1

for all brass players

2

Igor Maro{evi~: D.I.T. Daily Intellectual Training

Lector of the Slovene text: Neva Brun

Translator: Nina Sekovani~

Lectors of the translation: Neville Hall

Illustrations: Anja Tolar

Graphic Design: Anin Sever

Photographs: Romana Berce

DTP: MCA d.o.o., Maribor

Printed by: Dravska tiskarna, Maribor

April 2004

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the author.D.I.T. is registered Trade-Mark owned by Igor Maro{evi~.

CIP - Katalo`ni zapis o publikacijiNarodna in univerzitetna knji`nica, Ljubljana

788.071.2681.818

MARO[EVI^, IgorDnevni intelektualni trening : za vse trobilce / Igor Maro{evi~ ;

[ilustracije Anja Tolar ; fotografije Romana Berce]. - Radovljica : samozal., 2004

Vsebuje tudi angl. prevod, tiskan v obratni smeri: Daily intellectual training / [translator Nina Sekovani~]

ISBN 961-236-633-01. Maro{evi~, Igor: Daily intellectual training

213091328

CONTENT

Introduction ................................................................................................................5

The Creation of the D.I.T. ............................................................................................6

The Device for Daily Intellectual Training of Playing Brass Instruments – Trumpet,

Horn, Trombone, Tuba, Baritone, Tenor and Their Variations! ....................................7

Description of Practice on the Mouthpiece ..................................................................8

Description of Practice on the B.E.R.P. ........................................................................9

Description of Practice on the Mouthpiece with the D.I.T. ........................................10

The D.I.T. has two functions ......................................................................................11

Comparison Between Playing on the Mouthpiece, Playing on the Mouthpiece

with the B.E.R.P. and Playing with the D.I.T. ..............................................................12

1. Centering or Focusing the Tone ............................................................................14

2. Intonation ..............................................................................................................15

3. Inclination ............................................................................................................16

4. Tongue Position ....................................................................................................17

5. Glissando ..............................................................................................................17

6. The Air Column......................................................................................................18

7. Pressure ................................................................................................................19

8. Resistance ............................................................................................................19

9. Pivot – the Focal Point ..........................................................................................20

10. Banding................................................................................................................21

11. Changing Mouthpieces ........................................................................................21

12. Changing Instruments ........................................................................................22

13. Pedal Tones..........................................................................................................23

14. Posture of the instrument ....................................................................................23

15. Sensation ............................................................................................................24

Reasons for Developing the D.I.T. ................................................................................25

Summary ....................................................................................................................27

What They Think About Testing the D.I.T. ............................................................................34

3

4

igor.marosevic@@guest.arnes.si

My name is Igor Maro{evi~. I have played thetrumpet for over 35 years, for the last 22 yearsin the Slovenian Philharmonic. I have alsobeen engaged in pedagogical work for over 30years. I would like to present my invention,

which is the result of many years' planning. Iam certain it represents a milestone in the ped-agogical and professional understanding ofplaying brass instruments.

5

Igor Maro{evi~ – the author of the D.I.T.

The Creation of the D.I.T.

When I started working on my invention I feltlike I was lost in the universe, since I am a lay-man in the field of acoustics. When I look back

In order for the D.I.T. to function perfectlysome calculations were required and I couldnot do them myself. Therefore I owe a specialthanks to my two sons: David, who is a math-ematics student, and Timotej, who is a physicsstudent. I would also like to thank my daughterIlona, who, being full of infant vivacity, gave us

at the prototype of the invention I cannot helplaughing at its appearance - I would almost haveneeded a weapon license for it. But – it worked!

the energy we desperately needed. I could sayshe was the “spiritus agens” in the process ofinventing. In short, my children have alwaysbelieved in their father's dreams. To expressmy appreciation I named my invention aftermy children:

6

avid lona imotej

aily ntellectual raining

I created the device (henceforth referred to asthe D.I.T.) because of the urgent need to practise playing brass instruments with themouthpiece. Playing on the mouthpiece is animportant part of the daily practice of brassinstruments, because good (proper) and bad(improper) ways of playing are reflected on the

mouthpiece. Practising daily exercises on themouthpiece can cause brass players sometrouble. When describing the D.I.T. I will onlyuse the term “trumpet” or “instrument” inorder to avoid itemising all the brass instru-ments. This does not mean that the D.I.T. doesnot apply to all brass instruments.

7

The D.I.T. on the mouthpiece for tuba, trombone, trumpet and horn.

The Device for Daily Intellectual Training of Playing Brass Instruments – Trumpet, Horn,Trombone, Tuba, Baritone, Tenor and Their Variations!

• Description of Practice on the Mouthpiece

When we practise with the mouthpiece it eitherhas to be held in the hand or another device calledthe B.E.R.P. (The Buzz Extension and ResistancePiece) has to be used. Until now, the B.E.R.P. hasbeen used as an expedient for practice on themouthpiece. In both cases we face many prob-lems which may become very disturbing in dailypractice. While playing basic and more difficultexercises on the mouthpiece some doubts arise,which prevent us from determining whether we arepractising correctly or incorrectly. If we hold themouthpiece in the hand, we lose the sense of theappropriate pressure of the mouthpiece on thelips, and of the proper angle of incidence betweenthe mouthpiece and the lips. The sensation of

holding the mouthpiece in the hand differs greatlyfrom the sensation of playing on a mouthpiece thathas been placed into an instrument (trumpet).When we add the trumpet to the mouthpiece, thepressure of the mouthpiece on the lips changes. Byadding the instrument, the sense of the appropri-ate degree of pressure of the mouthpiece on thelips is lost. We experience two different kinds ofpressure, and this presents a dilemma: whichpressure is the right one, i.e., appropriate but atthe same time minimal. Another problem ariseswhen we hold the mouthpiece in the hand: sincethe mouthpiece is short (small), it is very hard todetermine whether the angle of incidence, or theinclination of the mouthpiece to the lips, is correct,because if we add a trumpet the inclination willmost likely change. The angle of incidence changesbecause of the changed position of the hand whichholds the mouthpiece or trumpet. The closer wehold our hand to the lips, the less visible the devi-ations are. The more distant the hand is are fromthe lips, the more visible the deviations are (thelever principle). The angle of incidence, or the incli-nation, of the mouthpiece is one of the essentialpoints that needs to be taken into consideration inrelation to the physical constitution and body pre-disposition of the individual brass player. By that Imean the shape and structure of the teeth vertical-ly and horizontally, the jaw formation, the completefacial muscles and the lip formation.All of the exercises that we play on the mouthpieceneed to be repeated on the trumpet. If we do thissimultaneously we constantly need to transfer the

8

Mr Josl by practicing with the mouthpiece.

Josl with different types of jaw formation.

9

mouthpiece into and out of the trumpet. In so doingwe lose time, intonation and sensation; and we alsodestroy the lower end of the mouthpiece. Playing onthe mouthpiece offers very little resistance and, fur-thermore, it is more difficult because we have noth-ing to “cling to” (the sound of the instrument, into-nation, resistance). By adding the instrument theresistance increases slightly, but at the same timecertain finesses are eliminated; finesses which are much more audible when playing exercises on themouthpiece than when playing on the instrumentitself. Playing on the mouthpiece is problematic forall brass players. This is illustrated by the fact thatpedagogues and scholars all over the world dealwith this problem in many different ways. These

• Description of Practice on the B.E.R.P.

