Friday, June 9 - 12:00 Noon
Jerome Callet - Secrets of the Tongue Controlled Embouchure
Chuck Tumlinson, reporter
Jerome Callet is well known throughout the trumpet world for his unique teaching methodologies as well as equipment modification and construction. His talk at this conference addressed his newest embouchure. Pat Harbison mentioned in his introduction that a teacher's effectiveness be measured by the success of their students. Mr. Callet included demonstrations and testimonials from three students and professional players who utilize Mr. Callets' embouchure principles.
Callet has identified or developed many different embouchures over the last thirty plus years. The latest is called the Tri-Labiall Embouchure. It consists of bringing the lower lip to the edges of the top teeth, the top lip down and over the lower lip with the tongue placed above (not behind) the lower teeth. It is designed to develop “greater ease with more tone, range, power, and endurance.” You teach the body to play it by spitting through the tongue, then through the horn. The emphasis is not on using great quantities of air, but instead compression of the air in the oral cavity. This carries over to the articulation. The Callet system produces a much more prominent articulation than the more common trumpet techniques. This was defended by reference to the tonguing suggestions by Arban in his method.
Yuriy Kravets, who has only played for two years, had just taken his lesson from Mr. Callet two days earlier and demonstrated the effectiveness of the system. He demonstrated the increased brilliance that resulted from the tri-labial embouchure on the Goedicke Concert Etude. Herb Smith, 3rd trumpet in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, also demonstrated the results this system has yielded enabling him to play both symphonic and lead trumpet jobs in close succession the same day. He performed the Ketting Intrada, and Louis Armstrong's solo on Struttin' with Some Barbeque. Mac Gollehon, a New York based trumpet player demonstrated the same results on a wide range of pieces. They certainly demonstrated all aspects of sound, articulation, and versatility that this system affords. Several other volunteers from the audience also received hands on lessons in the system and quickly achieved dramatic results.
The ITG Conference provides an important forum for all types of ideas and teaching systems. Presentations of more controversial systems such as this should challenge all of us who teach and play the trumpet. We need to consider this system on its own merits and Jerome Callet generously offered us this opportunity.
