Many students that came to Mr. Jacobs attempted to control the body’s musculature while playing their instrument. While Jacobs’ reputation is for his studies related to the physical aspects of playing an instrument, his thoughts on the mental elements of music are equally important. According to Roger Rocco, “Mr. Jacobs completely understands how the brain creates a physical accomplishment, which is what playing a brass instrument is. He had to overcome his own physical weakness with mental strength! He is a master of the psychology of playing!”

Mr. Jacobs talks about one of his most famous phrases is “Think of the product, not the methodology.” Roger Bobo shows a great example of this (Thank you Roger!). Many times the result is “Paralysis by Analysis.”

From Arnold Jacobs: Song and Wind*

As with the physiology of muscles, it is better to study the product rather than the methodology. Unfortunately, many musicians, especially students concentrate on the mechanical aspect of performing.

Charles Lipp tells about his experience. “To improve my sound, I played long tones. I sought a norm for tone color. I desired to control each sound to meet the demands of my inner ear. I sent orders to my mouth, lips, jaw, and oral cavity. Each pitch required a unique combination of orders to make an acceptable product. Matching orders with pitches became an end in itself. This strategy resulted in drastic interference with my body’s abilities to perform. “My blunder was to zero-in on individual body parts. I thought they were responsible for individual parts of music making. Instead of training my brain for musical thought, I practiced drills to gain strength and speed. Physical work mis-directed mental energy. Desire for physical control replaced musical thinking. I developed the habit of isometric tension (muscles contracting against muscles with no work being done).

“I lost my music-making ability.”

Often a teacher will mistakenly work with a student to alter the methodology of an action rather than the resulting product. The student may give “machine like” methods that are not efficient to enable a person to learn. Most of the time, the answer is in the simplicity of psychology, not the complexity of anatomy.

*Arnold Jacobs: Song and Wind, Copyright 1996 Windsong Press, Ltd., All rights reserved.