Airy Sound

I have an airy sound and I can’t play soft.

You have described what happens when one plays a spread embouchure. (Too big an aperture) Playing TOO loud, TOO high (for your muscle development), TOO long and using MPC pressure. This too big an aperture happens because we mess with the chops to try and get a bigger sound. There is a big difference between relaxed and making an open aperture. Too big an aperture always leads to air in the sound and not being able to play softly.

If you keep going it WILL get worse and not only will you have an airy sound but you will start losing both range and endurance.

Take 2-3 days off. Don’t let a mouthpiece touch your lips. Lip buzz for those 3 days. (This will help you to overcome the spread chop setting.)

When you start playing again play everything soft. Practice to see how soft you can play. (Again this helps to prevent a spread setting and works on range).

A very soft middle C has the same aperture size as a loud High C. Therefore, you can practice making smaller apertures without the damage associated with range work.

Work on Clarke Technical Study #1. Stay below Middle C. Just use the Low F# to Middle c part of the exercise.

Work on good breath control.

Keep trying to play it softer and softer. Try to make it whisper. The better you get at playing softly the better your overall playing will become.

After a week or 2 of this you should SEE and HEAR results.

Pops