Many problems arise when practising on themouthpiece with the aid of the B.E.R.P. TheB.E.R.P. slightly improves the sensation of thepressure of the mouthpiece on the lips, approxi-mating the pressure that arises when practisingon the trumpet. However, the pressure is greaterbecause of the increased resistance created bythe B.E.R.P. The following problems also remain:for every exercise played on the mouthpiece withthe B.E.R.P. we first have to remove the B.E.R.P.from the trumpet and then remove the mouth-piece from the B.E.R.P.. Only then can we placethe mouthpiece into the trumpet and repeat the

problems were partly mitigated over 15 years agoby the first trumpeter of the Los Angeles Orchestra.He invented an expedient for playing on the mouth-piece called the B.E.R.P. (already mentioned in theabove description of practice on the mouthpiece).The B.E.R.P. is an expedient which is placedbetween the mouthpiece and the trumpet so as toprevent the airstream entering the trumpet from themouthpiece. Instead, the air leaks through the smallholes in the B.E.R.P.. The unpleasant sensation ofholding the mouthpiece in the hand is partly allevi-ated by this invention. The B.E.R.P. also increasesresistance so that it resembles the resistanceencountered when playing the trumpet, although itis not exactly the same.

exercise on the instrument. The transfer of themouthpiece is unpleasant and takes a lot of time. As well as interrupting the practice,it causes a loss of intonation and a loss of thesensation of playing the same phrase on themouthpiece and the instrument. The lower end ofthe mouthpiece is even more exposed becausethere is a double transfer. There is also anunpleasant sensation of the angle of incidence,because the hands that hold the instrument withthe B.E.R.P. are further from the lips than they arewhen playing without the B.E.R.P.. The additionaldistance of 3.5 cm to 4 cm is so disturbing that

Mr Josl with the B.E.R.P.

10

trumpeters may even hit themselves on the lipsand teeth while practising because they are usedto a shorter distance between their hands andtheir lips. Furthermore, this distance is too greatfor beginners, especially for children. The seri-ousness of this problem is substantiated bythe fact that the inventor adjusted the B.E.R.P. sothat it is fixed to the entrance pipe with a ligature,in order to have the opening of the mouthpieceinserted into the B.E.R.P. in the same position-distance as the opening of the mouthpiece insert- ed directly into the instrument. With this adjust

• Description of Practice on the Mouthpiecewith the D.I.T.

ment he eliminated the disturbing distance, butthe unpleasant sensation of the angle of inci-dence became even stronger because, regardlessof the distance, the entrance opening of themouthpiece is not in its usual initial position butis approximately 2 cm to the right. The transfer ofthe mouthpiece from the B.E.R.P. to the instru-ment and back is still necessary. My expedient for Daily Intellectual Training(D.I.T.) solves all the problems mentioned so far,problems that are well-known to all brass play-ers-trumpeters.

The D.I.T. is an expedient for practising on themouthpiece. Thirty years of pedagogical expe-rience has necessitated innovations in theteaching process, including technical innova-tions. For about twenty years of my pedagogi-cal career I have been occupied by the ques-tion of how to play on a mouthpiece alreadypositioned in the trumpet in such a way that itwould sound as if one were playing on themouthpiece alone. I have solved the problemwith the D.I.T., because it enables us to disre-gard the physical characteristics of the instru-ment. This means we can play a glissandowithout the intermediate aliquot tones, whichis impossible without using the D.I.T.. Themoment air passes through the mouthpieceinto the trumpet, aliquot tones, which arephysically precisely defined, start to sound. Tomake it easier to understand, let me say thatthe D.I.T. is, in fact, a valve which is used toredirect the air and to reduce the air pressureinside the instrument. The D.I.T. enables the airto flow out of an opening on the mouthpiece,while at the same time allowing a small quan-tity of air to leak through the trumpet. Thisquantity of air is so small that it cannot activatethe physical characteristics of the instrument,but it enables optimal daily practice on themouthpiece or the instrument.

11

The D.I.T. has two functions:

1. Functioning of a mouthpiece: We achievethe functioning of a mouthpiece which isplaced into a trumpet by setting the D.I.T. tothe open position. In this position the air leaksthrough the opening on the mouthpiece onwhich the D.I.T. has been fixed. In the openposition only the function of the mouthpiece isachieved, as if we were holding the mouth-piece in the hand or practising with the assis-tance of the B.E.R.P. – but without any disturb-ing elements, of course. Aliquot tones do notsound - they are not defined because themouthpiece itself has no intonation. We definethe intonation and the pitch of the tone our-selves by playing.

2. Functioning of an instrument: We achievefunctioning of an instrument by setting theD.I.T. to the closed position. In this position allof the air blown into the mouthpiece enters thetrumpet. The normal state is re-establishedbecause the D.I.T., when placed in its closedposition, does not affect normal playing. Thephysical and technical characteristics of theinstrument are once again activated. Aliquottones sound, and the instrument sounds asrequired. At that moment all, and I mean all,the problems mentioned initially in the chapterabout practising on the mouthpiece, or practis-ing on the mouthpiece with the assistance ofthe B.E.R.P., are solved.

Presentation of the D.I.T. in its closed and open position.

• Holding the mouthpiece in the hand while playing is disturbing. It should be mentionedhere that different pedagogues require their students to hold the mouthpiece in differentways, thus causing different problems. Olderstudents (in terms of both the length of theirmusical studies and their age) can cope withthese pedagogical demands, while children oftenhave difficulties accepting practice on themouthpiece. The D.I.T. solves the problem ofholding the mouthpiece, since the mouthpiece isplaced in the trumpet, and when the D.I.T. is inthe open position we still play the trumpet, onlythat it sounds like playing on the mouthpiece.

• The pressure of the mouthpiece on the lips isdifferent if we play the same exercises on themouthpiece, on the mouthpiece with the B.E.R.P.or on the instrument. With the D.I.T., the sensa-tion of the pressure is exactly the same all thetime, whether it is in the open or closed position.

• A mouthpiece with the B.E.R.P. offers muchmore resistance in the upper register than whenplaying normally on an instrument. With theD.I.T., the resistance when playing in the wholerange is the same as the resistance when playing an instrument.

• The problem of the inclination of the mouthpiece issolved when playing with the D.I.T because there isno intermediate B.E.R.P. causing an unpleasantsensation – the sensation of a lever. There is nolever when playing with the D.I.T. because the dis-tance between the lips and the hands is unchanged.

• Because of the additional 3.5 cm (the length ofthe B.E.R.P.), the distance between the lips andthe hands becomes too great and, consequently,the position of the instrument is disturbing. The

D.I.T. solves this problem, because the mouth-piece is placed into the instrument without anyadditional expedients. The D.I.T. also solves theproblem of the position of the opening for themouthpiece on the instrument, which is situatedto the side on the new B.E.R.P..

