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14/12/2014 Masterclass with Dick Griffin: Multiphonics on the Trombone
http://trombone.org/articles/library/viewarticles.asp?ArtID=85 1/3
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Archives | Classifieds | JFB | Sunday, December 14, 2014
Masterclass with Dick Griffin:Multiphonics on the Trombone Bob Bernotas
This article was written by Bob Bernotas as told to him by Dick Griffin
The principle behind playing multiphonicsproducing more than one note
at a time on a wind instrumentis that you're dealing with the overtone
series. If you hit a low Bb on the piano, it also sounds an octave above and
it rings up from there maybe a fifth, and goes up in fourths, and all of a
sudden you will have a major third ringing out. Multiphonics work on that
same principle. The lower brass instruments perform multiphonics better
than the higher brass because of the timbre of the instruments, and
because these lower overtones are the roots of the particular chords.
Back in the early '60s, I heard about John Coltrane playing two notes at one time on the saxophone.
Then I saw in an exercise book where the old trombone players performed transcriptions for cello
that often had double stopsa root note and a note above. So the idea came to these classical
trombonists to produce a double stop by playing the lower note and singing the upper one. From
there I started to mess around with it.
To begin playing multiphonics, play a low Bb and hold it for four counts. Then play the low Bb for
another four counts and on the second count try to sing through the horn. Just try to make any
audible sound while the note is goingget the note first and then let your voice seep through. Once
your voice seeps through, you'll start to hear some clarity in the chords. Stay on the Bb for a good
period of time and then learn to move up or down from there.
The played note will always sound louder than the sung note, so in order to get a good balance I
learned to blow hard, sing loud, and play soft. If you play loud and sing soft you get a vague kind of
soundit's not as clear and the overtones won't ring.
Once you get into it you can make some chords sound major, some chords sound minor, and you
can make some with perfect fourths and fifths that will be very symmetric sounding. I learned to
control that by changing the intervals, experimenting with the intervals, holding the note I'm playing
and moving chromatically as I sing the top note. You find all kinds of colors that way.
You can play any note for the tonic and sing any interval above it, maybe a fifth or a third, or even a
sixth, seventh, whatever. (If you sing an octave, you can get an effect almost like Wes Montgomery
did on the guitar.) Then the overtone series takes effectthe combination of the two notes produces
overtonesso you get a third note an octave higher, and sometimes if you blow hard enough, you
can ring the fourth note an octave below. You're not actually playing those notes, they're just
14/12/2014 Masterclass with Dick Griffin: Multiphonics on the Trombone
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coming out of the combination of the other two. It all depends on how hard you blow. The harder
you blow, the more overtones you get.
After a time, I developed a technique where I can sing two notes. That's one of the reasons why my
multiphonics sound fuller, because I can literally sing two notesHoward Johnson does it on the
tubaso I can get a chord. The sound is in my headI can hear those two notes, so I can sing them.
I had a lot of problems with it when I first started. I used to have a pinched sound because my throat
was involuntarily closing off. I have to warn any student that's going to study this to not fall into that
trap because it can be a bad habit that's hard to break. To alleviate that problem think of a syllable,
like "Ahhh," and keep your throat open. Locate it the back of your mouth and think of the sound
coming over the top of your tongue"Ahhh." That tends to keep your throat from closing off and
gives you a more open feeling.
I also had to work on my breath control a lot. In order to do it well you have to have good air and
good diaphragmic support. I learned to do circular breathing at that time and it really helped a lot.
I've also had problems with my throat, like laryngitis. One night with Rahsaan Roland Kirk I played
multiphonics so much I couldn't do it the next night. Like a singerI couldn't sing. So you have to
watch your throat. After all this time, if I'm playing real hard and doing it a lot, I still sometimes have
that problem. So there are side effects that have to be weighed before you start into it.
The range of the multiphonics is limited, but it depends on the individual. I never play it much higher
than Bb above the staff. More multiphonics and more harmonic notes come out if you stay from the
low Bb, second line in the bass clef, up to around F in the middle of the staff. That range gives the
best harmonic sound.
The higher you can sing, the better. When I was in high school I used to sing first tenor in a doowop
group, singing the high parts in a falsetto voice. So I can get a very high falsetto and that allows me
to produce a fuller multiphonicespecially when I play a low note and sing a high falsetto.
I haven't had any problems doing it on any horn. It works better with a bass trombone, because of
the large tubing, and the lower instruments give you more range for the overtones. But anybody
playing any trombone and mouthpiece can perform multiphonics. You don't have to change your
equipment to do it.
I've written several compositions with multiphonics. And I've worked out a Duke Ellington medley
where I use it"Mood Indigo," "Just Squeeze Me," "Caravan." I play the melody of the tunes and the
harmony part in multiphonics. "Creole Love Call" is another good vehicle. Most of the time I can play
with the rhythm section, but the ring of the cymbals and the higher register of the piano tend to
wipe out the multiphonic overtones. So the ideal situation is when everybody is laying out and I'm
playing alone. That way, I don't have any interference with any other overtones, and it comes off a
bit stronger.
My latest thing is that I play multiphonics and circular breathe at the same time. I call it
"circularphonics." The idea came from seeing Rahsaan Kirk circular breathe and play two or three
horns together. I'm getting very good responses from doing that when I play.
I also use "circularphonics" as my warmup, doing long tones, because I'm killing two birds with one
stone, in a way. It warms me up very fast. I've tried a lot of different techniques, and I get bored
14/12/2014 Masterclass with Dick Griffin: Multiphonics on the Trombone
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doing the same warmup everyday, but this I do.
[Examples of Dick Griffin's multiphonic playing can be heard on his numerous recordings with
Rahsaan Roland Kirk and on his own CDs, The Eighth Wonder & More, A Dream for Rahsaan & More
(both on the Konnex label), and his 1999 release, All Blues (Amosaya). Bob Bernotas]
© Bob Bernotas, 1991; revised 1999. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Bob Bernotas is the author of Top Brass: Interviews and Master Classes with Jazz's Leading Brass Players andReed All About It: Interviews and Master Classes with Jazz's Leading Reed Players, available through BoptismMusic Publishing. He has contributed to numerous print and Internet publications, and has written liner notesfor over four dozen jazz CDs. He also is the host of the weekly radio program, Just Jazz, heard every Sundaynight over the Internet at www.wnti.org.
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