Re: Re: Re: Mouthpiece Question


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Posted by Jay Bertolet on March 31, 1999 at 15:14:26:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Mouthpiece Question posted by Craig Hall on March 31, 1999 at 02:38:28:

Honestly, I'm very reluctant to start analyzing anybody's embouchure over the Internet. But something you wrote struck me: "...clearly there must be some change, or we would have less than an octave range." I found this to be my thinking when I started the process of playing with a consistent embouchure. I found it inconceivable that I could make a sound below low A or G without changing my embouchure and dropping my jaw. Also, I found it equally as unlikely that I could play anything over a top line A without massively tightening my embouchure and rolling my head up. What I found was that if I forced myself to try to play in all ranges without moving my embouchure I could do it but not with the sound I was accustomed to. That was when I really understood just how inconsistent my sound was range to range. I found later that, with alot of practice, I could play with the sound I wanted in all ranges using the same embouchure. It was just a matter of learning how to do it and developing the expectation that I didn't have to move my embouchure around to play in different ranges.

So, where do I draw the line? Really, there is no line. I don't play any note using an embouchure other than my normal one. Just like you said in your post, the only thing I'm changing is the tension across the lips. Also, I'm using alot of air and, like what happens when you hold your thumb over a garden hose, the smaller the aperture the faster the air speed. I tend to focus on the position of the corners when determining if I am in position. They seem to be the surest indicator. To this day, I'm still working to widen the range I have using one embouchure.

And yes, I do move my eyebrows when I play. Maybe someday I'll find a technique for not moving the eyebrows and add some more range to my playing! I hope this helps.


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