There are many great trumpet books on the market. Several of them are mine.

But
none show or discuss the actual embouchures themselves and explain what makes
them different.

Some of these differences are inside the mouth and can not be seen. To help show
what is happening here I have drawn some diagrams. While I am not an artist;
these show the physical differences that I am talking about.

I am going to take you into the real 3-D system that is an embouchure. It is not just
set your lips this way. I will show how people who say tighten your mouthcorners
and people who say relax the face are both right; just for different embouchure
settings.

There are many things that makeup the entire system of resistance including the
mouthpiece depth, backbore and throat hole and the horn bore size, leadpipe
taper….. That is not important to the scope of this book. For more info about those
things read my A-Z and FAQ’s books.

ALL embouchures work for SOME people.

I don't really have 1 embouchure that I teach.

This weekend I taught Lip buzzing, Farkas, and Superchops because those would
work for the people involved.

Page 1 of 70
I give playing tests and decide what embouchure they should play based on how
they do with flexibility, intonation, tone, range, tonguing....... I look at how they try to
make compression both on purpose (range) and naturally (lip slurs).

Then I try to get things working with what they have. (You can't be successful if you
make students quit gigs to do an embouchure change.)

If it really FITS you it works quickly. (Provided that one really understands how to
apply it.)

There are guys playing double c and beyond on ALL of the embouchures. Don't pick
one because you think it will give you range.

Bill Chase, Maynard Ferguson, Arturo Sandoval, Doc Severinsen, Bobby Shew are
five great players using 5 different embouchures.

One curls in (Stevens), one lots of lip pucker (Maggio), one buzzes, one Farkas, one
plays a very open embouchure. (3 closed embouchures, 1 semi, and one open.

Not only do they set the lips differently they don't even all use the same means of
making compression.

Usually the range comes from something other than what embouchure you play.
(Unless the embouchure is REALLY BAD.)

How long can you hold a pencil above level when doing the pencil exercise?

That is a biggie for several of the embouchures. Adding a minute to your time adds
notes to the range.

A few weeks of lip strengthening beats a complete embouchure change.

Also Almost NOBODY uses their abs as hard and fast as they can. (I get lazy too
and slack off.) But hey less than max breath support ALWAYS gives less than max
range.

Page 2 of 70
Again a little work on support beats an embouchure change.

There is a BIG difference between getting some good arpeggios with a new
embouchure and being ready to gig with it. Once you see the crowd you go on
autopilot and that is the old setup.

So which embouchure should YOU play?

Well that is one reason I wrote this book. To show how embouchures look and how
they work. So that you and your teacher would be better able to fix any problem
and if it can’t be fixed; then to change it.

First let’s see how some people think of embouchure.

1-D

Roughly 50% of all people think of the embouchure in 1 dimension. That is they
think only about how long is the aperture or buzz. Yes this does affect what note is
being playing but it is only a small part of the aperture.

(1)

Page 3 of 70
 (2)

How long is the aperture? ie are you playing a low note or a high note. People who
think this way tend to only rely on mouthcorner tension to play higher notes. Lip to
lip compression has no place here.

Every octave higher that we play; the size of the aperture is cut in half.

Double Pedal C = 64 inches,

Pedal C = 32 inches,
Low C = 16 inches,
Middle C = 8 inches,
High C = 4 inches,
Double High C = 2 inches,
Triple High C = 1 inch

This talks about the part of the embouchure we can see but it does NOT mean it is
1-D or even 2-D. This chart is true even in the 3-D model of the lips.

2-D

Roughly 50% think of the embouchure in 2 dimensions.

Page 4 of 70
 (3)

(4)

Is it a long, wide aperture (low note) or a short, thin one (high note).

In a way compression is included here but the biggest benefit of compression is left
out.

What does this matter some may ask.

Well if you are doing a physical action but don’t understand what it is supposed to
do or how it can help; then it is doubtful that you can get all of the results that
another person who understands what to do can obtain.

What is missing here is HOW MUCH LIP MASS is involved, how long is the amount
of lip that the air has to fight to get to the mouthpiece.

Page 5 of 70
 Think in 3-D

The 3rd dimension is rarely thought of and never mentioned. It can in some
embouchures play a bigger role in playing the note that the other 2. It also
determines how much corner tension is needed.

(5)

A very small amount of lip touching means that the corners need a LOT of tension;
as the lips are not offering much resistance to the air. See the air only has to travel
or fight through a small space where the lips touch.

(6)

When the lips push together; then they resist the air and there is much less need
for corner tension. The air now must travel through 2,3,4… as much as 6 times as
much lip contact area before it reaches the mouthpiece.

Page 6 of 70
This distance inside the mouth where the air has to fight the lip surface will be
called the “aperture tunnel” in the remainder of this work.

When the lip contact area increases the need for facial or corner tension also
decreases. But the need for faster air increases.

In this example drawing 5 has only 1/5 the aperture tunnel that drawing 6 has.

Because of this to obtain the same amount of resistance drawing 5 would need 10
times as much mouthcorner tension.

I can only tense my corners so much and then no more.

That means that drawing 5 setting would have a more limited range for me than
drawing 6. And because drawing 6 requires so much less tension; then I can play
longer without tiring my facial muscles.

Drawing 6 also makes a cushion which aides in endurance and comfort.

Farkas Embouchure (Puckered Smile)

This embouchure is described FULLY in "The Art of Brass Playing" by Phillip Farkas.

He told people to blow as if they were trying to cool soup. That is how he set the
embouchure.

Say the letter "M".

Page 7 of 70
In this embouchure you must Point the CHIN down. It is the pointing of the chin
that prevents you from stretching the lips too thinly.

The skin under your lower lip will be taut with no air pocket.

Your lips do not over lap nor do they roll in or out.

The corners of the mouth are held firmly in place.

To play with an extended range you must.

