The Pivot System: A Complete Video Course With "Doc"
The instructor presentations on this page are AI recreations of Dr. Donald S. Reinhardt (1908–1989)'s published writings and recorded lessons, curated and delivered through this archive.
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An A-Z course for those interested in truly learning the Pivot System by "Doc". This course utilizes the massive corpus of original and second-order material available through the Reinhardt Archive website to create a full course. Through the power of modern technology, the content is delivered by our own "Doc" (our AI Reinhardt expert assistant). Whether you're completely new to the Pivot System or you're an experienced student and teacher, there is something new in here for everyone. Never before has the entirety of Doc's nearly 60 years of brass teaching been put in one place and sequenced to provide the best learning experience. Throughout the course you will find questions to test your knowledge and reinforce what you've learned. Wherever possible, links will be provided to the original source material so you can view it all for yourself.
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1 Video 1.1 — "Welcome: Who I Am and Why I Created the Pivot System 6 minutes Locked
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2 Video 1.2 — "What the Pivot System Is — And What It Is Not 5 minutes Locked
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3 Video 1.3 — "How to Use This Course 4 minutes Locked
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4 1.4 "The Proper Attitude for Studying" 5 minutes Locked
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1 Video 2.1 — "The Two Airstream Directions: Upstream and Downstream" 6 minutes Locked
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2 Video 2.2 — "What Is a Pivot? Understanding the Core Concept" 6 minutes Locked
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3 Video 2.3 — "Pivot Classification: How I Categorize Brass Players" 6 minutes Locked
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4 Video 2.4 — "The Brass Questionnaire: Know Thyself" 4 minutes Locked
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5 Video 2.5 — "Embouchure Types at a Glance" 5 minutes Locked
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6 Video 2.6 — "Simplifying the Embouchure Types: The Elliott System" 5 minutes Locked
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1 Video 3.1 — "The Orientation and Analysis Period: Why It Matters" 5 minutes Locked
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2 Video 3.2 — "What I Look For When I Analyze a Player" 5 minutes Locked
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3 Video 3.3 — "The Sensation Theory" 6 minutes Locked
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4 Video 3.4 — "The Track of the Inner Embouchure and Your Pivot Deviation Sheet" 6 minutes Locked
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5 Video 3.5 — "Diagnostic Tools: Dental Impressions and the Two Facial Areas" 5 minutes Locked
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1 Video 4.1 — "Points 1–5: The Physical Setup" 5 minutes Locked
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2 Video 4.2 — "Points 6–10: Mouthpiece Placement and Grip" 6 minutes Locked
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3 Video 4.3 — "Points 11–15: Tongue, Inhalation, and Lip Retrieval" 4 minutes Locked
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4 Video 4.4 — "Points 16–20: Off-Center Placement, Tone Production, and Breathing" 4 minutes Locked
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5 Video 4.5 — "Points 21–25: Inhalation Unity, the Attack, and the Lip Pucker" 5 minutes Locked
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6 Video 4.6 — "Points 26–30: The Tongue and Articulation" 5 minutes Locked
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7 Video 4.7 — "Points 31–35: Practice Philosophy and the Purpose of the Pivot" 5 minutes Locked
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8 Video 4.8 — "Practical Playing Preparation" 6 minutes Locked
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1 Video 5.1 — "High Placement (Type IIIA): The High-Placement Downstream Player — Pivot Classification One" 7 minutes Locked
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2 Video 5.2 — "Medium Placement (Type IIIB): The Most Common Downstream Player — Pivot Classification Two" 7 minutes Locked
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3 Video 5.3 — "Low Placement (Types IV/IVA): The Upstream Players" 4 minutes Locked
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4 Video 5.4 — "Understanding the Upstream Embouchure" 5 minutes Locked
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5 Video 5.5 — "How to Identify Your Type" 7 minutes Locked
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6 Video 5.6 — "Common Misclassifications and What to Do About Them" 7 minutes Locked
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7 Video 5.7 — "Aperture Control Through Correct Dynamics" 5 minutes Locked
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8 Video 5.8 — "The Legs of the Inner Embouchure and the Danger of Pedal Tones" 7 minutes Locked
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9 Video 5.9 — "Wet Versus Dry: Embouchure Lubrication" Locked
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10 Video 5.10 — "Embouchure Motion Principles and Warm-Up Differences" 6 minutes Locked
We highly recommend you visit boptism publishing for the drills mentioned in this section as well as many more drills, books, and related pdfs. In particular, Rich Willy's version of the Reinhardt Routines are the best place to get many of the most frequently-used drills.
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1 Video 6.1 — "Introduction to the Ten Test Drills" 4 minutes Locked
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2 Video 6.2 — "The Pivot Stabilizer and Track Routine (Drills I and II)" 5 minutes Locked
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3 Video 6.3 — "The Daily Playing Calisthenics (Drill III)" 7 minutes Locked
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4 Video 6.4 — "The Spider Web Warm-Up, Chromatic Drill, and Augmented Fourths (Drills IV, V, and VI)" 4 minutes Locked
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5 Video 6.5 — "Technique, Control, and the Complete Drill Sequence (Drills VII–X)" 6 minutes Locked
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1 Video 7.1 — "Breathing in the Pivot System" Locked
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2 Video 7.2 — "Mouthcorner Inhalation and Why It Matters" 3 minutes Locked
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1 Video 8.1 — "The Eight Tongue Types" 6 minutes Locked
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2 Video 8.2 — "The Eight Tongue Types Described" 7 minutes Locked
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3 Video 8.3 — "The Type Five Tongue: A Key to Slurring" Locked
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4 Video 8.4 — "The Three Tongue Categories: Speed, Smoothness, and Volume" 4 minutes Locked
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5 Video 8.5 — "Rapid Tonguing: The DEH and GEH Syllables" 4 minutes Locked
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1 Video 9.1 — "Compression: The Foundation of the House" 7 minutes Locked
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2 Video 9.2 — "One Embouchure, One Range: The No-Transition Embouchure" 5 minutes Locked
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3 Video 9.3 — "The Spider Web Routine and Moving Your Center" Locked
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4 Video 9.4 — "Building Endurance the Right Way" 6 minutes Locked
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1 Video 10.1 — "What Is a Good Sound?" 5 minutes Locked
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2 Video 10.2 — "Valve Technique and the Stop Slide" 5 minutes Locked
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1 Video 11.1 — "Range Ceiling and Register Breaks" 4 minutes Locked
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2 Video 11.2 — "Endurance Problems and the U-Turn" 4 minutes Locked
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3 Video 11.3 — "Sound Problems" Locked
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4 Video 11.4 — "Attack Issues and the Bulging Neck " 2 minutes Locked
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5 Video 11.5 — "Cheek Puffing and Physical Obstacles" 4 minutes Locked
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1 Video 12.1 — "Finding a Qualified Teacher" 3 minutes Locked
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2 Video 12.2 — "Final Thoughts: The Pivot System as a Lifetime Practice" 4 minutes Locked