• When using the B.E.R.P., we lose the intonationand the complete sensation for the finessesbecause playing is interrupted too frequently.This interruption is a consequence of the constant transfer of the mouthpiece, which isnecessary for the sake of checking intonation.With the D.I.T., this unpleasantness disappears,because we can control the intonation in anymoment by simply changing of the position ofthe D.I.T. (open/closed). The sensation whenplaying with the D.I.T. is constantly the same asthat of playing the trumpet.

• The transfer of the mouthpiece to the B.E.R.P.,then out of the B.E.R.P. and back into the trumpettakes a lot of time, and is disturbing because itinterrupts the continuity of the practice. With thisconstant transference the lower end of the mouth-piece is gradually destroyed, as is the opening onthe trumpet. With the D.I.T, this problem is elimi-nated because the mouthpiece is constantly in thetrumpet and it does not need to be transferred.When we start playing, we put the mouthpiecewith the D.I.T. into the trumpet, and we do not takeit out until we have finished playing.

• One very disturbing element of playing on themouthpiece with the B.E.R.P. is the inability toimmediately repeat an exercise on the instru-ment without removing the mouthpiece.Exercises played with the D.I.T. can be immedi-ately repeated with the instrument withoutremoving the mouthpiece.

12

Comparison Between Playing on the Mouthpiece, Playing on the Mouthpiece with the B.E.R.P.and Playing with the D.I.T.

More than 30 years of playing and teaching thetrumpet has given me a wealth of experiencewhich proved very useful when creating myinvention. The D.I.T. is intended for all brassplayers: amateurs, scholars, students, teach-ers or professional musicians. It is an idealexpedient for teaching and for the perfect con-trol of proper playing. The D.I.T. is not intended

for the control of the mouthpiece or the instru-ment, but solely for the control of one's ownplaying. Daily Intellectual Training includes all the ele-ments of brass playing, which are very impor-tant when practising with the D.I.T.

These elements are:

1. Centering – focusing the tone2. Intonation3. Inclination4. Tongue position5. Glissando6. Airstream7. Pressure8. Resistance9. Pivot – focal point

10. Banding11. Changing mouthpieces12. Changing instruments13. Pedal tones 14. Posture of the instrument15. Sensation

All of the itemised segments of DailyIntellectual Training are strongly connected toone another. The description of these elementswill be presented by Mr Josl.

13

1. Centering or Focusing the Tone

Centering or focusing the tone means playingprecisely into the centre of a certain tone. Thiscan be achieved by the appropriate vibration.For example, if we wish to play a sonorous Awith the frequency of 440 Hz, we need the lips,with the assistance of the mouthpiece, tovibrate at the rate of 440 times per second.Throughout the entire history of brass playingwe have not been able to directly control thesevibrations without removing the mouthpiecefor each individual tone. The D.I.T. has made itpossible. The electronic tuner does not indi-cate the frequency of the vibration of the lips

Let us consider, for example, a trumpeter whois playing a sonorous D2 on the C trumpet. Therequired frequency for this tone is 587.33 Hz(assuming A is 440 Hz). If we do not press thefirst valve, which is needed for the tone D2,there are two possibilities. One of two possiblealiquot tones, C2 or E2, can sound, dependingon the support of the airstream. If the supportis not adequate C2 will sound, and if the sup-port is stronger than required E2 will sound.But in both cases the tone will be “sick”, which

and the frequency of the sound of the mouth-piece when it is placed in the trumpet, butrather the frequency of the tone that we hearon the instrument. Many professional musi-cians – brass players who have tested theD.I.T. – have been unpleasantly surprisedbecause the measurements indicated that theentering frequencies did not match the exit fre-quencies. The measurements indicated thatsome individuals centered the tone up to 80 Hztoo high or, in rare cases, too low. How is thispossible?

means that it is not focused correctly. The onlytone that will not be “sick” is the tone D2.Because of the direct control of lip vibration wecan say that D. I. T. is a kind of a tuner for lipvibration. The tone that comes from the instru-ment sounds the most beautiful and has theclearest intonation when the input frequency isequal to the output frequency. Using the D.I.T.,the input frequency is heard as the sound ofthe mouthpiece, while the output frequency isheard as a tone on the instrument.

14

2. Intonation

Intonation is closely connected to the center-ing, or focusing, of the tone. If the tone is cor-rectly focused it will sound intonationally pureand correct, provided that the instrument isoptimally tuned. For example, if the piano istuned to A equals 443 Hz and your instrumentis tuned to A equals 400 Hz and you use theD.I.T., you have the unique possibility of tuningthe instrument regardless of the fatigued orrelaxed placement of the mouthpiece to thelips. Simply play a sonorous A (A equals 443Hz) with the D.I.T. in the open position, so thatyou can hear an intonationally pure soundfrom the mouthpiece (if it sounds pure it mustbe equivalent to the sound of the piano), thenswitch the D.I.T. to the closed position andadjust the slide to the sound of the mouth-piece. In this way, regardless of the circum-stances, your instrument will be correctlytuned. You will probably agree with the asser-tion that every brass player at some time oranother asks himself what he is doing wrongto cause the sound to be too high or too loweven when the instrument is tuned. The cause

can be swollen lips or placement of the mouth-piece to the lips that is too fatigued or toorelaxed; it can also be caused by inflammationor one’s general state of health. All of thesefactors will be reflected in the intonation andthe tone. Despite all the possible problems,you can be one hundred percent sure that atany given moment, regardless of theunfavourable circumstances, you will focus thetone correctly if the intonation with the D.I.T. iscorrect. At every moment the D.I.T. enablesimmediate and complete control of intonationwhen playing your instrument. With daily prac-tice with the D.I.T., intonation will be perfect atall the dynamic levels, provided the instrumentis optimally tuned. If you practise playing onthe D.I.T. at pianissimo dynamics, whenswitching to the instrument the correct vibra-tion with the D.I.T. will enable intonationallypure playing. The pitch will not rise in theupper register - a very common problem whenplaying pianissimo. Playing will be intonation-ally pure.

15

3. Inclination

The inclination of the mouthpiece, or the angleof incidence of the mouthpiece to the lips, is acomponent of brass playing that is extremelyimportant for the successful development of abrass player.The inclination is closely connected to thetongue position and, above all, to the physicalconstitution of the player. While testing theD.I.T., I found that the tone in the mouthpieceextinguishes, or sounds forced, if the inclina-tion is not appropriate for the range in whichwe are playing. Since it is possible to play a glissando on the D.I.T., it is possible to

determine whether the inclination is correct byascertaining the position in which the brassplayer can play a glissando throughout hisrange. If the glissando is torn it means there issomething wrong with the inclination, and Irecommend practising with the D.I.T. in therange where the glissando is torn. In order toabolish this critical point, one should practisea glissando as if imitating the sound of anambulance. If a brass player has no otherproblems and he manages to play a glissandothroughout his range it means his inclination iscompletely correct.