Use a Pivot
Use a Tongue Arch

Remember use compression for range. Like finger pushing against finger.

(7)

This is a shot of my lips in the resting position. As you see they have some cushion
and the corners do not go past my chin.

You will also notice a cupids bow.

Page 8 of 70
Many people seem to think it is not possible to play well with this type of lip
structure. However; it has never bothered me.

You will notice in later pictures that my vibration point is slightly off to one side and
that it avoids this area.

(8)

Here I am making a (puckered smile embouchure) commonly called the Farkas

Embouchure.

See the pointed chin which has a flat area under the lip. Many people consider this
to be the “brass players’ face”.

But if you look closely I have lost some of my lip cushion in both lips and the face is
very tense.

This tension holds the lips in place and resists the air stream. Little tension is
needed to play low notes. A great deal of tension is needed to play in the upper
register.

This tension adds to the muscle stiffness but in some ways that is a bad thing.

Page 9 of 70
Stiff lips are harder to control in soft passages and stiff lips do not vibrate well.
That has an adverse affect on our upper register.

(9)

My resting lips from the side. Lots of lip cushion.

(10)

Farkas flat chin from the side. See the top lip weakness, bottom lip thinned and the
lips have separated slightly.

Page 10 of 70
 (11)

Lips touching and both lips thick while at rest.

(12)

When the chin pulls down; both lips pull down and thin out.

Test this yourself. Place a finger gently on your lips while at rest. Now pull your chin
down and point it in the “brass players’ face”.

See how the lips thin out.

This affects your endurance and comfort.

Page 11 of 70
 (13)

Here I am lip buzzing the Farkas embouchure.

Notice how tight the muscles are and this is just a middle C (3rd space).

(14)

Farkas buzzing a low C. Even here there is a great deal of tension.

Page 12 of 70
 (15)

Here are the lips lined up evenly (side view).

They are not overlapped, curled… They are just lined up evenly.

(16)

As soon as the air is added they blow apart.

The lip formation itself can’t stop the air.

They offer each other no support.

Tension from the corners is needed to hold them in place.

Page 13 of 70
 (17)

Lip buzzing a high c. Tight mouthcorners are the key to letting this happen (in this
alignment).

(18)

Lip buzzing a high c from the side. See how strong the corner muscles look. Notice
that the lower lip has started to move behind the top lip.

If it only moves a little everything is fine. If the lip moves behind much then we
need to adjust them so they line up better.

Page 14 of 70
(They can’t make compression if they get too out of alignment.)

There are a couple of ways to do this adjustment.

If it is a small movement like mine then altering the horn angle will keep the buzz
in a good position between the lips and things work well. They still grip each other
well and can compress.

If your lower lip disappears then you must do something more aggressive to keep a
good lip alignment.

In the good old days we would have said to push your jaw forward. This lines the
lips up evenly again and they can make good compression.

BUT many people have TMJ and this only makes it worse.

Several teachers use a pout of the lower lip to line the lips up. You pout the lower
lip and it now sticks out farther. This lines the two lips up again and allows you to
make compression.

This pouting of the lower lip has also been known to cure double buzzes while
playing.

Page 15 of 70
 (19)

Playing a middle c.

(20)

Playing a middle c.

Page 16 of 70
 (21)

(22)

Playing a double high C both front and side views.

Page 17 of 70
 Superchops Embouchure

The muscles of the chin are used to push the lips together and resist the air.

The lip compression comes from pulling all of the muscles in toward the center.
(side to side and top to bottom)

This system does not use a tongue arch. Instead the tongue is placed very forward
in your mouth to direct the airflow.

All tonguing is to be done thru your teeth.

(23)

Here I have used the chin muscles to push the lower lip into the upper lip to create
a long aperture tunnel.

Using a bunched chin I buzz a double high C.

This is commonly called the Superchops embouchure and was first written about
by Jerry Callet.

Page 18 of 70
http://www.callet.com

(24)

Double high C from the side using Superchops.

(25)

Look at how much lip tissue the air has to fight to get through to the mouthpiece.

The lips push together and create a long tunnel for the air to go through.

Page 19 of 70
This tunnel creates 10 times as much resistance as the mouthcorners alone can.

The chin muscles push the lips out of their normal position and changes how they
line up with the teeth.

In the low register the lips line up with the gap between the teeth. But when you
add compression the lips move up toward the nose and they are both above the
gap between the teeth.

(I have to reset to play low again (after going up high) when using this embouchure
setting.)

(26)

Lips lined up between the tooth gap in the low and mid registers.

Page 20 of 70
 (27)

The lip aperture is pushed up above the gap between the top and bottom teeth.

This causes the air to take a harder path and can pinch the sound if you use much
mouthpiece pressure.

Mpc pressure can add to the resistance by squeezing the lower lip into the top
teeth and making a second aperture tunnel for the air to go through.

Mouthpiece pressure has to be minimal to allow low notes to be played.

Just a little pressure can make notes jump a great deal (as the second tunnel is
created.)

Much practice should be done in the low register to get used to playing with so little
pressure.

(I sometimes feel as though I am pulling the horn away from my lips in the low
register with this embouchure.)

Page 21 of 70
 (28)

Some players of Super Chops place their tongue over their lower teeth, pressing
against the lower lip and prevent the lip from raising up and going past the tooth
gap.

(29)

Double high C flat chin.

Page 22 of 70
 (30)

Double high C bunching chin. See how close to the nose the Mpc is now. Everything
has moved up toward the nose.

(31)

Double high C.

Page 23 of 70
 Tongue Controlled Embouchure

(32)
For a low note the tongue slightly pushes on the lips.

(33)

For a high note the tongue pushes harder into the lips and creates a second
aperture tunnel.

Page 24 of 70
The Tongue Controlled Embouchure has 2 aperture tunnels. (Tongue to top lip and
lip to lip)

The tongue curls down around the front of the lower teeth pushing the lower lip
down and out.

