rr everett reinhardt

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Thomas G. Everett An Interview with Dr. Donald S. Reinhardt.Originally published in The Brass World (1974. Vol. 2, No. 4.pp. 93-97)

Everett Reinhardt Interview 1 1974 Robert D. Weast. Revised version 2000 International Trumpet Guild.

Reprinted by permission of Robert D. Weast, owner of The Brass World and Thomas G. Everett. New material 2000 International T rumpet Guild.

All photos courtesy of Streitwieser Foundation, Instrumentenmuseum, Schlo Kremsegg in Kremsmnster, Upper Austria

Updated and reprinted by the International Trumpet Guild from an article in The Brass World, November 2, 1974, pp. 93-97.

An Interview with Dr. Donald S. ReinhardtBY THOMAS EVERETT

When I received a review copy of the new aug-mented version of Encyclopedia of the Pivot Systemby Dr. Donald Reinhardt, I immediately thought ofthe confusion and misconceptions associated with thisman and his teaching concepts. I, too, had muchmisinformation and was skeptical about his so-calledpivot system until 1972, when I decided to take alesson with him to learn more about his teachingconcepts. I dont believe the new text is as valuable aspersonal contact with Reinhardt,but it does present his teaching be-liefs, and discusses the function ofthe body in brass playing.

The first lesson is called an Ori-entation and Analysis session andlasts between three and four hours.It consists of discussions withReinhardt, listening and takingnotes from prepared tapes, and apersonalized session consisting ofanalysis of playing faults and theproper methods for correcting thesefaults. A discussion of theindividuals jaw type pivot is in-cluded, along with exercise mate-rial adapted for the individualsparticular needs. The tongue,breathing, and coordination are leftfor later lessons. Reinhardt is nomiracle worker, but he did make me aware of severalfaults I had, and he showed me ways of makingbetter use of my natural facilities and physical at-tributes. Not only did my sound open up and myplaying improve, but also I became a bit more open-minded and a better brass teacher.

Donald S. Reinhardt, an alumnus of the CurtisInstitute of Music and holder of a Doctorate fromCombs College of Music, has made a teaching careerof brass specialization through his rare gift of peda-gogy, analytic talent, and ability of expression throughthe written and spoken word. He has several studybooks published including the Concone Studies andPivot System Manual and is one of the most soughtafter and respected brass authorities in the country.

The following interview consists of frequently askedquestions about Reinhardts teachings. The interviewtook place April 4, 1972, at Reinhardts studio at1720 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

T.E.: Why did you write the Encyclopedia of thePivot System?

D.R.: In June of 1939, after ten years of playing atthe Fox Theatre, the musicians were released due to

a change in policy. As they paid usoff in a lump sum, my wife and Idecided to take a vacation to theWest Coast. (Gas was 13 a gallonthen and we could get a goodchicken dinner for 35.)

While stopping for lunch one dayin Kansas, I heard some trombonesounds coming from the apartmentabove the road restaurant wherewe were dining. It turned out to bea poor thirteen-year-old boy, play-ing a $39.95 Sears and RoebuckMarceau trombone. He soundedterrible and was doing everythingwrong. In a few minutes, I showedhim how to hold the horn, buzz hislips, and read from the left side ofstand, and how to slur B-flat to D(which he couldnt do). He was

amazed at the progress he made in the short 20-25minute period. He asked how he could learn more ofthese things, as he couldnt afford lessons, so I wroteout some instructions for him.

I still remember the last question the boy asked ashe enthusiastically thanked me: Isnt there a book Ican buy somewhere with information in it that wouldallow a fellow like me to teach myself to some extent?

As we continued traveling west, I thought of theboy, and kept writing down material for him in athree-ring notebook I kept on the drivers seat. WhenI returned home, I retyped it and elaborated on thepoints I had made while writing in the car.

