Jcluesman
Im with Stumpalumpagus... air still isnt right, and its making the call sound flat. He is also dead on, you get it right, and that call will rattle your brains. Youll FEEL that its right... you wont even need to hear it.
Your notes are still starting out a bit gradually, which is an indication your gating or throat burst like Stump says isnt quite right yet. Keep working on it, it WILL take time to get your muscles trained to do things the way they need to be done.
In terms of the body of the note (ignoring the beginning and end), it sounds flat, likely do to two things... but they both affect one another. Tongue position and air volume (not pressure or speed but volume alone). I think if you lay the back of your tongue down a little, youll find that increase in air volume, and it will help fill out the note. It may help to separate the note into the three parts it really consists of, and focus on one at a time. In the case of the body of the note, it doesnt matter how you start or finish... just work on the quality of the note. Hold it out as long as you can and manipulate the sound and see what you can get it to do. Work on the gating (throat burst) by itself. And the end of the note by itself as well (though I find it easier to work on the body first or gating first, then body or gating, and ending the note as the last piece... because then you get more practice with the body or beginning or both, while youre practicing the end/cut off of the note.
If you listen to your file, youll hear the pitch change during the note. The upswing at the end is coming from a tongue position and timing issue. Sounds like the tongue is coming up too far forward causing the swing up in pitch before you stop the note with the combination of gating and tongue clocking the air. When I stop a note, I am not only stopping the air with the middle/mid back area of my tongue, but also with my throat. So there are two areas that air is getting shut down, and the timing is such that it almost, if not is, simultaneous. Keep at it... sooner or later youre going to hit that note and realize we havnt been lying to you. :D Your body is just fighting your brain :D
M rogers
What call are you blowing? The reason I ask, is same as I think what Stump is alluding to - You have a lot of the mechanics in place but call itself could very well be causing some of the deficiencies Im hearing... Im not bagging on your or the call, just descriptive things I am hearing (or not hearing in some cases), that could be call or caller, or both. If you were using a known call, that would allow one to hone in on the root of the situation more easily. But I also understand... not everyone can just go out and buy a CWF from stump or a Volochoke or what have you.
It sounds like the presentation is basically right, both at the start and the body of the note. The end, I can tell youre using the forward portion of your tongue, and a bit slow on cutting the air off with your throat because of the up swing in pitch at the end of the note. I think this is you moreso than the call.
Over all - the pitch is high to me. This could be you or the call or both. If its you, Id say you need to add air volume and reduce the speed of the air. Dropping the back and mid back of your tongue down a touch may do it all. (think saying "Ahhh" at the doctors but trying to make your tongue lay down far enough that the Doc doesnt need to use the Popsicle stick.) That will drop some air speed, by increasing volume and opening up the restriction. Also, planting the tip of your tongue below your bottom teeth may help. I notice when I call, the tip of my tongue is not at the gum line on my bottom teeth, but well below. Might be worth a shot as to keep the mid portion of your tongue from lifting up and causing an increase in air speed. If its the call (ie one you make)... um... there are a lot of possibilities there, but I would start by seeing if the reed is too short or not enough back bore.
In having the pitch be high, you are lacking some rasp or rattle as Stump calls it. That could be the call or the caller, or both. Try a long note, and altering tongue position while keeping air flow the same. If the call can do it, youll feel it. To me, the "rattle" in every portion of the call is the same oscillation of the reed as is the ring in a hail. When you ring a call, you feel it as well as hear it. Same with rattle or rasp... Youll feel it. If you can ring a hail note, do that, now move your tongue around taking the ring in and out... now, reduce the air and try the same thing on a middle or low range note.
I too hear upswings in some of your notes. Since it sounds like youre not doing it on fast notes, I think its a case of timing rather than motions. But if the front 1/3 of your tongue is moving at the end of the note, it could be the cause.
Keep at it guys! Being a better caller always help one be a better call maker.
And thanks a ton to Stump for this thread and all the input and all the guys willing to put it out there for people to listen to!
Wade
