Re: Embouchure Re-Adjustment...


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Posted by Andy on January 22, 2004 at 14:52:19:

In Reply to: Embouchure Re-Adjustment... posted by Jordan Jay on January 22, 2004 at 12:59:50:

Where the mouthpiece is placed with respect to the center (and I assume you mean side to side) is much less important than where it is placed vertically. The shape of your teeth will determine where the mouthpiece sits comfirtably. I would caution you from making a change merely based on appearance. Arnold Jacobs always said that "embouchure is not a study of meat but a study of sound. Have the worst looking embouchure in the world but sound better than anybody else."

If you are having a problem with your sound, then maybe an embouchure change could help. However, the emphasis should be placed on the product (i.e., making a great sound) and not on where the mouthpiece is located on our lips, especially from side to side.

Moving your placement up from the bottom of the cup, so that the lips are closer to the "equator" or middle of the cup could help one's sound. The idea is that you want a very long embouchure, with the longest possible being one that is exactly half way between the top and bottom. Somewhere in the region of one third of the way up from the bottom rim usually works well for most players.

I damaged my upper lip while in grad school by practicing improperly for very long periods of time each day. Afterwards, I could not play above a second space C in the staff without getting a double buzz in my sound. As a result, I had to move the mouthpiece over a little to one side find a place that would work at all. It took me about three years to "re-learn" how to play.

During that time, the exercise that worked best for me to develop my embouchure was practicing on the mouthpiece by itself. I worked on simple pieces on the mouthpoiece alone, and also worked on pieces I was learning on the tuba, first on the mouthpiuece alone, then on the tuba, trying to transfer the qualities from playing on the mouthpiece alone to the instrument. I found that wherever things sounded the best on the mouthpiece, they also sounded the best on the tuba, and that mouthpiece placement felt the best when I played.

Hope this helps.


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