The top of the tongue touches the upper lip and the air is forced up between the
tongue and the upper lip.

This is described in the book “Trumpet Secrets” by Jerry Callet.

http://www.callet.com

Pushing the tongue harder into the lips adds to the aperture tunnel and the notes
go up.

Jerry Callet only teaches this with his Super Chops but I used this idea for several
months with all of the different embouchures (while working on this book.) I got
some very interesting uncharted notes when doing this with the lip overlap
embouchure ;-)

Stevens Embouchure

Make sure that your teeth are 1/4 - 1/2 of an inch apart. Bring your jaw is forward
making a flat playing surface. Make sure that your lips are touching and slightly
push your lips together to make a cushion.
Then PLACE the mouthpiece ON your lips.

To ascend you will push the lips together. The lips will have a natural tendency to
slightly curl in.

Use a PIVOT.

Page 25 of 70
 (34)

A slight curl in (the Stevens embouchure) can fight the air without help from
muscle support.

(35)

When you add some lip to lip compression then the curl rolls in on itself and gets
much bigger.

Page 26 of 70
 (36)

In the Stevens the jaw moves up and gently compresses the lips and the aperture
stays in between the tooth gap.

The move the jaw moves upward the more lip curl you get.

This curl fights the air and allows for the faster higher lips vibrations to happen.

You must back off on the mouthpiece pressure or you will stop the sound or get a
pinched sound.

Page 27 of 70
 (37)

(38)

(39)
Lips at rest (37), slight curl for Low C (38) and lots of curl for Double High C
(39). Stevens embouchure

Page 28 of 70
 (40)
Lips at rest ,

(41)

slight curl for Low C

Page 29 of 70
 (42)

lots of curl for Double High

(43)

Low C.

Page 30 of 70
 (44)

Double High C.

(45)

Low C.

Page 31 of 70
 (46)

Double high C.

Lip Over Lap Embouchure

(47)

Lip over lap embouchure.

Page 32 of 70
 (48)

Overlap for double high C.

(49)

For a low note the relaxed mouthpiece pressure allows a looser aperture tunnel.

Page 33 of 70
 (50)

Mouthpiece pressure keeps the lips together and adds compression.

When this mpc pressure is added the aperture tunnel gets tight as in this example
for a double high C.

Mpc pushes the lips together and against the teeth.

(51)

The airstream is deflected here and mpc pressure can add a lot of compression.

Page 34 of 70
 (52)

Overlap for a double high C.

(53)

Overlap for a double high C.

Page 35 of 70
 Maggio (Pucker) Embouchure

The Maggio system was established because Louis Maggio had sustained an injury
which prevented him from playing any other system.

In this system you cushion the lips by extending them or puckering ( like a
monkey ). In fact their T-shirts are a close up of a monkey forming the embouchure.

This puckering enables players to overcome physical malformations.

This is explained in the book “Original Louis Maggio System for Brass” by Carlton
MacBeth.

http://www.maggiomusic.com

(54)

Page 36 of 70
 (55)

Pucker for a low C. (54-55)

(56)

(57)

Page 37 of 70
 (58)

Mouthpiece pressure closes the lips and creates compression. As the lips get
squeezed the aperture tunnel gets longer and fights the air harder.

(59)

The air has a straight shot as the 2 apertures (lips and teeth line up.) Mpc pressure
can again add some compression by squeezing the tunnel shut.

Page 38 of 70
 (60)

Pucker for high C.

(61)

Pucker for a double high C.

Page 39 of 70
 Mouthcorner VS Aperture Tunnel

I think that by now you see that there is a difference between a mouthcorner
embouchure and an aperture tunnel embouchure.

Often a mouthcorner player will attempt to change over and make a poor sound on
their first attempt.

Some of them then assume that it doesn’t work at all or at least not for them. This
may not be the case.

Let’s assign resistance numbers to certain notes for a reference.

Low C = 1 units of resistance

Middle C = 2 units of resistance
High C = 4 units of resistance
Double High C = 8 units of resistance
Triple High C = 16 units of resistance

These numbers can come all from 1 source like the aperture tunnel, or from lots of
sources like aperture tunnel and corners, and tongue arch.

Page 40 of 70
(Yes mpc and horn too but we are not covering that here.)

Everyone can get at least 8 units from the aperture tunnel (I’ve seen it on the first
day often.)

Everyone can also get 4 units from the forward tongue arch. (8 if you use TCE
through the teeth and against the lips.)

so:
If you are accustomed to getting 4 units from the corners for high c and try an
aperture tunnel now you are using 12 units (3 times what is needed to play the
high C.) The high C is not played strongly this way. It is weak and pinched.

The problem here is you haven’t learned to adjust the facial tension down to allow
the sound to fill out.

This also can occur from adding the tongue arch or even just from too much
aperture tunnel by itself.

And in this case yes Mpc pressure also adds to the pinched sound. It compresses
the tunnel and makes it harder for the air to escape the lips.

It is almost always a case of learning to relax the corners and reduce mouthpiece
pressure. You have to ALLOW the sound to get out ;-)

Page 41 of 70
 Tongue arch

Lip Slurs are really misnamed. They should be called tongue slurs or gut slurs.

I make my students play lip slurs 4 different ways.

First they concentrate on the chops and attempt to do them with the chops only.

Next they attempt to do it with tongue arch only. Going from low to high the tongue
moves as you say the syllables Ah - eee. If this is confusing then whistle the part
and concentrate on the tongue movement. Then play it.

The third time they try to only use the abdominals (pull in to play higher) and work
on support only.

The last time they put all three together. (In the proper place.)

The first time that you do this you will notice that the tongue arch sounds the best
in the staff and the use of the stomach sounds best higher up. This teaches you to
use the technique that sounds the best and it does change by registers.

