Modern Technology has been unable to devise the horn player’s most desired accessory: a clam filter. In the absence of such a miraculous device, the player must assume the responsibility for keeping the clams out of the horn.  The type of clams in question are not the mollusks so often found in chowders and chip dips. They are, instead, the horn player’s term for the chipped notes which seem to plague so many performances. While human frailties make it virtually impossible to eliminate the clams they can be reduced at least to the status of endangered species.

Basic Considerations:

The key to accurate horn playing is proper tone production. The embouchure, breath support apparatus, and tongue must interact in a balanced manner to produce a clear, well-centered sound. If only one of these falls out of line, a clam will surely result. A brief description of each of the critical tone production factors is in order here.

Embouchure

Set the mouthpiece by having the student place the lower rim of the mouthpiece on the lower lip. Then, roll the upper rim onto the upper lip. This will give the characteristic 2/3 upper lip – 1/3 lower lip set, and should work well with most dental formations. (Young players sometimes tend to set the mouthpiece carelessly. Have them observe how carefully fine professional players set their mouthpieces).

Using the embouchure muscles correctly results in a free dark tone, good endurance, excellent glexibility, and a relaxed high register. The key to proper usage lies in maintaining a slight pucker rather than a smile, thinking of lip compression rather than mouthpiece pressure, and keeping an open aperture between the lips rather than pinching.

Poor use of the embouchure muscles shows most clearly in the high register. Inexperienced players often try to compensate by squeezing the lips together and using an inordinate amount of mouthpiece pressure. The result is a pinched sound and low endurance.

Support

Lack of support from the air column and the creation of tension often result when young players chest-breathe. The student should concentrate on expanding the abdominal muscles when taking a breath. Encourage the young player to fill the horn with a sufficient volume of air to cause the embouchure to vibrate properly.

Articulation

The horn player uses two basic types of articulation: Tonguing and slurring. Most student horn players tongue too softly and fail to create the strong initial surge of air necessary to make a clean attack. Encourage your horn students to tongue much more percussively than their colleagues in the other brass sections. Not only will this produce more accurate attacks by individual horn players, but the clarity with which your horn section plays should increase.

Tongue placement varies from person to person, but I find that touching the tongue to the spot where the palate and upper teeth meet seems to work best for the majority of players. Use the syllable “duh” for the most natural tongue action.

Slurs should be made smoothly and without abrupt changes in air flow. The two most common faults in slurring are: stopping the air between the notes and “pushing” each note into place --- both of these produce clams.

Case Histories:

I have classified the various types of clam-prone horn players. By studying these ‘case histories’ you may find some remedies for your own students’ problems.

The Quick Draw waits until the last possible second to lift the horn before playing. When he finally positions the horn, the embouchure and the notes produced seem to be a matter of chance. Encourage this student to take the time to set carefully.

The Bush-Thwacker usually tongues between the lips, thus creating an explosion of sound on each attack. (With care the explosion can be further developed into a resounding “splat!”). Work on tongue placement and developing a continuous air stream.

The Chicken Clucker, a cousin to Bush-Thwacker, offends less because so little sound comes out of the horn. The tiny sound which he makes results from the initial surge of air behind the tongue. But no well-supported air stream follows. Have the student work on “blowing through” the sound after each attack.

The Balloon Blower has just the opposite problem from the previous two. This timid soul begins each attack with little tongue action and swells each note into place. Work on a solid percussive tongue action and constant air flow.

The Hooter, a highly developed Balloon Blower, uses no tongue action at all. Instead, he merely blows into the horn to obtain an indistinct, delayed-action attack and a “hooty” sound. You can help this student by working on tonguing.

The Halfer pushes each note in a slur (sometimes known as “the big bad wolf syndrome”), resulting in a “wah-wah” effect. Have the student work on keeping a steady flow of air while slurring.

The On-again Off-again stops the air between the notes of a slur, resulting in uneven slurring and frequent clams. Again, work on maintaining a steady flow of air.

The Woof-off has problems ending notes, not beginning them. Instead of making a rounded release with the glottis, this player uses a surge of air to let everyone know exactly where the cut-off takes place. The student should practice tapering long tones, gradually making the taper and natural cut-off happen more quickly.

The Tut-tut, the infamous tongue cutter-offer, stops the air stream with his tongue and produces an “uht” at the end of each note. This character, like Woof-off, should concentrate on making tapered releases.

The Biter exhibits a “peach-pit chin” as he pinches for (and usually misses) high notes. Work on basic embouchure formation, keeping an open aperture and creating a large amount of lip compression. The student should check for a flat chin, a sure sign that the embouchure muscles are working properly.

The Cud Chewer generates a large amount of chin action when attacking a note or changing pitches and extreme distortion of the embouchure results. Have the student look in a mirror as he plays, keeping in mind the necessity for firm embouchure muscles at all times.

The Half-pint is an anemic soul who takes little or no breath before playing and quickly runs out of air. Work on support and keep reminding him of the necessity of starting with a “full tank”.

The Inflationary, a chronic chest-breather, puffs his chest like a blow-fish. He develops little support producing instead, a considerable amount of physical and psychological tension. Work on abdominal action in breathing, especially during inhalation. If the student gets the knack of how to breathe properly, tone, accuracy, power, and phrase length should improve markedly.

It is important to bear in mind that secure playing results from the mastery of basic techniques. By working on the techniques of tone production and by studying the “case histories”, the accuracy of your horn section should improve. Perhaps we will not need to invent a clam filter after all!

- written by William B. Stacey