I had been frustrated with eighteen teachers whodid not know how to teach. Not a single one of them

Donald S. Reinhardt


ever explained how to approach playing problems ina physical sense. When I asked questions regardingmy many problems, one so-called authority said,speak when spoken to! The experiences I had withprevious teachers, and that boy in Kansas, were myreasons for putting years of dealing with brass prob-lems and players on paper.

T.E.: Why do you call your Augmented Encyclope-dia of the Pivot System a scientific text?

D.R.: Because the word scientific means to besystematic and exact. My Pivot System is a scientific,practical, proven method of producing the utmost inrange, power, endurance, and flexibility on the trum-pet, trombone, and all other cupped-mouthpiece brassinstruments. I originated, organized, and perfected itin over fifty years of research and experimentationwith many thousands of professional performers, su-pervisors, teachers, and students from all parts ofthe world.

The Pivot System, working on tried and testedprinciples, first analyzes and diagnoses the physicalequipment of the performer. It then presents a spe-cific, concrete set of rules and procedures which en-able the individual to utilize, with the greatest pos-sible efficiency, the lips, teeth, jaw, and generalanatomy with which he is naturally endowed.

The Pivot System, in its entirety, shows the playerhow effectively to transfer the purely mechanical com-mand of his instrument into musical expression basedupon the most exacting modern conception and stan-dards. It represents a thoroughly organized plan forthe development of the brass performer as a completemusician. It coordinates tone production and tech-nique with music theory, reading, phrasing, transpo-sition, etc., in order to achieve as quickly as possiblefor each individual his desired goal, whether it is inthe classical or jazz idioms. My division of physicaltypes into nine separate categories, and having themvisually proven with a transparent, plastic mouth-piece into downstream and upstream classifications;my explanation and proof of the airstream spiral as itpasses through the cup, shoulder, throat, and backboreof the mouthpiece and into the leadpipe of the instru-ment; my detailed categorization of eight differentphysical tongue types and the proper way of manipu-lating each type; my lengthy and detailed discussionof correct and incorrect breathing methods, etc., areall positively scientific because the Augmented En-cyclopedia of the Pivot System is a systematic andexact presentation.

T.E.: How did your teaching philosophies becomeassociated with the Pivot System?

D.R.: When I was in my early teens, I wanted tobecome a professional golfer. I was a caddy and hadwon many caddy tournaments. I often played in the

low seventies, however, I soon learned that this wasto become my avocation, rather than my vocation. Irespected golf because, whenever a correct, scientificapproach was used, I could relate it in the same wayto my brass instrument studies and experiments.The term Pivot System came from the golf links,rather than from any of my brass inclinations. Ini-tially, I was going to use my own name for my profes-sional playing, teaching and writing, and use theterm Pivot System on the mouthpieces and accesso-ries for brass instruments which I had intended tomanufacture. At that time all of this seemed verylogical; however, I soon found that my name and theterm Pivot System had become strongly entwined, atleast as far as the public was concerned. In short, Iwent right along with the idea, not realizing howmany colleges and conservatories object to the wordsystem. In my Pivot System, every person is ana-lyzed and treated as a separate mental and physicalentity; therefore, under my Pivot System banner thereare as many systems as there are people. In short,

Reinhardt with his trombone at age 18


the size-ten foot is not given a size-nine or -elevenshoe. Oddly enough, these edifices of higher learningdo not object to the term Boehm system in relation toflute and clarinet terminology, or military or conser-vatory systems for oboe, etc. Now, even if I did sodesire, it is a little too late in life to segregate myname from the well-known colloquialism, Pivot Sys-tem. I wish I could make colleges, conservatories,and the brass profession comprehend this fact.