Tongue arch helps us by making the air stream focus on a smaller lip mass. When
we strum the string a note is played as the entire mass of the string vibrates. When
we place a finger in the middle of the string and strum then only half of the mass
can vibrate and the note sounded is an octave higher.

Our lips are not shaped in a linear fashion like the string. There is much more meat
in the center so we don't vibrate exactly half to change an octave but the idea is
similar.

It works for MANY reasons like directing a smaller air stream to the lips (making a
smaller portion of the lip surface vibrate), slight jaw realignments (caused by the
tongue motion which realigns the air stream AND changes the lip tension.

Page 42 of 70
 (62)

Tongue raised in the center also slightly raises the front. This helps to focus the air
to a smaller more centralized part of the lips.

(63)

There is plenty of space in front of the arch for the air to stay spread out. To excite
less lip tissue we need to be more focused.

Page 43 of 70
 (64)

Arch rolled toward the teeth. Opens the throat and leads to a much more focused
stream. This tiny stream excites a small amount of lip tissue (instead of all of it).
This allows for the smaller-faster vibrations needed for high notes.

One reason for too open an aperture.

The last thing I want to discuss here is about breathing.

Many people would never take in enough air through their nose to just nose
breathe when they play. Prior to my UPPP surgery I would not have been able to do
it.

Plus when we have colds, flu etc the nose is plugged up. The mouth is not.

So as a regular course of action for most people it needs to be the mouth. (85% of
my embouchure change students still use the mouth and do well once I show them
how. Only 15% use the nose and then only for a week or 2.)

Page 44 of 70
However;
The lips should never lose contact with each other or the mouthpiece.

Here are 3 common mouth breathing problems that limit range and endurance.

1. Someone with a short mouth who breathes through both corners at the same
time. Many people (me included) have lip lengths that are too short to do this. The
mouthpiece takes up a fair amount of space in the center of the lips.

What happens is they breathe through both corners and to do this the bottom lip is
pulled out of its playing position. However; since there is some mouthpiece contact
the lip does NOT get back in place properly.

It compensates by the inside red portion rolling into the spot that the muscle was
before the breath. This makes it almost impossible to get good compression.

I see this a lot. It is easy to see from the side of the face while they are playing and
breathing.

Just place your finger where the mouthpiece goes and you can feel the lip pull out
of place as you breathe this way.

2. Removing the mouthpiece from only 1 lip and trying to take a breath with the
full mouth opening. Same results as above. The mouthpiece gets into place before
the lip does.

3. Taking either 1 or both lips away from the mouthpiece and resetting the
embouchure. This sounds better than it is in practice. Lots of these types play 2 or
3 embouchures and have to breathe to change registers.

The cure is easy.

Breathe through only 1 mouthcorner. The lips stay in place and there is NO
embouchure shifting.

Page 45 of 70
The mouthpiece takes up a large percentage of our lip length. As a result many
people stretch their lips back when they breathe.

(65)

This pulls the lower lip slightly out of the mouthpiece and for some it looks like this.

(66)

The lower lip can not go back to its normal playing position. So it tries to continue
playing by rolling the soft inside tissue into the hole that was made during the
breath.

Page 46 of 70
 (67)

That not only looks vastly different from this normal shot but also affects tone,
range, endurance……

(68)

The easy way to fix or prevent this is to only breathe through 1 mouthcorner. That
keeps you from having to stretch the lips and allows the embouchure to stay in
position.

Page 47 of 70
 Is it air or chops that play high?

Interesting question. You could get more than 2 answers for it and they could all be
right.

Remember that a smaller aperture needs less air to feed a note. So actually how a
person plays can change this answer.

You need faster vibrations to play higher. It is easier to do if the lip vibrating surface
is shorter (smaller aperture). It is also aided by faster air. AND one can somewhat
cause the other.

Keep the air the same and close the hole and it seems to speed up. BUT this has
only sped up at the lips. Generally when we speak of faster air we mean BEFORE it
gets to the lip aperture. Faster leaving the lungs, faster going across the tongue…

This faster air can be caused by using the tongue or by pulling the stomach in for
better support.

For the bottom octave and a half of the horn (Low G to middle C) you just LET the
air out. Do NOT tense anything. Tension only tires you out.

For the next half an octave (middle C to G on the staff) you pull your stomach in
about 1 inch. This makes the available chest cavity smaller and adds some slight
compression. (When you pull your stomach in everything moves; stomach,
intestines……. they can’t go lower because of the pelvic bones so they go up and
make your chest cavity smaller.)

For the next octave to 2 octaves you continue to pull your stomach in farther and
farther for each higher note. As you reach your top note you lift your stomach up
toward the lungs. This creates a great deal of compression with NO tension. To
maximize this tighten the muscles in your lower back. That adds some airspeed as
well.

Page 48 of 70
Think about a tube of toothpaste. The tube is always flexed or tense yet nothing
comes out. However; as soon as you squeeze the tube, the toothpaste shoots out.

This is exactly what we are doing by pulling the stomach in toward the spine.

Because low notes require NO pressure and mid range notes are played with the
same air speed and pressure that we speak with; we are lulled into a false sense of
security as we play higher.

Those higher notes NEED a real punch.

Think about our harmonic series every time we change partials going up; in any
valve combination we need faster air.

Starting on Low C, G, C, E, G, Bb, High C, D, E, F, G, A, Bb, B, Double C (every note

now.) Not only does each higher partial need faster air the amount of increase gets
bigger as we add lip more resistance (longer aperture tunnel or compression…) to
go higher.

What Now?

OK now that I understand how embouchures work; it is time to change mine.

Right?

NO !!!!!

There is ALWAYS a lot of interest in embouchure changes. There are a few things
that should be considered first.

NO embouchure (not any, period) produces pro level players from every
body/lip/mouth type that uses it. (I have seen failures with EVERY embouchure.
None of them work well for everyone.)