16

4. Tongue Position

The tongue position in the oral cavity is, naturally,closely connected to the inclination. I will notpolemicise about tongue placement, since this is anissue that has already been covered in many text-books. If you can play a glissando throughout therange, your tongue must be functioning correctlyand, given the successful glissando, the inclinationmust also be correct. Despite a successful glissan-do and the correct position of the tongue, a poorattack can still occur. For a good attack, the tongueposition (height) for any given tone has to be thesame for both legato and staccato. I am sure thatwith the D.I.T. you can immediately determine whenthe position of the tongue is incorrect.If the tongue position is incorrect when playing aglissando, the glissando will be torn. If thetongue position is incorrect when playing anattack, you will not be able to execute it success-fully with the D.I.T.. Brass players often make the

5. Glissando

Playing glissandi is, in my opinion, the mostimportant part of daily practice for every brassplayer. Working as a pedagogue, I found that intheir first contact with the mouthpiece childrenlike to imitate the siren of a fire engine, ambu-lance or police car. This is even easier with theD.I.T. because it enables the child to practise thecorrect posture of the instrument and normalplaying conditions from the very beginning, eventhough only the mouthpiece makes a sound. If weswitch the D.I.T. to the closed position during theplaying of the little glissando-siren, the nearestaliquot tone sounds. In this way a child can learnhis first basic tone, and it can be even improvedby using the D.I.T.. The glissando is, therefore, aperfect practice to reach the desired goal for allbrass players. For professional musicians,playing glissando throughout their range is an

mistake of thinking an incorrect attack is suc-cessful because the instrument conceals the defi-ciencies of the attack and the tone sounds eventhough the attack is not completely correct.Using the D.I.T., with an incorrect attack the tonecannot sound.

indicator that all the factors are working optimal-ly. As you probably know, the glissando containsthe entire frequency range, from the lowest to thehighest tone. If a trumpeter plays a glissandofrom pedal C (65 Hz) to G3 (1568 Hz), we hear allof the tones from 65 Hz to 1568 Hz. The musi-cians who tested the D.I.T. found that for the firsttime in their lives they could play the whole tonespectrum on the mouthpiece while experiencingthe same conditions as playing on the instru-ment. By that I mean the posture of the instru-ment, the position of the hands, the resistancewhile playing, the pressure on the lips, the incli-nation, pivot, the focus of the tone, the airstream etc. While playing a glissando slowlywith the D.I.T., the consumption of air is optimal,because there is no need to waste extra energy inorder to reach the goal. Because they are afraid of

17

playing in the upper register,many brass players overdothe tension in every respect(excessive pivot, excessiveheight in the tongue position,excessive pressure, etc.). Inso doing they waste their pre-cious energy. These irregulari-ties in tension are manifestedas a skip from the lower to theupper register while playing aglissando with the D.I.T.. Thismeans that the glissando istorn. In order to prevent theglissando from tearing, it isnecessary to synchronise allof the elements. The samesynchronisation is requiredwhen playing a glissando fromthe upper to the lower register.

6. The Air Column

The air column and the con-stantly correct dosage of airare required for the support ofcorrect playing. I will not gointo details about diaphrag-matic inhalation, since therehas already been a lot writtenon the subject (althoughregretfully little of use). To playa glissando successfully youneed the correct dosage of air.You cannot play a glissandoon the D.I.T. without propersupport of the airstream,even with the correct inclina-tion and tongue position. Sothe D.I.T. constantly remindsyou that suitable air supportis needed for good playing.

18

It is obvious, that the playing of glissando gives great pleasure to Mr Josl.

7. Pressure

It is impossible to play without pressure.Pressure is closely connected to the dynamicsand the register in which we play, as well as tothe resistance of the instrument. The pressureof the mouthpiece on the lips reduces withincreased proficiency of playing. The D.I.T.enables equalised pressure in the open orclosed position, regardless of the register ordynamics in which we play.

8. Resistance

The resistance when playing with the D.I.T. is almostexactly the same as that when playing the instru-ment. But why almost? While resistance changeswith the everyday changing of instruments (Bb, C,D, picc. trumpet), the difference in the resistancewhen playing with the D.I.T. is negligible. In thisrespect, the D.I.T. is not comparable to the B.E.R.P.,which offers much greater resistance than playingan instrument or playing on the D.I.T. All brass players know it is much more difficult to play anybrass instrument in the upper register than in thelower. After testing the D.I.T., many of the test brass

players (trumpeters, trombone players, horn play-ers, tuba players) asked me whether I could alsoplay with more ease in the upper register when play-ing on the D.I.T.. The answer is yes, because theD.I.T. enables the correct focusing of the tone. In thechapter “Focusing or Centering the Tone” I wrotethat many brass players center the tone too high. Inso doing they literally waste their energy.There is no wasting extra energy when using theD.I.T. because the tone is correctly focused. This isprecisely why players have the feeling that playingin the upper register is easier - and it truly is easier.

19

9. Pivot – the Focal Point

In my opinion, pivot is often misunderstood.There are as many good theories of pivot asthere are good pedagogues; but unfortunatelythere are just as many bad theories as there arebad pedagogues. I think pivot is the conse-quence of natural characteristics, connected tothe physical constitution of the individual brassplayer. Pivot is, therefore, directly connected tothe angle of incidence of the mouthpiece to the

lips, and to the centering of the tone. Pivot isthe automatic changing of the angle of inci-dence of the mouthpiece while playing, if thetone is correctly focused. Pivot is present alsowhen playing with the D.I.T., but almost imper-ceptibly. By daily practice of the instrumentwith the assistance of the D.I.T. I found thatpivot is reduced to a minimum which, in myopinion, is our goal.

20

10. Banding

11. Changing Mouthpieces

I have never been in favour of changingmouthpieces because I have never had anyparticular problems in either the upper orlower register. Despite the fact that many brass

Banding is a good exercise for a good brassplayer, but it is damaging for a bad brass play-er. It should be mentioned that many peda-gogues recommend banding to the brass play-ers who have certain problems, but with band-ing these problems increase because they losethe sensation of centering the tone if the foun-dations of playing are not well set. With theD.I.T., the practice of banding is simply notneeded, because each tone played is preciselydefined and focused with regard to the player'sown wish, above or below the centre of thegiven tone. This means that playing with theD.I.T. enables banding by switching from theopen to the closed position without any specialadditional practice. I could say that playingbanding on the instrument is not necessarybecause the D.I.T. demands total control overthe tongue position and the air column.

players do not have problems, they like tochange their mouthpieces in order to reach thedesired goal.When changing mouthpieces, many of thesebrass players feel that the mouthpiece is sud-denly blocked. A blockage in the upper registeroften occurs when changing mouthpieces ifwe try to reach the desired goal too fast. Theblockage can appear because of many differentfactors, e.g., excessive pivot, excessive pres-sure, the tongue being raised too quickly,incorrect inclination in the base etc. While test-ing the D.I.T., I found that it was much easierto change mouthpieces because the D.I.T.enables immediate correct focusing of thetone. With the help of the glissando I canestablish the proper tension and synchroniseall the factors required for playing the instrument.

