Blowing

[lauriet]

I'm working on:

Keep the air flowing through out the passage, and use the tongue to interrupt the air to produce the notes.

Should I blow like blowing through a straw OR
should I blow like I'm misting a mirror / sighing out ???

[Doug Elliott]

Yes
You can think about it either way.
I prefer to think of it as continuous sound. As in "Keep the sound flowing throughout the passage"

But use whichever works for you.

[sirisobhakya]

I use blowing through straw feeling with high notes and fogging mirror feeling with low notes.

[2bobone]

Visualization can be very useful in this regard. Go on YouTube and find a cello recital. Observe the player's bow action. If it isn't moving, there is NO sound. That bow is YOUR airstream. Happy music-making !

[Kbiggs]

I’d say a combination of the two. The aperture of the embouchure is pretty small, often smaller than the hole of a straw. A lot of what we play in the middle to upper register might feel similar to blowing through a straw.

Personally, I don’t like the idea of fogging a mirror, but that’s my experience. The jaw drops down too far. However, the feeling of fogging a mirror is helpful, especially the relaxation in the throat and oropharyngeal area (back of the mouth before the esophagus starts, and above the voicebox).

Fogging a mirror while blowing through a straw... maybe...

[GabrielRice]

Visualization can be very useful in this regard. Go on YouTube and find a cello recital. Observe the player's bow action. If it isn't moving, there is NO sound. That bow is YOUR airstream. Happy music-making !

Yes!

I've stopped blowing entirely. I think about keeping the air moving and maintaining contact with the vibration, just as the bow is moving and maintaining contact with the string.

[baileyman]

The care and feeding of the buzz...