Page 49 of 70
You can't PICK an embouchure with any degree of success based on what
someone says who has NOT seen you play. They have NO clue if it is for you or not.
Neither do I from 1000 miles away.

You won't play a NEW embouchure on a gig for 4-24 MONTHS !!!!!!

A tweaked version of your old embouchure you can play the NEXT day. A
completely new one NOOOOOOOoooooo.

Some endorsers for embouchures do NOT play that embouchure on gigs yet.
(Understandable but a little misleading.)

Some have even completely given up that embouchure. I know One man who has
endorsed 3 completely different embouchures on 3 different websites but doesn't
PLAY any of the 3.

Often we see phrases like "some amount of success" or "limited success" ????

This is where goals of teachers and students come to play. Some teachers only
want to let their student hit an extra note or 2 while doing arpeggios. The teacher
lets an uninformed and struggling student set the goals
Others demand that their students learn to play everything in the Arban and most
of it an octave up as well. The teacher looks at the students possibilities and sets
some goals.

Now I am NOT saying that certain embouchures are BAD I am just telling you that
Some are OVER hyped.

And that often if a student only had a low level goal like hitting an F instead of
Playing a piece like Napoli; then their endorsement (while being truthful) may not
be aimed at YOUR goal.

Also for long-term progress; tweaking an embouchure that is already established

and works; goes farther, faster and stays with the player better than a complete
change that is normally described as stressful, hectic.... because of failures at gigs.

Page 50 of 70
The down side of this is that it is harder to find a teacher who can do this for you. It
is worth the effort to find one.

Doing minor tweaking takes less time and produces usable gigging results faster
than an embouchure change.

Some people play abc embouchure better while others play xyz better.

Also NO method of compression works equally well for everyone. Take a look at pro
players they use everything.

frown,
pucker,
jaw movement,
chin bunch,
pulling corners in,
just tight corners.........

Some things just work better for some people and NOT at all for others.

Gotta try it to find out.

First take this info and apply it to YOUR embouchure. Often the old embouchure
just needs a tune up and not a complete overhaul.

Scenario #1

>>>>> It is easy for me to start at the top notes of the Clarke studies and play
down but hard to start at the bottom notes and go up. <<<<<

You are describing the idea of a lip set-point.

Starting high your chops are set closer together and ready to play high. It was easy

Page 51 of 70
for you to relax and play the low notes.

Starting on the low end your chops are too open and relaxed to allow easy access
to the high register.

The lips were pinned in place by the mouthpiece in both cases. But it is easier to
relax than to fight the horn.

This is not just a Clarke thing. It is a playing thing. It works for everything you do.

Here is what happens;

The mouthpiece pins the lips in place and if you set them looser for a low note then
they have to compress for every higher note.

They can only compress so much before bad things happen. Tone quality
changes.....

Play a good low G; really center on it and then play a scale up to at least high C.

Was every note clean and of the same tone quality?

OK let’s do the opposite set. Play a good G on top of the staff and then without a
breath or moving the mouthpiece play to high C and then a scale down to low G.

How were those notes?

Play a g on top of the staff and then a scale down to low G and back up.

Setting the chops for the higher pitches made them easier.

Some people find that if they always set for the g on top of the staff everything is
easier.

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Others use a lower note like 4th space E or 3rd space C but get the same results.

Many people make playing almost impossible by NOT using a lip set point. This is
one of the most IMPORTANT things you can do to play better.

Scenario #2

>>>>> My sound gets thin as I play higher. <<<<<

Some players get compression in a way that moves the teeth closer together. As
they ascend they get to a point where the sound is very faint.

Making a bigger space between the teeth (even just the thickness of a poker card
BIGGER) will allow the air to get to the lips better and suddenly the sound is bigger.

Some thin the sound because they are arching the tongue too high in the back of
the mouth. Rolling the tongue forward toward the teeth; works better for many
players when you get to high c or above.

Some mistake support with tension and as a result the muscles in the chest and
throat tighten. Relaxed breathing is the key. You simply pull the stomach in. (Think
about making yourself skinny.)

Pull in fast; the air starts the note. The higher you play the farther in you pull the
stomach. As you get more efficient with this the amount of movement needed cuts
way back.

Also play soft some every day. I mean at a whisper. This helps you to get the control
needed to use that small aperture in the upper register. That is one reason the
Clarke Tech exercises are marked pp>ppp.

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 Scenario #3

>>>>> When I play a high note I have trouble playing low after. <<<<<

This is often because of how we make our compression. If you move the chin or jaw
then the mouth cavity is made smaller. Sometimes it gets too small to play a low
note. I fix it by lowering the jaw.

Yes many teachers say don’t DROP the jaw.

This is DROPPING THE JAW vs lowering the jaw.

Some open the jaw to the point where the lower lip is moved from its normal
playing position. (Making open chops.) The mpc pressure holds it there and boom;
you need to reset the chops to play high again.

Others only lower the jaw back to the normal starting position. The lip muscles are
NOT pulled on or moved and the range is not affected.

Why move it?

Well some people create compression in ways that move the teeth slightly closer
together as they ascend. But when they descend the vibrations of the lip are
hindered by the small tooth gap and slightly lowering the jaw allows a free
vibration.

Some embouchures need this more than others. Stevens and Callet, (BE, SC, TCE).

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These embouchures use the jaw and or the chin to create compression. That takes
the skin between the lower lip and the chin and relaxes the tension in it. It is no
longer taut but it becomes loose and often it creates a bunched up knot of mostly
skin there. There is some closure of the tooth gap displayed here as well.

As this player descends in range and relaxes the compression; the skin goes back
to normal. The jaw also moves back down. Some players (like me) have to make an
effort and open the tooth gap again (lower the jaw). Mine will stay closer than when
I started and that affects my lower register.

To keep a big lower register I lower the jaw (little letters).

My movement is about 1/8 of an inch. It does NOT pull the skin tight under my
lower lip and it does NOT cause my lips to shift from their playing position. That
means My range and ability to compress is not hindered.