My Pivot System is based upon logic and commonsense, not a bunch of illogical tradition. Particularlyin the early days, this logical approach to playing acupped-mouthpiece brass instrument brought stormsof protest from many, simply because I refused to joinhands with illogical, traditional teaching approaches.The informed consider talent the one attribute whichcovers all. They fail to realize that progress is thebeginning of finding answers. Eventually, they mustforsake their crusade against logic and accept myPivot System. In the meantime, we must forgivethem for they know not what they do. They mustrealize that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.It must be remembered that I do not possess theluxury of picking my own students: they must pickme. I might add that the older I get, the more I see Ido not know too bad they have not arrived at thisrealization.

T.E.: Do you feel that the Pivot System trains andprepares a student for a particular style of music,maybe more for the dance band than the symphonicidiom?

D.R.: In addition to the theoretical musical work Idid during my eight years of conservatory and collegetraining, I studied harmony, counterpoint, composi-tion, and arranging with six other teaching namesin the theoretical category. Then I became exposed tothe logic of the mathematical approach to writing.My friends all warned me that this form of studywould stifle and stereotype any writing accomplish-ments I had made up to that point. Believe me, Ireceived no encouragement from anyone. However,this study did not dwarf talent, but rather served asan intelligent and logical augmentation to what I hadalready accomplished. In fact, it served to expand mythinking so that I could accept this new, fresh andnever-ending source of musical ideas and concepts.Why will some in our musical field nearly alwayscondemn what they themselves are unable to com-prehend?

The man teaching this mathematical approach towriting was nothing short of a genius, both as amental giant and as a superb instructor, and I wasfortunate enough to study with him for several yearsbefore his death. Certainly, what I learned from himcould be directed toward the symphonic or dance

fields of writing, for it was applicable to any style ormusical situation. I am positive that his teachingswere not intended to lean one way or the other. Manyof todays fine Hollywood studio writers were stu-dents of this master teacher.

This may serve as an analogy for my Pivot Systemapproach, for it is intended to free the student of bothmental and physical playing obstacles that precludesuccess. After the student has mastered my PivotSystem, it may be applied to the field of music of hischoice. It, too, does not lean one way or the other. Ihave, and have had, students from all parts of theworld studying my Pivot System. Some are in thecommercial performance field, others are symphonicplayers, and still others use it in their own teaching.

T.E.: Do you feel that your teaching techniques inthe Pivot System are in conflict with, or supportother generally accepted brass authorities?

D.R.: Regardless of whose names are mentionedas accepted brass authorities, if the following logi-cal and proven brass facts, which I have demon-strated to the brass community for over fifty years,are not accepted or utilized simply because theinstructors sense of logic has been impaired or com-pletely stymied by nonsensical, illogical, traditionalapproaches and techniques for overall brass instruc-tion, then my Pivot System definitely collides with

Donald S. Reinhardt, Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1933


their mode of thinking in this regard. My Pivot Sys-tem is based upon logic and common sense, and itnever bows to tradition when tradition becomes il-logical. A few of the basic facts expressed by my PivotSystem are as follows:1. We are all different both mentally and physically;

therefore, every brass student must be treated andtaught as a separate entity.

2. Smiling to ascend (pulling the mouth corners ina backward manner so that the lips are stretchedacross the teeth) was wrong, is wrong, and alwayswill be wrong. This old-time brass playing fallacyis the most destructive of all teaching and play-ing concepts.

3. Spitting seeds, threads or confetti from the tipof the tongue so that the tip of the tongue maypenetrate between the teeth and lips in order toproduce a clean, crisp attack is another destruc-tive playing mannerism. Both the smiling to as-cend and the spitting of seeds, threads, or con-

fetti to attack concepts have produced more brassplaying failures than all other incorrect teachingpoints combined. They should have died atCusters Last Stand.

4. Delaying the attack by bottling up the air col-umn, rather than snapping the mouth corners for-ward toward the rim of the mouthpiece (not intothe cup of the mouthpiece), is one of the chiefcauses of the unwanted neck puff (the pregnantneck).

5. Over-breathing for the upper register causes diz-ziness, lightheadedness, spots before the eyes, painin the back of the head and neck, etc.

