Brass instrumentalists are taught that higher notes require faster air while lower notes require more air. How exactly is this different?

Question

I cannot count the number of times I've heard the simple adage:

To play higher, use faster air. To play lower, use more air, but slower.

And unfortunately, this statement is just as confusing to the student the 100th time they hear it as it was the first time.

So how exactly are these two statements different? If you're using a faster airstream, aren't you also using more air? Are there other factors at play (aperture size, for instance) that help clarify the distinction?

I would also be curious to hear other, more helpful ways of imparting this information to a student.

Answer 1

Because the aperture (the center of the embouchure, where the air column comes through) must be larger and the vibration created "wider" for lower notes, a larger volume of air is required per duration of time a low note is sounded, compared to higher pitches.

For higher notes, because the aperture is smaller, the "same" volume of air as some other note, moves faster. ("Same" as what, I'm not specifying -- it's a felt experience rather than a metric one).

My teachers sometimes described low and high notes as being closer or farther away, respectively. "Imagine blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. For low note, the cake is close by; for high notes it's across the room."

For my part, I describe the air for all notes as being identical. What is required is to support the air enough to overcome either the openness or closed-ness of the aperture it must be moved through.

Answer 2

Consider a garden hose with a multi-sprayer attachment, where you can rotate the sprayer to provide different out flows (eg.: mist, jet, cone, etc.).

If you use the "jet" setting, you'll get water jetting out of the hose. It's moving very fast, but (even ignoring splashes) you'll fill a bucket up faster if you use the "rinse" setting (or take the sprayer off entirely). The "jet" setting has fast water, the "rinse" setting has slow water coming out, but there's more coming out per minute.

Answer 3

faster air I have never heard! faster must concern the vibration of the lips which is built by the pressure of the air, the closing and the tension of the lips to produce higher tones.

Lower tones need more air and looser lip pressure, less tension -> slower vibration.