21

12. Changing Instruments

Since I am a trumpeter I will give the exampleof the changing to different trumpets. We allknow that the sensation of playing is differentfor each instrument and needs some adjust-ment. With the D.I.T., changing instrumentsbecomes a pleasure, because on each instru-ment we can play the same exercises that weplay on our basic instrument. For some peopletheir basic instrument is the Bb trumpet, forothers it is the C trumpet. While testing theD.I.T. I carried out a 14 day experiment withthe daily warm-up practices on the piccolotrumpet, because with the D.I.T. it is possibleto play the same exercises on the piccolotrumpet in the whole range of the basic instru-ment. During the experiment, I found that thesensation after the warm-up was perfect, andafter having played for only 10 minutes withthe D.I.T. I felt I was ready for the challengesrequired by the piccolo trumpet.

22

In jest, I can say that on the D.I.T. tuba players can play piccolo trumpet parts, and piccolo trumpet players can play tuba parts!

13. Pedal Tones

Pedal tones are useful, when they are playedcorrectly. The greatest dilemma when playingpedal tones is the fingering. Some pedagoguessuggest the use of all three valves, but manyothers insist upon playing pedal tones withoutthe valves. The fingering is not important forplaying the pedal tones with the D.I.T.. I foundthat, in comparison with the D.I.T., playingpedal tones on an instrument is more difficult ifI play without the valves, but that seems wrongbecause I sense the change in the musculature

14. Posture of the instrument

Until now, either the mouth-piece had to be held in thehand or the B.E.R.P. had to beused. The lead tromboneplayer of the SlovenianPhilharmonic, Domen Jera{a,told me after testing theD.I.T.: “Playing with the D.I.T.is like driving a Mercedes,while in all the other casesplaying on a mouthpiece islike driving a car in the rainwithout the windscreenwipers turned on - we need tostop, step out of the car, wipethe windscreen by ourselves,and then continue driving.”The posture of the instrumentwhen practising with theD.I.T. is exactly the same forall brass instruments, regard-less of whether it is in theopen or closed position.

and in the dosage of air. This is literally wastingenergy needlessly. After using the D.I.T., I amconvinced that the correct fingering for playingpedal tones is that which equates with the sen-sation of playing pedal tones with the D.I.T.. Inview of the fact that many pedagogues suggestplaying pedal tones without the valves, I won-der why none of them have suggested playingthe tones in the upper register without thevalves. Here the physics work - the tube lengthand the wavelength of the tone.

23

15. Sensation

Having itemised all of the findings, it gives megreat pleasure to report that the sensationwhen playing an instrument with the D.I.T. isDREAMY! In all the aspects of Daily IntellectualTraining, the sensation by playing on the D.I.T.is exactly the same as playing on an instru-ment.

24

Reasons for Developing the D.I.T.

There were two essential reasons for developingthe D.I.T.. The first reveals itself in the desire for acontemporary method of teaching brass instru-ments, with contemporary teaching expedients. Ihave educated many good and average trum-peters, but also many bad ones. There are variousreasons for that, but I realise that there wouldhave been much fewer bad ones if I had had anexpedient that would have helped me discover themistakes and imperfections that the pupils hadbeen making in their daily practice with the instru-ment. The idea of my teaching is: everything thatsounds on the mouthpiece can also sound on theinstrument. I must confess that some pedagoguesmocked me when I was developing my patent, butthat just gave me additional energy to finish it.There is a hidden trap in the D.I.T., and many ped-agogues and musicians who have tested it havefallen into it. Why? There are very few musicianswho would admit to themselves that the D.I.T.revealed the imperfections in their own pedagogi-cal and professional approach to the instrument.The most difficult thing to do is to admit your ownimperfections to yourself.A world-famous trumpeter fell in this trap as well.It is of no importance who he was, but it is inter-esting that he did not know how to respond. I hadsent him a mouthpiece with the D.I.T. and I hadasked him for his opinion of it. I quote: “DearMr…………, I would like to ask you to send meyour opinion of my patent, which…….. It isdesigned for professional musicians, teachers, ….I believe that, as a top-level musician, you do notneed it, but I am convinced, however, that youcould use it in your work as a pedagogue. Withyour permission, I would like to publish your opin-ion of the D.I.T. in Brass Bulletin…… Yours sin-cerely, ………”To this day I have not received the opinion I wasso eagerly waiting for. I have no doubts about thequality of the maestro's playing, but I have doubtsabout the quality of his pedagogical work, because

obviously he did not realise just how good thisexpedient would be in the teaching process. Hereis the trap! To give an opinion of something meansto take a clear position on your opinion. It is onlypossible to give an opinion with a well consideredapproach, and it is very hard to form an opinionwith just superficial comprehension. An opinion ofthe D.I.T. could be either positive or negative, butin either case it would be necessary to know howto defend it. I feel satisfied with the fact that I havenever received any criticism of the D.I.T., for it isin human nature to depreciate something thatseems bad to us. And even if this dark side ofhuman nature had not predominated in the mae-stro's decision, it is even less understandable whya world-famous pedagogue would not haveresponded in some way to this novelty, even if justto say thank you for the present - the mouthpiecewith the D.I.T.. However, another world–famouspedagogue, James Thompson, did respond. Onhis first contact with the D.I.T. he brilliantly playeda glissando over four octaves. He told me: “It isexcellent, I like it very much, I can't believe it, I likeit”. There have been quite a number of suchencounters with top-level musicians. The essenceof all these encounters is that all the brass playerswho were capable of giving an assessment of theD.I.T. gave only positive opinions.

The second reason for developing the D.I.T. wasmy lip injury. I developed a thickening of the tissuein my lip, which prevented me from playing nor-mally. What follows is my true story...In the Slovenian Philharmonic, where I work as atrumpeter, my position rapidly started to getworse approximately 6 years ago. I had a festeringinflammation on my upper lip, which was theresult of unhealed herpes. I did not want to causeany trouble at my workplace so, in spite of thesevere inflammation, I went ahead and played attwo subscription concerts. After the first subscrip-tion concert, the lip was so swollen that I decidednot to practise or play before the repetition of theconcert the next day. I finished the second concert

25

with the biggest difficulty in my life. Bartok’s suitefrom the ballet The Miraculous Mandarin will staywith me forever. After the concert, the pain in mylip was so great, and I was so afraid, that I sus-pected it would not end well. After coming home,I wanted to take care of the wound because itlooked festered and swollen. There was festeringtissue under the epidermis, which thickened in afew days. Ten days later, the lip looked healthy butthe thickened tissue remained. It was approxi-mately 3 millimetres long, and one millimetrewide. This thickened tissue was, and still is, a for-eign body in my lip. From that moment on, thesuffering began. When I wanted to start practisingagain, the sensation was unusual, as is normalwhen I start playing after a short break. But thistime there was no tone. After a few attempts thetone started to sound again, but it sounded morelike crackling than playing. After playing only a fewtones my lip swelled. On the advice of a dermatol-ogist, I decided to stop playing until the red colour,which indicated there was a chronic inflammation,disappeared.I had a complete break of three months before Istarted to practise again. After a few lip vibrationsI took the mouthpiece out and wanted to lure anysound at all out of it, as long as it was beautifuland clear. The sound came out, but it had a sort ofaccompanying sound, which is called the “cricket”by trumpeters. This ugly accompanying soundwas with me day after day and I could not get ridof it. The more quietly I played, the more it wasaudible; the louder I played, the less it was audi-ble. But playing loudly was not the solution -instead of the cricket the tone became aggressive.The sensation while playing was very unpleasant.I was distracted by the thickened tissue in my lip,which was still swollen despite the long breakfrom playing. Besides all this trouble there wasanother problem: that of endurance. After around30 minutes of practising I did not know where toplace the mouthpiece again. The lip was irritated,and any further playing seemed senseless.The anchor point of the inner edge of the mouth-

