Re: A Chop Issue/Question


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Posted by Joe Lowman on February 01, 2002 at 15:18:38:

In Reply to: A Chop Issue/Question posted by Arnold on February 01, 2002 at 15:00:56:

I noticed that I was loosing more air from the corners of my lips than I remembered doing in the past. I picked up a suggestion from Bob Childs at the recent Army Tuba/Euph Conference in DC that I have been trying this week. It seems to be helping strengthen the corners of my mouth. Get two pencils (new ones are cleaner) and put the eraser ends into the corners of your mouth sticking out at about a 45 degree angle to each other. Put them in front of your teeth and try to hold them out using only the muscles in your lips. It's hard to do! Time yourself and see if you can make progress. At first I could hold them for only 50 or so seconds but am not up to about 80 seconds. ALso, try one pencil in the middle for general strengthening of the chops. CHilds calls this calestenics for your chops and suggests doing it while watching TV. I have noticed that doing this 3 or 4 times during the day for a minute or more has made my whole embrosure seem firmer. Am I playing better, I don't know. I do loose less air when playing low tuba notes, especially very loud ones.


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