The Wisdom of Trevor Wye

It's one of the wonders of language that people we've never met can influence us deeply. This video is about one of those simple yet profound sayings that we, as orchestral musicians, should always keep in mind. And a deceptively simple tone production drill. We should strive to produce tone in such a way that it is always poised to speak, so that we can connect our best possible tone to the silence like a tangent to a circle, as my colleague Mike Rusinek says. Thus, the "center of the steak" drill.
The thumbnail is a random pic from my phone because the auto-generated ones all looked like I was sneezing.
Also, I'm learning to edit video. It isn't going well. The three of you who saw the minute and a half of me fumfering around at the beginning of the previous version that I thought I'd trimmed out, well, whoopsie.
Finally, if you're interested in Duquesne University, you can reach me by going to www.duq.edu and searching on my name.

[@knutini]

So, are you saying NOT to start ANY note with any part of the tongue on the reed? I just want to make sure I’m clear on that. Thank you.

[@jackhowell8708]

If we consider music as analagous to speech, there are phrases we begin with vowels, and phrases we begin with consonants, and different emphases for both. While I think we may sometimes begin a phrase with the tongue on the reed for a strong accent, it is a musical impediment to be unable to produce a tone cleanly, at the desired dynamic, in tune, without the tongue on the reed. If initiation of the note requires a restriction, either tongue or embouchure, the air is not sufficiently energetic or focused. Imagine if, when we spoke, every sentence had to begin with a consonant.
My initial training was that the tongue is ALWAYS on the reed to start, but I changed that as a result of playing with Mike Rusinek, and in the interview with him I just uploaded, he goes into some detail on that point. The air starts, the tongue stops, and when we confuse those two functions we’re creating trouble for ourselves.
Different “schools” teach things differently. I now think that restricting the air and then releasing the restriction as a way to begin the tone is a complication that is responsible for many response problems and many squeaks. I realize that there are orchestras where the entire wind and brass section is thinking a consonant to begin each phrase - which they then must strive to make imperceptible. While I wouldn’t say that they are wrong, especially if they sound good, it strikes me as more simple and elegant to make sure the air alone is capable of making a pure attack, then, when required, apply a consonant for musical reasons, not mechanical ones.

[@knutini]

@@jackhowell8708ok, thank you for your thoughtful response. I appreciate your time.