piece was exactly in the centre of the thickened tis-sue. When the thickened tissue came into themouthpiece, it swelled even more because of thevibrations, and simply prevented me from blowingair into the trumpet. If the thickened tissue cameoutside the mouthpiece it was pinched and there-fore even more swollen. The swelling spread tothe part of the lips which forms the oral cavity,which is most important for good playing. But Icould not control these things. In both casesdescribed above I avoided the thickened tissuebecause it prevented basic tone production. Try toimagine what the playing was like, since I had toplay despite everything. I had to play because thiswas my job, my source of income. I could not playlong tones - any long tone was broken; I could notplay pianissimo dynamics because the “cricket”would appear; when playing legato the trumpetwas blocked, and my staccato was aggressive;forte and fortissimo dynamics swallowed up whatlittle physical condition I gained by plodding. Inshort – it was a disaster in every respect! Theinsecurity and difficulty of the position I was inincreased every day. I gradually made a decisionto stop playing the trumpet in the SlovenianPhilharmonic and to devote myself entirely toteaching. I am not ashamed to admit that whenev-er I thought about a cessation of playing the trum-pet tears came to my eyes. I needed help, any sortof help, that would show me the way out of thedistress I found myself in. I expected some advice,an idea for a solution, a serious discussion withsomeone and an approach these real problems,but all in vain. All of the discussions I had alwaysended with easy and superficial advice such as:change your mouthpiece, practise more, practiseless, practise more quietly, practise more loudly, itis all in your head, … in short, nothing serious oruseful. Let me mention here one thought which Ithink is very important and I will mention onceagain in the summary. This thought, which I takeas a fact, is: everything that sounds on the mouth-piece, sounds on the brass instrument as well;everything that sounds on the brass instrument,

26

does not necessarily sound on the mouthpiece!Thus I assert that the playing which sounds on thebrass instrument and does not sound on themouthpiece must be incorrect and sick. It is acomplete waste of time and, at the same time, itreinforces a false way of playing, dependent onvarious problems that we mostly cannot discoveror solve by ourselves. Therefore, I can state: themore we practise, the worse we get and the moredifficult it is for us to discover the mistakes whichprevent us from playing correctly.Some of the biggest problems that brass playersface are strongly connected to the embouchure.These problems are the most difficult to discoverand to heal. Brass players with these problems areperpetually sick, because the place where themouthpiece touches their lips always remainsstrange to them, due to the unpleasant sensation.Every time the mouthpiece is removed from thelips they feel strange, because they are again andagain insecure about the future placement of themouthpiece in order to be able to continue playingcorrectly. This insecurity can be very painful, andit can start to cause psychological problems.There is a loss of feeling for the location of theanchor point of the contact between the mouth-piece and the lips. I think it is fear to say that brassplayers can play exceptionally attractively with allthe problems already described if they can justplace the mouthpiece to the lips correctly. If theplacement does not succeed, the playing can beliterally indigestible. This means we need constantcontrol for attractive and correct playing. Thiscontrol enables us to check whether they aredoing everything right or wrong. It is no secretthat I myself am one of those brass players whourgently needs immediate control over their ownplaying - without removing the mouthpiece fromthe lips. It is the D.I.T. that makes this perfect con-trol possible. With the D.I.T., I can check in anymoment whether the playing on the instrument isidentical to the playing on the mouthpiece.Checking is possible without removing the mouth-piece, in all registers, at all dynamic levels, at

every moment, with the same sensation, withequal pressure, with equal resistance, underexactly the same conditions, with perfect controlof the intonation, with perfect control of the cen-tering of the tones, with equal air support, with thepossibility of further playing, either on the mouth-piece or on the instrument.If I start to doubt the correctness of my playing I

can check myself with the D.I.T., which immedi-ately warns me if the thickening of tissue in my lipis in the wrong place. As such, the D.I.T. enablesme to have total control over the situation. I amable to continue playing the trumpet in theSlovenian Philharmonic only because of my owninvention.

This true story is just a short description of thesuffering I had to bear in my workplace because Iwas not capable of playing. I have to admit that mytrumpeter colleagues stood by me and were verytolerant of my personal problems. Let this confes-sion be an acknowledgement to them. I couldwrite a book about this, and it would make inter-esting reading for every brass player. It might evenbe a good idea to write such a book, because Iknow there are many brass players with similarproblems all over the world, it is just that nobodywants to talk about such problems. We behave likeclosed books, jealously hiding the secrets of play-ing brass instruments, but in fact by remainingsilent we try to cover our own weakness. Theother reason for developing the D.I.T. was hiddeninside this weakness.

Summary

The D.I.T. is here. I must admit it has surprised mein many ways. Even I did not expect such goodresults. My professional colleagues and all thebrass players who have had contact with the D.I.T.are also very surprised. It is unbelievable just howdeeply it has anchored itself in my everyday work.Some of the brass players who have tested theD.I.T. tell me that they feel sort of strange without

27

the D.I.T., and that they somehow cannot start theirdaily training without using it.I would like to explain why I have mentioned theB.E.R.P. quite frequently in this publication. I havenot mentioned it because I wanted to praise myinvention, but because the B.E.R.P. is the onlyexpedient for the simulation of playing brassinstruments that could be compared to the D.I.T..The fact that the B.E.R.P. has served me as a pointof reference illustrates that it was the only expedi-ent for practising on the mouthpiece before theD.I.T. was invented. This is confirmed by the factthat James Thompson bases his new textbook forbrass instruments exclusively on the B.E.R.P. But,as is often the case in life, every invention is unfor-tunately superseded by a new invention that putsthe former in an inferior position. Therefore, I sin-cerely hope that Mr Mario Guarneri, who devel-oped the B.E.R.P., will not resent the fact that inmy comparisons the D.I.T. has proved to be amuch better expedient for the simulation of play-ing on brass instruments than the B.E.R.P.. Everynew invention is a subject to new technologicalfindings. Mine will be as well!In my texts, I have mainly focused on the instru-ment which means the most to me – the trumpet.I have occasionally referred to “brass instru-ments”, by which I meant the entire family ofbrass instruments. Allow me to briefly treat all theother brass instruments. What follows are somegeneral findings about them.

