This article will provide useful information to help improve stutter control on the trombone. I’m going to discuss a condition that quite a few brass players (including me) have dealt with. It is known as VALSALVA MANEUVER, a condition that causes stuttering. If you don’t stutter on the trombone, then this article is not for you. It is intended for people who have trouble starting a note on the trombone during stressful situations. Stuttering is a very complicated subject, and the remedies are so numerous that I can only list a few in this article.
MY DISCOVERIES ON THIS SUBJECT MAY BENEFIT THE FOLLOWING:
Trombones having trouble starting notes.
Other brass players who stutter (trumpet, trumpet, tuba, etc.).
Band teachers who have trombone (or other brass) students.
All other stutterers (music or not).
ABOUT THE VALSALVA MANEUVER
The Valsalva Maneuver (VM, as I’ll call it now) is a natural process that occurs when the muscles in your body create high levels of air pressure, while holding the air in your body. In normal life, MVs occur naturally during bodily functions such as sneezing and coughing. But during speech or metal execution, virtual machines can cause major issues leading to stuttering.
When the brain mistakenly activates these muscles, they work together, tensing up, creating extra pressure and making it almost impossible to start a note on the trombone. Problems like these often occur in nervous situations (such as during a solo in the band, a quiet passage in the orchestra, or even during the tuning time in a band rehearsal).
The Valsalva muscle network (muscles used in MV) includes the muscles of the throat, tongue, mouth, abdomen, and rectum.
To get an idea of the Valsalva muscles and how they work together, try this exercise: 1. Close your lips as if saying the “M” word. 2. Keep them slightly closed and don’t let them open. 3. While keeping your lips closed, try to whisper the word “TOE.” 4. Remember not to let air escape your lips as you whisper TOE.
As you attempt to whisper with the “T” part of TOE, pay special attention to how the ABDOMINAL MUSCLE (the belly muscle) activates and tenses. Try whispering TOE even louder and notice how your throat and tongue contract as well. You may also have noticed that your rectal muscles tightened. These are the muscles of the Valsalva Network.
After trying the above exercise several times, I want you to try adding a fifth step: after getting stuck in your TOES, fully relax your abdomen, paying particular attention to how your tongue and throat do the same. Notice that when you RELAX YOUR ABDOMINAL MUSCLES, the rest of the VM network does the same. This is a very good exercise to get in touch with those muscles and learn to relax them.
In the rest of this article, I want to show you some of the exercises that I have acquired from various books to control the Valsalva maneuver when performing:
DO THESE EXERCISES EVERY DAY BEFORE PLAYING THE TROMBONE (helps control Valsalva).
PHYSICAL EXERCISE: At least 20 minutes of relaxing exercise (walking is best in my opinion, but other good sports are swimming, running, biking, and aerobics). As we all know, exercise helps to relax the body; so use it to your advantage.
RELAX: 10 minutes of deep breathing exercises a day. Find a nice, quiet place to sit. Take deep, open, relaxed breaths. Breathe big and relax.
STAY RELAXED: Stay calm throughout the day (wherever you are and whatever you do) by taking deep, relaxed breaths (also try counting 4-8 counts to inhale and 4-12 counts to exhale). If you are walking somewhere, count your steps and breathe with them (see if you can walk 8 steps while inhaling then exhaling for 8 steps). You can also count your breath rhythmically while cycling, swimming, jogging and many other rhythmic sports.
DO THESE EXERCISES EVERY DAY WHILE PLAYING YOUR TROMBONE
PRACTICE WITHOUT THE TONGUE: Practice about 15-30 minutes each day without the tongue. Most trombonists who stutter (or don’t produce a good trombone sound) don’t use enough airflow. When you remove the practice tongue, it becomes a matter of “AIRFLOW” to play well. Later, you can add a soft, relaxed tongue to your playing. Play some scales, some petal tones, some songs, and various other music without the tongue; then play them all again as before, but with your tongue. When you add the tongue back in, the focus is still very relaxed blowing. We want to maintain a natural airflow without pressure anywhere.
FOCUS ON PROPER BREATHING: Always guard against using pressure when inhaling. Just allow your body to expand naturally (make sure your abdomen is always relaxed). focus on breathing in relaxed and taking in a lot of air (inhaling relaxed, exhaling more relaxed). When you are about to start a sound, relax your abdomen as you blow. The breath should always feel like ONE CONTINUOUS BREATHING MOVEMENT.
PLAY 5 MINUTES ON YOUR MOUTHPIECE: Try to start a sound only on your mouthpiece. At first, don’t use your tongue at all (as in the last exercise). Sound some sirens first (start low and go really loud, then go back down again). Also, play some easy songs (or Christmas songs) on the mouthpiece without using your tongue. Then play them again, adding the tongue.
OTHER HELPFUL TIPS
All these tips that I show you are for practice, not for performance. When you act, you should go on what I call “Auto Pilot,” which means you let your unconscious mind take care of the details (that you practiced so much on). This allows you to focus on making music! During performance, if the focus is on technical aspects, like starting a note, it gets in the way of more important aspects, like being a brilliant artist.
Count on yourself (silently) at the beginning of a song. Feel free to wiggle your toes with the beat to help keep you rhythmically grounded. You can do it like 1 – 2 – Ready – Go. Or even better, do it like: 1e&a 2e&a Ready&a Goe&a. This is called subdividing your beats and it helps keep you stable. Always keep a steady pace, even if you stutter.
Always BREATHE TO EXPAND instead of EXPAND TO BREATHE. By doing the latter (Expand to Breathe), you may be fooled into thinking you are breathing, when in fact you are not.
As you breathe in, you can pay attention to how cool your throat is, which is a good indicator of whether or not you’re passing gas. If your throat feels cold when you inhale, you’re probably moving too much air.
Practice at least 1 hour EVERY day.
The Valsalva maneuver is never good for trombonists. A recent study has shown that professional trombonists never use Valsalva in their playing.
There are many excellent books written on the subject of stuttering (as it relates to stuttering during speech) that can be really helpful for trombonists. I recommend reading all the books you can on the subject.
The act of trying not to make a VM will make it more likely to happen. Therefore, it is better to let it happen. Don’t make a big deal out of it if it happens. Instead, try to relax and remember what you were doing and thinking just before it happened. When you get home, immediately write down anything you notice in your journal. Were you too tense? Did you breathe hard? Were you worried that other people might laugh at you? Write down everything that comes to mind.
There is a book that is considered one of the best books ever written on stuttering (for speakers) that works the same way for trombonists! If you read the Amazon reviews (at the Valsalva link below), you’ll see that some trombonists have tried this book (as well as many talking stutterers). It absolutely works if you read the book cover to cover (the end of the book has a goldmine of information). Customers rate it 5/5 stars. To see it, just go to this site: [http://www.ValsalvaManeuver.net]