This movement is Vital in those embouchures.

Farkas OTOH always has a taut chin. Even in the upper register. The compression is
made mostly with the mouth corners. So here pulling the jaw down can disrupt the
embouchure if you are not careful. Once the jaw gets to the point where the lower
lip is pulled on there is a problem. It is held in place too open by mpc pressure and
to play high again you must break the mpc seal and reset the chops. That is a BAD
thing.

I hope that gives you an idea of how both sets of teachers are right; in a way.

Just like almost everything else; too much is a bad thing.

I like to lower the jaw (little letters) but a very small amount of movement. Most
people can't see my lips or horn move even doing leaps from Low G to High C and
back (2.5 octaves).

Yeah the JAW DROP does pull the bottom lip out of the cup if you use a lot.

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 Scenario #4

>>>>> I have No Endurance, No Range, No strength. <<<<<

You abuse your chops with mouthpiece pressure.

But that is NOT the problem.

It was caused by the problem.

You play trumpet with lips set for low notes.

Your lips have too much space between them for the notes that you needed to play
and you attempted to play them by adding mpc pressure.

(Better air support would help to a point BUT even great breath support can't
completely overcome this problem.)

You need to forget that; I'm setting for the first note of a phrase embouchure; and
adopt a set point embouchure.

Try this:
Play a 2 octave G scale. Start on a good big Low G and slowly go up. Listen to the
tone quality of each note.

Does the sound quality ever change?

It should NOT.

Now play a 3rd space (middle) C and with-OUT a break or breath play that 2 octave
G scale.

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It should have been easier to play and the quality of the tone should have been
more constant.

Do it again and still start on the middle C but as you play the low G form the inside
of the mouth to say haaa (relax the air, flat tongue, no stomach support).

As you go higher let the tongue raise until at the G on top of the staff you are
forming heeee.

(You can practice the tongue movement by whistling the scale.)

Putting the tongue arch and set-point ideas into your playing will make an instant
improvement.

Add to that soft playing (to learn how to play with a close embouchure.)

In fact H.L.Clarke wrote the Clarke Tech Studies at a dynamic of pp down to ppp
just for that reason.

YEP set point again it’s THAT important.

Scenario #5

>>>>> I blackout when I play high. <<<<<

Blackouts while playing high are causes by several different things. You may only
do one of these or maybe even all.

The big 3 are throat not open, teeth too close together, lips pinched shut. (These
usually show a very Red face and if it is a bad problem it can turn purple.) You are
blowing like crazy but you have closed part of the airway making it almost
impossible for the air to escape. This plays havoc with your blood pressure.

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Releasing the air support too suddenly you create a blood pressure spike and
suddenly release the air support. The BP drops like a rock and so do you. Release
the pressure slowly.

These cover the problem in 95% of the cases you described.

Scenario #6

>>>>> I feel like there is some sort of barrier keeping me from playing higher.
<<<<<

YES there ARE several barriers. Most are imposed by our faulty mechanics.

At G#, A, Bb (over high C) there is the horn barrier. (It depends on the bell flare.)
Where the trumpet stops sending back reflected waves and you have to do it ALL
yourself.

There is the D, E, (over high C) barrier which is usually one of these three things.

1. The lips separating as you blow; allowing the air to hiss through.
This happens as you play higher and higher; the lips blow apart and instead of a
note you hear air. May be too open an aperture (do very, very, very soft playing) or
the chops are just too weak to fight the air. (Less than 2 minutes straight with the
pencil exercise.)

2. The chops / mouthpiece pressure closing the aperture; not letting any sound out.
As you go higher the lip compression makes the aperture smaller and smaller. You
also add some mouthpiece pressure to seal the chops. This pressure closes the
aperture down even farther. This has NOTHING to do with lip strength or power. It is
a combination of TOO MUCH lip compression, TOO MUCH mouthpiece pressure and
NOT ENOUGH AIR to blow the lips apart.

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3. Not enough air speed / support. This speaks for itself.

Then the High C barrier sometimes at A or B. Very weak chops (around 1 minute
with the pencil exercise)

I had a new student with a BM and has been playing for 16 - 17 years. I had him
play some real music first to check on his tone, flexibility, tonguing. I even had him
sight read.
(I DO NOT teach poor players to play high. They have to work on the basics first.) His
playing was fine. His range was poor.

I gave him an AIR lesson.

1. We used the warmup from my book. I had him blowing arpeggios working on the
air and NOT the lips. Take 2nd line g, 3rd space c & g on top of the staff. Play this
as a slurred passage of whole notes. There is a tendency for the 4th space e to
want to be played or touched as a passing tone.

Use air to blow past this to the g.

Think about blowing the notes out of the horn.

The 2nd line g goes out 5 feet.
The c goes out 10 feet.
Make the g on top of the staff go out 15-20 feet.

(I've had students blow out matches before.

If I hold a lit match a foot from them they barely blow.
If I hold it 20 feet away they blow like a hurricane.)

2. I had him lip trill a C scale starting on middle C. C to E, D to F, E to G...... High C to

High E. Keep going up if you can. His last good trill was A to High C#. There are
closer harmonics but we are using airflow to push through harmonics. This is an
AIR exercise.

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3A. I played this lip trill exercise and let him hold my trumpet. So he could see how
little pressure is really needed.

3B. I held his trumpet as he worked on range. After a minute or 2 I let him hold it
himself. He then played a Concone study 8va. After he played a good high G (over
high C).

He said "Is that a high G? That felt like a 2nd line G to my lips. I could do that all
day."

Scenario #7

>>>>> I tried lip buzzing but it didn’t help me. And when I play a middle c and I pull
the horn away I’m buzzing an octave lower.<<<<<

I am a natural down stream player and I buzz down stream. But for many years I
was a converted up streamer (Stevens). I can also lip buzz up stream. (I just did it
as I typed this. A few nice 2 octave upward glissandos.)