The essential assertion, which is true for all thebrass instruments and can be directly proved byusing the D.I.T., is: everything that sounds on themouthpiece sounds on the brass instrument aswell; but we cannot assert that everything thatsounds on the brass instrument sounds on themouthpiece as well. The meaning of this under-lined assertion, which has already been mentionedin the chapter “Reasons for Developing the D.I.T.”,is much deeper than it seems at first.Dear brass players, you should take it as a warn-ing that there is something wrong with your play-

ing if the D.I.T. stalls in the open position duringplaying. It certainly will not be the D.I.T. that stalls,it will be you alone, with your playing. Consideringthat fact, let me state here that when using theD.I.T. the moment of truth arrives when a brassplayer has to face his own ability or inability toplay his brass instrument.

The horn is, without doubt, one of the brassinstruments on which centering or focusing thetones is the most difficult. Due to the tube lengthof this instrument, the aliquot tones are very closeto one another, so it is very difficult to play partic-ular tones correctly, a fact closely connected to thecentering of the tone. The problem of focusing thetone is usual for beginners, as well as for all hornplayers who have any sort of trouble. Since it ispossible to play a glissando in all the registers ofthe instrument with the D.I.T., it enables us to playthe tones throughout the frequency range of theinstrument by focusing correctly. All brass playersknow that accompanying sounds, like gargling,often appear when playing the horn, because ofthe high density of aliquot tones and the lack ofcontrol over playing in the beginning phase. Withthe D.I.T., we can avoid this gargling, which is aconsequence of the incorrect focusing of thetones, if we play an intonationally pure tone on themouthpiece with the D.I.T. and then repeat it onthe instrument after switching from the open tothe closed position. A tone played in this way willsound beautifully and clearly, without any disturb-ing accompanying sounds.Compared to horn players, trombone players haveno trouble with aliquot tones, but they do haveproblems with the dosage of air. All players of the low brass instruments – tuba, baritone, tenor, trombone - ascertained while play-ing with the D.I.T. that the dosage of air is, of allthe considerations, the main factor for playing theinstrument successfully. The trombone is the onlyinstrument on which a glissando would soundbeautifully and clearly even without the D.I.T., pro-vided it were being played correctly. Although

28

trombone players are used to playing glissandi,they were all surprised that the D.I.T. enabled themto play glissandi throughout the entire range, irre-spective of their slide position. The D.I.T. alsoenables the precise location of any slide position,and it is very useful to pedagogues for explainingwhere a particular slide position is situated. If yousound any tone on the trombone in the first slideposition, you can use the D.I.T. to define the place-ment of any other position exactly. For example,sound the tone f on the trombone, which is in thefirst position, then repeat this tone with the D.I.T. inthe open position. Play by ear a minor third below,so that the tone d sounds, which is played in thefourth position. By closing the D.I.T., repeat thistone on the instrument and, at the same time,adjust the slide so that the same intonationally cleartone sounds. In this way you determine where thefourth position is situated in this particular case. Interms of the basic intonation, this position is

always in the same spot. You can find similar casesin the second chapter, Intonation. We can deter-mine all the other slide positions on the trombonein a similar way.

I think it is necessary to share a few thoughts onhow to use the D.I.T.. You can use it by playingdaily warm-up exercises, and you can use it anytime you are playing and suspect that your instrument does not sound as you would like it to.Every little mistake, even those that often sneakinto one’s playing through the side door, willbecome perceptible with the D.I.T. immediately,enabling you to correct it in time. Let the D.I.T.become your friend and guide to the right way ofplaying. I often felt hostile towards it, even thoughI knew why I had created it. Unfortunately it wasmy own dissatisfaction with my playing thatreflected itself in this bad humour. The D.I.T.enables you to play at any dynamic level, but you

29

Presentation of the D.I.T. in its closed, semi-open and open position.

should play at the level that suits you best. Theplaying should not be forced, without exaggeratedpressure and without focusing on the upper regis-ter. The ideal dynamic when using the D.I.T. forgeneral control is mezzo forte. For solving specif-ic problems, I recommend playing at the dynamiclevel which will later be demanded when playingon the instrument. In the description of practiceon the mouthpiece with the D.I.T., I pointed outthat the D.I.T. has two functions: the functioning ofa mouthpiece and the functioning of an instru-ment. But both functions become one if youswitch the D.I.T. to its half-open position. You playin exactly the same way, only that while playingyou have constant control over intonation, controlover playing with the mouthpiece and partialassistance from the instrument, because the addi-tional air that comes into the instrument enables

the physical characteristics of the brass instru-ment to be established. Many brass players whohave become used to the D.I.T. very much like topractise in this way.

Since the D.I.T. is a technical innovation, manybrass players will not be able, or may not want, toaccept it. This is especially true for those who haveachieved a high level of quality in their playingwithout the D.I.T.. But an excellent standard ofplaying does not mean players have not facedproblems with their instruments. I am aware of thefact that it is possible to play, one could say, bril-liantly on all brass instruments without the D.I.T.,but with the use of the D.I.T. the path to success ismuch easier, safer, faster, and above all, more reli-able. That is why I think anybody who is in any wayinvolved in brass playing should have the D.I.T.

30

The picture shows the prototypes of the D.I.T.-s.

The first prototype from right to left is notgood, because it requires removal of themouthpiece because of rotation, and besides,the inner conus is not filled up. The prototypeis not fit for use, but it works.The second from right is too heavy (160 g) andit is not compatible with the other mouth-pieces. It works excellently! The third from right is smaller from the previ-ous one, it works, but it is not compatible tothe other mouthpieces. The third prototype from left to right is techni-cally improved in comparison to the previousone. The structure is too complicated, it con-sist of six parts and it is not compatible withthe other mouthpieces. It works. The second from left is handmade, it wasmade unprofessionally, but it works excellent-ly and it is compatible with all the mouth-pieces.

The first from the left is the D.I.T. in its finalform. It is compatible with all the mouthpiecesfor all the brass instruments. Let us comparethe weight of the mouthpiece with and withoutthe D.I.T.. The mouthpiece for the trumpetBach 3C weights 96 g, the mouthpiece, pre-pared for setting up the D.I.T., weights 94 g,the D.I.T. weights 2 g, so the total weight is 96g. There is no difference in weight of themouthpiece without the D.I.T., and weight ofthe mouthpiece with the D.I.T..

The prototype of the D.I.T. was made in 2001.I started with lengthy, exhausting testing,which lasted until the patent application.During the testing period, I was refining theD.I.T. and searching for its final form, which Ihave now found. In this final version, thepatent was applied for on the 3 December2002, at the Patent Office of the Republic of

31

Slovenia – P-200200289. On 18 February2003, the application at the International PatentOffice followed – PCT/SI03/00004.In the whole period of lengthy testing (dailypractice, giving concerts, teaching) I did notnotice a single defect. The current function ofthe D.I.T. is still exactly the same as that of theprototype. It is designed and crafted profes-sionally, for the professional demands of brassplayers, because it needs to enable highly pro-fessional work. I think it is necessary toemphasise that the D.I.T. is fixed on the mouth-piece the whole time and enables undisturbeddaily practice, perfect and faultless playing,concert performance etc. In the physical andtechnical sense, the D.I.T. does not change thefunctioning or initial structure of mouthpieces

and it does not have any effect on their initialcharacteristics. It is adapted so that it can befixed onto any kind of world-famous brand ofmouthpiece for all the brass instruments.

