Posted by CJH on February 12, 2000 at 00:28:54:
In Reply to: Embouchure Strength posted by Tim C on February 11, 2000 at 20:27:52:
If done without care, one can kill their chops, eventually...but this is something that can be fixed by changing one's habits.
If you blow air through the horn at the wrong speed, plenty of irregularities might occur, causing your embouchure do "do weird things". There are plenty of other things one can do, as well as this, that can be potentially harmful, but Mr. Jacobs reccomends not thinking too much about the physical process, and I agree.
The most important thing is to make the music the way you want it to sound, by imagining it first, then working diligently to achieve your own musical idea.
The air is the fuel that powers the vibration of the lips, which is only ASSISTED by the muscles in the "chops". Read "Song and Wind", and you will understand better than I can explain in this venue. The best way, though, is to observe somebody who understands playing. That is much better than words on a piece of paper can do for you, but the book is a great help.
Imagine your own music.