Lip buzzing gives some benefits regardless of how you do it. BUT if done the same
way that you play the benefits are 10 times greater.

The reason is because of lip alignment and muscle strength. For example doing
200 pounds on the bench press uses the same muscles as doing the decline
press .

(Compare dia 26 to 51)

But the muscles are forced to work at different angles. So you wouldn't be able to
do the same 200 pounds on the decline until you worked the muscles in that way.

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If we lip buzz and allow the lip vibrating surface to be at a different angle than how
we actually play we are working the decline press muscles.

Not a bad thing but we entered the bench press competition so we are not getting
the max benefit. Our ability to compress the lips are being exercised but for the
wrong event.

The reason why your buzzing pitch is different (lower) than the pitch on your
mouthpiece or trumpet is that you need to learn to focus the buzz.

The mouthpiece rim creates new mouthcorners. It does not allow the outside
portion of the lips to affect the part inside the rim. (Very little anyway)

This dependence on the mouthpiece to make your corners has kept you from
developing you lip muscle fully. When lip buzzing my corners lock down inside the
area where the mouthpiece cup would be. They do this without the aid of the rim
because I practiced to allow them to develop this. I can lip buzz a note and bring
the horn up and play the note. There is not an octave jump.

This lip buzzing skill is valuable in obtaining the extreme upper register and in
connecting the registers. Nobody has this skill until after they practice it.

Also lip buzz the same embouchure that you play. This is where most people go
astray. They buzz with their lips set at a different angle than they have them when
they play. When lip buzzing; the lips are able to move into the position that they
want. Lots of people created embouchures instead of allowing the lips to find the
set that they buzz best at. This is why so many resort to pressure and other bad
habits.

FWIW I normally play a lip BUZZING Embouchure.

This is the embouchure Mendez played. When he taught; he made his students lip
buzz a month before he gave them a mouthpiece. He then made them mouthpiece
buzz a month before he gave them the trumpet. By then they could change pitches
and had decent tone. I use this embouchure on many of my students.

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The fastest way to successfully go to a buzzing embouchure is :

Lip Buzz: (Like spitting seeds.)

Do this 15 minutes a day. Buzz scales, songs, arpeggios, etudes....

Set your new embouchure:

Buzz a note and while holding the buzz sneak the horn & mpc into playing position.

Take ALL breaths through your nose (so you don't disturb the embouchure). (Most
open aperture players try to start closed and open up the chops as they breathe.
They pin the lips in place while separated and can only make the lips touch by
using mpc pressure.) And play songs and etudes.
(After the new setting is secure go back to normal breathing.)

Stay in the staff until you have strengthened the NEW embouchure.

Do a lip setting drill:

Buzz and sneak the horn into place to play 1 note. Remove the horn and start over.
It takes thousands of good reps to break a bad habit.

Do those things for 1 month.

Scenario #8

>>>>> I tried to change from the Farkas embouchure to the Stevens but I never got
a big sound with it. <<<<<

Some people have trouble going from an open aperture setting to a closer setting
because they don't relax.

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To play open chops the face has to be tight (mouthcorners). This is compensating
for the lack of compression.

Trumpet players use either mouthcorner tension, compression or lip curl. But NOT
all 3 !!!

You can make the lips so stiff that they stop vibrating. That means you get no
sound.

Start at the bottom of the horn and learn to relax.

Play a low G (1-3). Relax the face and let the note fall well below pitch. Now slowly
bring it up to its proper pitch center. (Most players play low notes on top of the pitch
center.)

Learn to use that relaxed feeling and slowly play a g scale. Once the bottom octave
is relaxed and free then start learning to do it higher.

Using a lip set point will help because you set toward the top of the range of a
piece. This setting toward the top note means that 90% of all notes are played by
relaxing instead of contracting the muscles. Not only does it sound and respond
better it is also less tiring. If the music goes from low C to G on the staff set for a
fourth space E. Play THAT note and leave the chops set that way. The top note in
the phrase is a minor third away and everything else is the E or lower. This
eliminates the need for increasing tension to go to higher notes. (A touch more
support or tongue arch will take you up the third.) Almost every note should require
relaxing to play it.

Scenario #9

>>>>> I have a great sound on my low and mid range notes, but my high Ds sound
bad. <<<<<

Your tone is great on 4th line D but not good on D over high C.

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How many more times have you played 4th line D?

This is a case where practice makes perfect. If you played the good one 100,000
times and the bad one 1,000 times then there is a real reason why it sounds off.

You have literally played millions of low Cs, Middle Cs ….. You can’t expect notes
close to the top of your range to sound that nice. You have to USE them. Jake told
us that by the time we had played a note 10,000 times we had made friends with
it. BUT we needed to be married to it before we used it in public.

Also is that note your limit? Meaning the top note that you can hit is not the highest
note that you can play. There is or should be some notes in reserve. If D is the top
note I see why it is fuzzy. But if G above high C is your top note then you can surely
expect the D to be good.

Scenario #10

>>>>> My mouthcorners get really tight but they don’t help me play higher. <<<<<

What really affects the sound coming through the horn; the part of the lips
between the outside of the mouthpiece rim and the cheeks, or the part of the lips
INSIDE the mouthpiece?

Well that is an easy one to answer.

So now what is more important; control of the part of the lips that doesn't matter
much or the part INSIDE the mouthpiece?

That should also be easy to answer.

Can you really make lip muscles do something?

Well you can choose to smile, pucker, frown, pout, spit, flutter, compress them top
to bottom......

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So why is it hard to believe that since you CAN make the length of the mouth
longer or shorter (in appearance) when doing nothing; that you CAN also do this
while buzzing, or playing?

The only difference is blowing air. Exhaling doesn't stop your muscle control.

