AIRFLOW THROUGH THE INSTRUMENT?!
Dr. Richard Smith’s video, No Wind Needed to Play a Wind Instrument, has engendered a plethora of discussion on the “interwebs” – much of it uncivil, unkind, and ill-informed. (He makes a pretty good brass sound for a contrabassoonist.) HOWEVER . . . I submit that "wind" is needed through the lips, but I take his point: not through the instrument.
Dr. Smith is eminently qualified (some of his critics, not so much). He was chief designer and technical manager at Boosey & Hawkes (responsible for Besson brass) for 12 years and presently designs and builds Smith-Watkins Trumpets and collaborates with John Packer on trumpets and cornets. Smith-Watkins fanfare trumpets were featured in the coronation of King Charles.
His articles, You Don’t Have to Blow to Make a Note and Exciting Your Instrument are worth reading (Again, I have some semantic quibbles, but I believe he is fundamentally correct. See his other technical papers and articles and reviews.)
I had shared the links to Dr. Smith’s work with Dr. Brian Phillip (Benny) Leonard. Dr. Leonard is currently an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Akron and holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Cornell. He does research in computational fluid dynamics. He is also a trombonist. His response follows:
Dr. Leonard is also the conceptual designer of the CAIDEX valve, produced by Willson in Switzerland. This valve is the most interesting design I’ve seen. I can’t wait to try a set. Here is a pdf explaining it. The CAIDEX also features a two piece stop-plate, which allows precise alignment without needing to trim the bumpers with a blade. Then there's the teflon washer . . . but I digress . . .
Dr. Smith is eminently qualified (some of his critics, not so much). He was chief designer and technical manager at Boosey & Hawkes (responsible for Besson brass) for 12 years and presently designs and builds Smith-Watkins Trumpets and collaborates with John Packer on trumpets and cornets. Smith-Watkins fanfare trumpets were featured in the coronation of King Charles.
His articles, You Don’t Have to Blow to Make a Note and Exciting Your Instrument are worth reading (Again, I have some semantic quibbles, but I believe he is fundamentally correct. See his other technical papers and articles and reviews.)
I had shared the links to Dr. Smith’s work with Dr. Brian Phillip (Benny) Leonard. Dr. Leonard is currently an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Akron and holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Cornell. He does research in computational fluid dynamics. He is also a trombonist. His response follows:
- Thanks for that link to Dr Smith's work showing the difference between air-flow through and standing waves within brass instruments. I had seen something similar (perhaps by Dr Smith himself) some time ago. It only makes good sense.
- I'm often puzzled by people talking about the "resistance" of valves–especially when they (especially manufacturers) consider "more" or "less" resistance, according to the player's desires. My design philosophy is: the least "resistance" the better–both in terms of flow resistance (swishing and popping due to passage narrowing, etc.) and acoustic "resistance" (unwanted reflections from discontinuities). Ideally, flow resistance should be nonexistent. And acoustic "resistance" (felt by the player) should come from the subtle contours at the mouthpiece/lead-pipe end and the bell flare.
Dr. Leonard is also the conceptual designer of the CAIDEX valve, produced by Willson in Switzerland. This valve is the most interesting design I’ve seen. I can’t wait to try a set. Here is a pdf explaining it. The CAIDEX also features a two piece stop-plate, which allows precise alignment without needing to trim the bumpers with a blade. Then there's the teflon washer . . . but I digress . . .
FURTHER . . .
“The flow of air between the lips is essential to the sound production in a brass instrument, since it results in the lip vibration which generates sound power in the mouthpiece. What about the air flow in the rest of the instrument? . . . To the surprise of many brass players, it turns out that the mean flow through the instrument has practically no effect on its acoustic and musical performance. This has been elegantly demonstrated by Richard Smith using the ingeniously modified trombone mouthpiece . . . The trombone can be played normally, with only a slight reduction in the ease of sound production. This demonstration shows that the transmission of acoustic waves in the instrument is independent of the mean flow through it.” – Campbell, Murray; Gilbert, Joël; Myers, Arnold. The Science of Brass Instruments (Modern Acoustics and Signal Processing) (p. 93-94). Springer International Publishing. Kindle Edition.
"In fact, the trumpet [or any brass instrument] itself does not need any physical airflow through the body of the instrument to function properly. This may seem absurd at first, but is logical if you consider the trumpet as an acoustic resonator. Airflow is needed to cause the lips to vibrate, but the trumpet itself simply needs sound waves to originate at one end and travel to the other. This can be illustrated by attaching a small electronic speaker to the mouthpiece end of the trumpet. Starting with a low frequency and continuously modulating up through a high frequency, the trumpet will resonate at the same partials that it does when played by human lips.." – Peterson, Ben (2012). Trumpet Science: Understanding Performance Through Physics, Physiology, and Psychology (p. 37-38). Peterson Music. Kindle Edition.
“If, after our lips were vibrated, the air could be disposed of in another way other than going through the instrument, the tone would be at its best. People who have used and understand physics know that this is true. However, there are people who do not understand this point. . . . To prove my point, I had a tuba player come up on the stage and had him blow some smoke into his tuba and begin to play. He played over a minute before some smoke finally began to trickle out the bell of the instrument. . . . It is not necessary for that air to move through the instrument any more than an energy impulse created by dropping a stone in water causes the water to actually move.” – Schilke, R., The Physics of Inner Brass and the Acoustical Effects of Various Materials and Their Treatment (p. 2).
Ergo, methinks there are only two "sins" in low brass playing:
1. Not blowing; and
2. Overblowing!
My friend and colleague, Terry Cravens, has said, "It's just like cooling soup."
Tone Production might be of interest.
"In fact, the trumpet [or any brass instrument] itself does not need any physical airflow through the body of the instrument to function properly. This may seem absurd at first, but is logical if you consider the trumpet as an acoustic resonator. Airflow is needed to cause the lips to vibrate, but the trumpet itself simply needs sound waves to originate at one end and travel to the other. This can be illustrated by attaching a small electronic speaker to the mouthpiece end of the trumpet. Starting with a low frequency and continuously modulating up through a high frequency, the trumpet will resonate at the same partials that it does when played by human lips.." – Peterson, Ben (2012). Trumpet Science: Understanding Performance Through Physics, Physiology, and Psychology (p. 37-38). Peterson Music. Kindle Edition.
“If, after our lips were vibrated, the air could be disposed of in another way other than going through the instrument, the tone would be at its best. People who have used and understand physics know that this is true. However, there are people who do not understand this point. . . . To prove my point, I had a tuba player come up on the stage and had him blow some smoke into his tuba and begin to play. He played over a minute before some smoke finally began to trickle out the bell of the instrument. . . . It is not necessary for that air to move through the instrument any more than an energy impulse created by dropping a stone in water causes the water to actually move.” – Schilke, R., The Physics of Inner Brass and the Acoustical Effects of Various Materials and Their Treatment (p. 2).
Ergo, methinks there are only two "sins" in low brass playing:
1. Not blowing; and
2. Overblowing!
My friend and colleague, Terry Cravens, has said, "It's just like cooling soup."
Tone Production might be of interest.