6. It is impossible to develop and maintain correctbreathing if the playing posture is faulty.

7. Excessive dropping of the jaw to produce a fine,responsive lower register only adds to upper reg-ister difficulties and creates many unwanted en-durance and flexibility problems.

9. A chin or lip vibrato can often become an unwanted

Doc Reinhardt enjoying a cigar amid the controlled clutter of his Chestnut Street studio


playing fixture, so much,that the performer can nolonger produce a so-calledstraight tone. These twomethods of producing vi-brato have often causedfacial nerve damage; I haveseen and heard hundredsof such cases.

10. When a performers oralcavity is extremely smalland the roof of the mouthvery low, very often an airpocket will form in onecheek or the other, or both,or under the upper lip. Thistype of player should avoidany air pocket under thelower lip, particularly if heuses a high mouthpieceplacement (two-thirds up-per lip, one-third lower).The air pocket will become particularly pro-nounced when playing loudly in the upper regis-ter. If this mannerism is not corrected, when thephysical structure is as described, then the un-wanted neck puff will take over. I consider an airpocket in the cheek or cheeks, or under the upperlip (never under the lower lip) to be the lesser oftwo evils, if you choose to consider an air pocketan evil under the physical conditions already men-tioned.

11. While using a plastic, transparent mouthpiece, Ihave demonstrated and proven that those whosemouthpiece placement utilizes more upper lip thanlower direct their airstream in a downward direc-tion into the cup of the mouthpiece, where (northof the equator) it spirals its way in a counterclock-wise manner through the cup, shoulder, throat,and backbore of the mouthpiece, and into theleadpipe of the instrument. The downstream iscreated because more upper lip than lower is pro-jected into the cup of the mouthpiece during theblowing. The higher the note being played, thecloser the downstream will strike toward the rimof the mouthpiece; the lower the note, the closerto the throat of the mouthpiece, but not directlyinto the throat of the mouthpiece.

Conversely, the performers whose mouthpieceplacement utilizes more lower lip than upper directtheir air streams in an upward direction into the cupof the mouthpiece, where it commences its spiralthrough the cup, shoulder, throat, and backbore ofthe mouthpiece, and into the leadpipe of the instru-ment. The upstream is created because more lower

lip than upper is projected into the cup of the mouth-piece during the blowing. The higher the note beingplayed, the closer the upstream will strike towardthe rim of the mouthpiece; the lower the note, thecloser it will strike toward the throat of the mouth-piece, but not directly into the throat of the mouth-piece. Both downstream and upstream performerscan be observed visually in a transparent plasticmouthpiece. Metal rims without cups do not presenta true picture of the performers lips while playing,because the actual blowing resistance which is cre-ated by the use of both the mouthpiece and instru-ment positively cannot be duplicated with a metalrim alone. Early in 1932, I lathed-out a transparentplastic mouthpiece and proved this point conclusively.Since that time, I have used this plastic visual sourceas a basis for all my embouchure analyses and check-ups.

Limited time and space prevent me from discuss-ing over a hundred basic playing points. However, Itrust that the eleven points just discussed will pro-vide you with some of the logic used in my PivotSystem instruction.

T.E.: What percentage of your students return forregular lessons after your initial three-hour Orienta-tion and Analysis period?

D.R.: Approximately 95 to 96 percent of my stu-dents return for regular lessons after my initial three-hour Orientation and Analysis period. Lessons arenever rostered until the performer has had a two tofour-week incubation period following my initialthree-hour presentation. This provides time for theperformer to settle down, study his entire personal-

Reinhardt with a transparent trombone mouthpiece of his own design


A Reinhardt trumpet student with an early transparent mouthpiece model used for analyses

ized presentation, study the Augmented Encyclope-dia of the Pivot System, and make notes on the manyand varied questions which beset him during thistime. Only under the most unusual circumstanceswith the students coming from foreign countries do Iever make exceptions to these rules. The four or fivepercent of the students who do not return for lessonson a regular basis may be attributed to the followingreasons:1. Most of my students are in the profession and they

are on the road with groups, bands, orchestras,etc., and it is impossible for them to take lessonson a regular basis. I have one student who hasbeen with me since 1954, and throughout his pro-fessional career we have kept in contact throughcheckups, four to eight times a year. I have alarge group of students who fall into this category;I call them the check-up group. The reasons forthem not taking regular lessons following my ori-entation and analysis period should be quite ob-vious.

