Embouchure 201More notes for developing a well-formed embouchure John EricsonA version of this article was published in the Texas Bandmasters Association Journal 4, no. 3 (May, 2003). We must
play dynamics! There is nothing worse than hearing a horn player who plays
everything at a dynamic level of roughly mp/mf. Many of those players who are
guilty of this are not really aware that they are doing it--often they sincerely
believe that they are in fact playing dynamics, but the fact is that nobody can
actually hear them. Dynamics must be obvious to listeners and may seem overly
exaggerated to you as you play them but they need to be that way to sound right
for the listener. It is very much like the makeup used by stage actors; up
close, it can look very exaggerated but at a distance it looks natural.
It takes a combination of air and
setting the embouchure correctly to play loud and in tune. Very frequently the
player who has limited loud dynamics does not realize that they have to open the
embouchure (aperture) very slightly at loud dynamics relative to the position
used at soft dynamics. This essential technique should be addressed on a daily
basis, as it is critical to not only playing dynamics but also to developing
control and musicality.
When playing loudly one must use a
slightly larger, more open lip aperture than that used to play the same note
softly. Another way of thinking of this is to imagine the lips being very
slightly more relaxed when playing loud. Practice and experimentation will help
in feeling this transition between soft and loud. It is especially important to
practice crescendos and diminuendos on long tones, giving attention to the lip
aperture and that the diminuendo sounds like a mirror image of the
crescendo--and that pitch also does not waver.
On the soft end of the spectrum, try to
think of keeping the embouchure firm with a steady, fine air stream.
The air is of course an element. Use
LOTS of air to play loud, and support the air column well by getting a full
breath always when playing loud and when playing soft.
Some players certainly are blowing hard
but seem to get very little result for all their effort. For these players the
embouchure is often clamped tight, not allowing the air to flow. Thinking
instead of a round, open embouchure and reviewing the basic geometry of the jaw
and lips can have very dramatic results for this type of player.
In the past it was felt strongly by some
brass experts that only thin-lipped people should play the trumpet and horn, and
thicker lipped people were more suited for the trombone and tuba. There is
probably some small element of truth to this theory, but successful players with
all thicknesses of lips may be found on the horn (and on every other brass
instrument) so I would not use lip thickness as any gauge of potential success
on the horn. A good ear and desire to play the horn are much more important than
thin lips. In my own case, my lips are heavier than average and this has not
been an issue that has held me back in any way on the horn.
The only point to note is that horn players with a heavy upper lip may find it more comfortable to play on a mouthpiece with a slightly wider than average inner diameter. This dimension can be easily measured for comparison with a coin such as a dime. 3.
The embouchure in the lower range of the horn
The low embouchure is critical for the
advanced hornist to develop and is generally not well understood. The tendency
is for players to spend so much time working to build the strength to play high
that when faced with low notes they tend to relax the lips too much.
Dropping the jaw is critical to tone
production in the low range of the horn. On the horn you want a fairly firm but
open embouchure in the lower range (below roughly written middle c), not a
loose, "fish lips" approach of the type frequently encountered in
students. What we are looking for in the low range is a fairly firm but open
embouchure, not a loose, flabby embouchure. It helps to keep good contact with
the mouthpiece and to practice loudly. It is fairly easy to play softly with a
so-so low embouchure, but you really need to get the placement correct to play
with power in the low range.
Speaking generally many players have a distinct “break” in the embouchure into the low register. This is a valid approach. In my own embouchure I have a distinct break at middle C and things continue to open up more as the lowest notes are approached. In some cases the lowest notes just
won't come out at all, typically among players who don't use the
"standard" 2/3 upper lip mouthpiece placement. Players with more of a
50/50 placement may benefit from experimenting with a slight pivot. Hornists
don't usually talk much about using any pivot in the low range. The idea behind
a pivot is to make the mouthpiece angle "lower" in the high range
(down in relation to the face) and "higher" in the low range (up in
relation to the face).
To review again, the main points to
focus on to develop the low range include:
If the above
ideas don't result in progress, read the next section closely for my story....
4. Do I need to
change my embouchure?
There are good solid reasons why very
close to 100% of professional horn players play 2/3 upper lip. While nobody
really wants to change their embouchure, for some horn players there will be
nagging questions relating to tone and range that may eventually have to be
addressed with embouchure work. The good news is that quite often the changes
needed to help with tone and range are fairly minor and painless.
First, the obvious should be noted; a
hornist with a good tone is already doing a lot of fundamental things correctly
in their embouchure. A poor tone, while not always the result of embouchure
problems (Putting enough air through the horn? Still using the mouthpiece that
came with the horn? There are many possibilities to explore), is frequently
nevertheless embouchure related.
In working on tone there are a number of
areas to address that have already been mentioned in some depth in the preceding
sections on the embouchure. Something as simple as changing from playing with
dry lips to wet lips can make a dramatic change for the better; other things
like not smiling as you ascend, avoiding a bunchy chin, good jaw position, and
not "clamping" the embouchure can result in a really substantial
improvement in tone. Tone has to be examined on a case by case basis, but above
all you can tell if you are on the right track with changes when the basic tone
quality gets better.
Range problems can be the most
difficult. Low range problems should first be addressed through trying the
methods discussed in the previous section, but frequently these problems are the
result of a too low basic mouthpiece placement and cannot be solved in any other
way than to actually change the embouchure.
This was my own central embouchure problem that I had to fix as an undergraduate, a too low mouthpiece placement. I really did not want to change my embouchure; in fact, I was going to be the one to prove to that Farkas guy that you could play the horn 1/3 upper lip and 2/3 lower. I was a bit stubborn, quite determined to make it work, and it actually did work fairly well. I could play a lot of music. In retrospect I knew deep down that I needed to change my embouchure, but I just was not ready to hear about it, and all teachers would be wise to recognize that there is a time when students are ready to talk about this and a time to wait. Eventually in my own study I had two major periods of embouchure work, moving from 2/3 lower lip to 2/3 upper lip in the mouthpiece. I had a good basic tone but I simply could not play below roughly low d (below middle c') without physically moving the mouthpiece up to a new, higher placement--you cannot play with any facility in and out of the low range with this sort of arrangement. A major change of the type I went through is not easy and has to be entered into with a clear goal in mind. In my own case, I wanted control and facility in the bottom octave of the range of the horn; I had worked with my existing embouchure long and hard enough to realize that "it was not going to happen" without a major change. If you already have a good tone, it is possible to play a lot of horn literature without making this kind of major change, although it is probably holding you back from being the horn player that you could be. But, as mentioned earlier, this is not the sort of change that you can ever force upon a student; they must decide for themselves that they want to do it. High range problems are often related to the approach to the high range; the use of the corners, air, "clamping," too much pressure, etc. It takes time and consistent practice to build the strength needed. These issues and others must be addressed carefully on a case-by-case basis. As a teacher, I find that buzzing to the top of the range is a useful tool in working in this area; it relates to the use of the corners. If a student can't buzz to the top of their range, there are usually small adjustments that can be made which will help in playing more comfortably into the high range. Most players won't need to make a major
change of the type I did myself (twice! I made a second major embouchure
adjustment as a Doctoral student) but it may be something that is needed to
reach a higher level.
Copyright John Ericson. All rights reserved.
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