for us, this book nevertheless can
allow us to work in a very methodical manner, especially those of us who
may be struggling with air-flow issues and range issues. To be able to
keep track of exactly what we’re doing and to be able to repeat these
same exercises again and again as we continue to improve and gradually
expand both complexity and range is a very good thing.
Eric has also provided a logical series of “lessons” which show an
orderly manner to work through this book. This will be a big help for
people who may not be blessed with having a good local teacher and who
find themselves struggling to make progress in an orderly manner.
Once again Eric has provided the trumpet world (and the brass world in
general) with another very helpful book. For teachers this will be a
great thing to have your students purchase so that they will have a
convenient and easy to work with although hard to master volume of
flexibility exercises.
—
David H. Bailey
dhbailey@davidbaileymusicstudio.com
http://www.davidbaileymusicstudio.com
Mike Brozick –
I just bought your new book. It is fantastic and full of great concept and exercises! I’ve always done longer types of lip flexibility (like Charles Colin) but have been looking for a different approach to keep things fresh. I’m recommending this to my students since they can all use these flexibility studies that are progressive, challenging, and fun. Bravo!
Mike Brozick
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, second trumpet
Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, principal trumpet
mikebrozick.com
William Gilmour –
I’ve been a trumpet player for a long time and I am amazed how good Eric Bolvin’s method/practice books are. They’re actually kind of a revelation to me even though I grew up on Clarke and all the other classic books. “Flex On The Move” is especially good as it allows/demands a constant air stream and allows the player to think musically. I’ve found it and “The Progressive Warm Up” to be very, very helpful when paired together. By focusing on the musicality of the exercises, I’m already a better player. I’m sure glad Eric is out there.