2. My students come from all over the world, andthey manage to fit in a rather crammed course ofinstruction during their once-a-year vacations

with me. During the interim, the telephone doessuffice. About 35 of my students fall into this cat-egory.

3. If a performer has a serious playing problem, butmust support his family and himself with his in-strumental talents, and the adjustment cannot bemade under such circumstances, I tell him that Iwill work with him during the first free time thatoccurs in his professional work. In some cases, thisis both necessary and proper.

4. Some students have been sold some preconceivedidea that I would change their embouchures, andthey come in with a combination of fear and gen-eral mistrust. Some out-dated instructors whoknow nothing about the Pivot System, but comeon as world authorities often spread these ru-mors. I wish to state in this regard that I havechanged only one embouchure since 1960, and thiswas for Mr. Lyle Van Wie. This can be proven. Heinsisted upon the change.

5. With some, my Orientation and Analysis periodalone is expected to cure their incorrect playing,which they have been years in acquiring. I amsupposed to wave a magic wand and immedi-


About the Author: Serv-ing as Director of Bands andDirector of the Jazz Programat Harvard University foralmost thirty years, TomEverett has made many con-tributions to the instrumen-tal music world. Founderand first President of theInternational Trombone As-sociation, former TromboneEditor of The Brass World,he has contributed numer-

ous articles on bass trombone repertoire and his An-notated Guide to Bass Trombone Literature (now inits third edition) is the standard reference in thefield. As a performer, he has appeared at CarnegieRecital Hall and was one of the first bass trombonerecitalists/specialists. He has commissioned and pre-miered over thirty original compositions by such com-posers as Gordon Jacobs, Walter Hartley, SamuelAdler, Warren Benson, T.J. Anderson, and FrigyesHidas. Founder of the Harvard University Jazz Pro-gram, he is an authority on the evolution and person-alities of the jazz trombone.

Special thanks to Robert D. Weast and Thomas G.Everett for permissions; Ralph Dudgeon for photo-graphs; the Streitwieser Foundation, Instru-mentenmuseum, Schlo Kremsegg in Kremsmnster,Upper Austria for photographs and permissions;ITG Publications Editor Michael Caldwell and ITGJournal Staff Editor Kim Stephans for editing; andStephen L. Glover for layout and production.

ately erase their many brass playing sins. TheOrientation and Analysis period is exactly whatthe title suggests. Oddly enough, this type of frus-trated individual would not expect to have hishernia removed and move around a Steinway pi-ano the next day. This type does not return forlessons on any basis, regular or irregular.

6. Some are so conceited regarding their super tal-ents that they could learn nothing from anyone.These are the self-made boys. This is anothertype who, if they returned for lessons, would havetheir ego seriously deflated. So, you never see orhear from them again as a student or in the pro-fession.

7. Some are just curiosity seekers and do not in-tend to ever become serious about study in thefirst place.

8. I always tell the truth and some resent the truth.I am honored when the public pays one of my stu-dents a compliment, however, I admit that I sel-dom do. It is my job to find the leak in the dikeand repair it, not to use the old trick of flatteringthe student. Unfortunately, some instructors pullthis Superman build-up on their students. For-tunately, some play well in spite of their instruc-tors.

See Also

Ralph Dudgeon. Credit Where Credit is Due: The Lifeand Brass Teaching of Donald S. Reinhardt. In-ternational Trumpet Guild Journal, June 2000.pp. 26-39.

rr everett reinhardt

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