Posted by Jay Bertolet on February 13, 2000 at 10:31:36:
In Reply to: Low Register posted by Matt on February 12, 2000 at 18:43:01:
With respect, I'm going to disagree with the previous posters. I used to believe that you HAD to move your embouchure to play into the pedal range. I mean, I had heard the stories of other players doing this without moving and I just didn't believe it. But I started working on this a few years back and I really tried to stick with it. Here is what I learned:
It is possible to play everything with one embouchure. In fact, it is even desirable for two main reasons. First, using the same embouchure means that you are very likely to sound consistent from range to range. Second, this technique greatly enhances your flexibility by eliminating alot of unnecessary movement in the embouchure. When I first started playing with only one embouchure, the sound I was getting in the very low register was not pretty or what I was accustomed to. But with practice, this sound improved until I felt I was at a better level of sound than I was before. And this new setup took less work and projected better.
Obviously, there are great players in both camps. One thing I could never reconcile about the moving embouchure was the change in sound that resulted. In my situation, a consistent sound in all registers is required so I had to find an alternative that would allow for that. My suggestion is to find what works for you and to remember that the best solution may not be the most apparent one. Good luck!