This is something that is VERY hard to learn while playing (most people who don't
use floating corners use too much pressure and the pressure prevents lip
movement.) This is one benefit of lip buzzing and then mouthpiece buzzing. (The
lips are free and allowed to move.)

Callet talks about bringing the mouth in toward the center from all sides, Farkas
talked about a drawstring, Hunt talks about a dynamic embouchure that moves
and floats as we play, Jacoby talked about making a fist with your mouth, .... All of
these have the corners moving IN as you ascend. The corners that affect the pitch
(INSIDE the mouthpiece) moving in. YES outwardly you can see the part by the
cheeks move but that is NOT what changes the pitches.
Having trouble understanding this?

Have you lip buzzed while looking in a mirror?

Have you buzzed arpeggios on a visualizer while looking in a mirror?

If the answer is no then you are not trying to understand you are trying to feel it.

You feel it when buzzing; not when the lips are pinned down by the mouthpiece.

Think about a guitar. Play a note then place your finger on the string making the
vibrating surface shorter. The note goes up. Cutting the vibrating length of the
string in half raises the pitch an octave. Tightening the string enough to do this may
make it break.

It is the same with lips. Make the vibrating surface shorter and the pitch raises.
Smile to tighten the lips and they can break ;-)

Is it ONLY vibrating length? NO

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WE also have tension like tightening the guitar string and we have compression
thick strings and thin strings.

Tension changes the quality of sound so we want to watch how much we use so
that the sound stays consistent throughout our entire range.

Compression fights the airstream so much that notes can thin out. So we don't
want to solely rely on this either.

This is also evident on a piano. Long, loose, fat strings at the low end. and short,
tight, thin strings at the high end.

For the trumpet that would be corners from mouthpiece rim to rim, no tension, no
compression for pedal notes and corners drawn down to a fine focused point
(thread of air), some tension and some lip compression on the double and triple
register notes.

Corner tension is good for tone control and intonation control NOT changing
registers.
Scenario #11

>>>>> I have been using pedals for a long time and I’m not getting the progress I
thought I would. I heard that you have to play pedal tones to get the chops to play
high. <<<<<

Playing pedals CORRECTLY can teach you to relax the center of your mouth while
the corners remain firm. It can aid in learning to control the airflow. And a couple of
other things as well. In and of itself pedals do NOT increase your range.

I realize that there are some teachers and books that advocate the use of pedal
tones to help extend your range. I am not one of them for several reasons.

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1. Playing pedal tones teaches you to make BIG embouchure movements.

But high notes NEED small adjustments.

Say that moving from double pedal c to pedal c is a movement of 1.

Going from pedal c to low c is a movement of 1/2.

Going from low c to middle c is a movement of 1/4.

Going from middle c to high c is a movement of 1/8.

Going from high c to double high c is a movement of 1/16.

Going from double high c to triple high c is a movement of 1/32.

Pedals are NOT helping here. They make you overdo all lip adjustments and choke
the sound off.

2. 90% of the people who play pedal tones allow their lips to roll out or protrude
into the cup of the mouthpiece. Both of these are contrary to the action needed to
play high. Pedals are fine if you maintain a correct embouchure however; someone
needs to watch you play or you must use a mirror to avoid embouchure shifts.

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 (69)

a) Shows the lips in position to play a low note in almost every embouchure
except Maggio. Look at the point of contact and where the buzz will happen.

b) Shows the lips playing a note an octave or so higher. There has been some
compression added and the buzz point is farther up the lip.

c) Shows the lips playing a high note. The extra compression has placed the
buzz point on the firmer white tissue.

d) Shows the lips in the position where most people try to play pedals. We never
use this part of the lip in buzzing notes in our normal range.

3. Pedals will not build muscle needed to play high. Even when played properly;
pedals are played with much less tension than high notes. Only playing high will
build the muscles needed to play high.

4. How many pieces of music require the use of pedal tones? If you never need to
play them; then why the extra practice?

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5. The amount of air pressure and air speed used to play pedals is different than
that used to play high.

6. If you play until you are tired you should rest. However; many people will play
pedals are then continue to work their chops. Some of them have injured
themselves by doing this. The lips are still fatigued and weakened however; by
playing pedals you have increased the blood flow to the lips and removed some of
the lactic acid. Lactic acid is produced by all muscles when worked and the build
up signals your brain that the muscle is tired by making it sore. When you speed up
the blood flow and remove the lactic acid then you fool your brain. You no longer
feel all of the muscle damage until the next day. Most trumpet players have
experienced this. To do this on purpose is inviting disaster.

There are easier ways to approach this. They involve effective, efficient use of the
air stream rather than lip muscles the size of your arms.

Ever see the movie The Karate Kid? He learned without doing specific exercises for
each action. He also thought he was wasting his time. Arpeggio books are for
people who like to think they are working on their range. But if you asked your high
note heroes; you would have been told that they didn't learn that way.

Scenario #12

>>>>>My teacher is making me learn to play with wet lips. Why is that important?
<<<<<

Well #1 the lips themselves need to be moist. This helps them to vibrate easier and
that means we play better.

But what about the lip to mouthpiece rim. Should that be wet or dry?

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Dry means that the lips are stuck in place. They will not roll in/out very well. (That
would make many of the embouchures in this book very difficult.)

Many people cite better flexibility and better dynamic control after changing to a
wet embouchure.

People who are prone to getting sores often stop getting them after changing to a
wet embouchure.

Also some people screw the mouthpiece into place changing to a wet embouchure
fixes this.

However; not everyone likes to play this way and this is another choice we must all
make.

====================================================

I hope this book answers more questions than it raises.

Thanks for all of your support.

Clint ‘Pops’ McLaughlin

http://www.BbTrumpet.com
Pops@BbTrumpet.com

The trumpet in these photos is a Flip Oakes "Wild Thing"

http://www.flipoakes.com
The mouthpiece is a Curry 90M
http://www.currympc.com

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