Just like your instrument, the D.I.T. alsodemands care and maintenance. I recommendthat you disassemble it once a week. Togetherwith the mouthpiece, wash it in warm water,then smear the sliding part and the rubberband with the same Vaseline that you use foryour instrument. In this way, the D.I.T. willslide smoothly onto the mouthpiece and willfunction perfectly in the technical sense. Itsacoustic functioning depends exclusively onthe user.

32

I WISH ALL BRASS PLAYERS LOTS OF SUCCESS IN THE SOLVING OF PROBLEMS THAT AREPART OF OUR DAILY PRACTICE. YOU WILL FIND THE SOLUTION FOR YOUR PROBLEMS INDaily Intellectual Training.

Igor Maro{evi~

Finally I would like to thank everybody whowas in any way involved in my endeavour.

I would especially like to give thanks to twoexcellent master turners, Mr Jo`e Torkar andMr Peter Torkar, who followed my capriciousideas with a great deal of patience and will, andwho brought to life every idea that seemedunfeasible at first. They did everything withoutany professional plans - they just followed my

I would like to thank the architect, Mr AninSever, who created the final image of the D.I.T..He did this using computer techniques withoutany plans, just relying on memory with only afew measurements that had been written on acrumpled piece of paper. He is presented inthis publication. Mr Anin Sever also designed

Anja Tolar is an interesting person. She creat-ed a gentleman by the name of Josl. Mr Josl,with his accentuated personal characteristics,presents the reader with the essence of eachchapter, as it must have been felt through thedrawings by Anja, the illustrator. Anja, youhave put such an intellectual atmosphere, andsuch wit, into the D.I.T. that I am very sorry ourcooperation is over. Accept my thanks until thenext project.

narrative. The prototype of the D.I.T. is proof ofhow hard the work really was. The prototypewas made without any plans and was basedexclusively on conversation and memory. Theywere often convinced that I would not have anycomment on the product of their work, but Icriticised it again and again, suggesting newsolutions. They were really patient with me.Once again, thank you both.

the D.I.T. logo. He has a special explanation forit, and there is a special reason for its cominginto existence. The logo is open from the leftand right sides, which in his opinion signifiesopenness, free passage, no limitation, every-thing that he spontaneously felt in the D.I.T..Thank you, Anin.

33

Mr Jo`e Torkar with his son Peter by work. The D.I.T. is handmade and it is adjusted to thespecific characteristic of the moutpiece.

I owe special thanks to four brass players whoaccepted the D.I.T. without any reservation and

These brass players are:

• Tibor Kerekes –first trumpeter, soloist of theSlovenian Philharmonic,

• Karli Brada~ –first horn player, soloist of theSlovenian Philharmonic,

Gentlemen, thank you for your upright posture.

What They Think About Testing the D.I.T.?

Domen Jera{a – First Trombone player, soloistof the Slovenian Philharmonic:

I had never been in favour of playing on themouthpiece. The D.I.T. convinced me, andeven pointed out mistakes that I could notsolve by myself. With the D.I.T. you can checkyourself every moment, because you are in aclose contact with the instrument all the time.The D.I.T. enables the brass player to blow intothe instrument correctly, which is critical forbrass playing. The D.I.T. is an invention, anexpedient for brass players, which will soon bea part of every decent “household”.

Tibor Kerekes – First Trumpeter, soloist of theSlovenian Philharmonic:

The D.I.T. enables us to have total control overthe instrument, it enables us to establish a bal-ance between the airstream, the pressure ofthe mouthpiece and the resistance. I have totalcontrol when centering/focusing the tonesthroughout the whole range.

who believed in its quality from the very begin-ning, as shown by their daily use of the D.I.T.

• Domen Jera{a- first trombone player, soloistof the Slovenian Philharmonic,

• Janez @nida{i~ –tuba player, soloist of theSlovenian Philharmonic.

Janez @nidar{i~ - Tuba Player of the SlovenianPhilharmonic:

My observations when using the D.I.T. are the following:It is very useful when executing an attack in allregisters. When playing with the D.I.T. theairstream is used more economically, and theD.I.T. also improves the quality of the tone (thevibration in the mouthpiece).It is a very precise indicator of the mistakeswhich are present even if we ourselves do notnotice them while playing. It reveals all the sub-tleties regarding the basics, and that can be very“painful” for someone who has played the instru-ment for quite some time. I think this is a very good invention for everybodywho wants to improve their tuba playing. I do notrecommend it to absolute beginners becausethey could be put off the instrument itself. Personally, I find the D.I.T. very helpful ineveryday playing and warm-up exercises. Eversince I started using it, my attack and my into-nation have improved. Also, I do not get tiredas quickly as I used to, because the use of theairstream is much more efficient. In short –excellent. I wish everybody who uses the D.I.T.a lot of success. Thanks to Mr. Maro{evi~ forthis wonderful invention.

34

Justin Felicijan – First Horn player, soloist ofthe Slovenian Philharmonic:

I have tested the D.I.T. and I have been using itin practice for a few months by everydaypreparation for exacting playing in theOrchestra or in the chamber groups.

The D.I.T. is an expedient that intransigentlytakes care of the proper oral muscles activityand by the improper placing of the mouthpieceit persistently leads to the correction of theembouchure. By doing that it helps creatingthe optimal muscle activity, which enables asmaller consumption of energy and higher effi-cacy.

It is much easier with the D.I.T. for beginnersas well as for older musicians to establish thebest personal embouchure.

Since there is no need of replacing the mouth-piece, the practice is pleasant and the postureof the instrument remains unchanged duringthe using of D.I.T. and after it.

Thank you for the exceptional “present” to allthe brass players!

Prof. Anton Gr~ar - University Professor at theAcademy of Music in Ljubljana:

After comparing the D.I.T. with the B.E.R.P. andsimilar expedients I would like to express mythanks and acknowledgement to ProfessorIgor Maro{evi~, who has, through years ofexperimenting, developed an expedient forvibration on the mouthpiece which is called theD.I.T. (Daily Intellectual Training). The D.I.T.has an absolute advantage over similar kindsof expedients that are available throughout theworld.The D.I.T. warns the trumpeter if he does notuse the proper tension when playing separatetones or a sequence of tones (usually there istoo much tension being used, but sometimeseven too little). The pitch of the tone on theD.I.T. and that on the instrument have to be intotal harmony. The D.I.T. is very sensitive andpicks up every mistake of the embouchure(i.e., the muscles that surround theembouchure). 1. The D.I.T. is an excellent expedient for deter-mining the embouchure. We could also saythat it is the corrector of the airstream, itdirects the airstream, or it is the tuner of thetones on the instrument etc. 2. It is very practical because it does notrequire the constant transference of themouthpiece. 3. Whenever we are not absolutely certainabout the pitch of the tone, we have control ofthe intonation near at hand.

In view of all of these facts, I recommend theD.I.T. to every brass player as an essential partof warm-up exercises at the beginning of play-ing on the brass instrument. That goes forboth beginners and professionals. The D.I.T.enables one to stay on the right track … toooften one can go off track.

35

36