9 Proven Embouchure Change Tips for Trumpet Players
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ย. 2024
- 9 Proven Embouchure Change Tips
by Eddie Lewis
We had a question last week about embouchure changes. The trumpet player specifically asked for any tips I might have. So here you have it. This is actually one of the things I have been most well known for. I am good at helping trumpet players work through this process.
I write in great detail about embouchure changes on my blog and you can read about that here:
eltigredo.com/...
The nine tips in this video include:
1) Listening
2) Asses Your Needs
3) Daily Routines/Chops Express
4) Avoid Too Much Mirror Time
5) The 50% Rule
6) Plan Ahead
7) Don't Panic
8) One Range
9) Find a Competent Teacher
We are no longer making the Behind the Wheel videos public. The only way to access them is to watch them through my blog. So, to watch the Behind the Wheel videos, follow this link: bit.ly/2QYdBcp
Eddie Lewis' Websites:
www.EddieLewis...
www.TigerMusic...
eltigredo.com
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I am making the embouchure change from none to being able to play at all. I grew up playing woodwinds and coming back to them after a multi-decade break made me realize that my embouchure was no longer stable or strong. Trying trumpet for the first time reinforced that fact. Your methodology gives me perspective on the fact that this is a process of building strength and stamina, not a simple technique error. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment and sharing your story. It's interesting that you are switching to trumpet after your long break from music.
I had embouchure problems that really manifested at college with a heavier playing schedule. This was in 1975. Despite the fact my instructor was a storied musician, there was never any discussion about forming the embouchure. The drill was just put the mouthpiece in the new position and practice. It was a hideous experience. I found I couldn't go back to my old bad habits, probably because of the shock of not being able to play. In hindsight, I think I completely dropped the idea of adjusting the position of my tongue for the register I was playing in.
I changed majors to Electrical Engineering but I didn't escape trumpet. It's taken 50 years, but I'm back. I'm doing everything I can to form a consistent embouchure, and I am avoiding the flattened upper lip that torpedoed me so many years ago.
This new adventure with the trumpet has just started. I can see I will have some success. And what is success? An intermediate goal is to play my old solo and ensemble contest pieces, and perhaps find fellow old farts to play chamber music with. Ultimate success is always have the foundation to play better tomorrow.
We'll see.
Thank you for your insights.
You're welcome. Thanks for sharing your story. I hope this trumpet adventure is everything you hope it to be.
Espetacular. Perfect understanding of embouchure. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👍🏽
Thank you, Flavio!
Very helpful, Eddie. Lots of wisdom there.
Thank you, Galen. Great to hear from you.
“ if your embouchure looks bad it’s not a reason to change your embouchure” so true. I started to think that way but then I did some diving. What I found was that it wasn’t that it looked bad it just felt bad. It felt like I was forcing upper register notes out and my tone isn’t as resonant and as it Could be
That's very common. We force the upper register because we don't understand the tapering nature of how all of that works. As you go higher, the needs for strength begins to flatten out. But we, thinking that the need for strength is linear, end up muscling up on those notes. That's why they sound and feel forced, or pinched.
This is why it's so important to progress slowly...increasing your familiarity with those notes. Spend more time UP TO the top of your range, never "trying to play high notes" like people who want to stretch that range. You don't get familiarity from something you can't do. But if you spend lots of time at the top of your current range, then you build wonderful familiarity that can be expanded upon to reach into the next range.
Nice tip about the buzzing, thank you
You're welcome!
For the past 15 years I’ve been playing with an upstream embouchure with 1/3 upper lip 2/3 bottom. I attempted a down stream embouchure the other day and on an F concert it felt really resonant. Like you were saying, my face muscles I had never felt before are all sore, and I can barely hit a top space E. This video is convincing me to go for it. But I’m also scared about that scary period you were talking about where I don’t remember the old but the new doesn’t sound that good either.
That's wonderful! I'm glad you like the video. I hope your changes are successful.
Thank you! I really enjoy your videos!
Thank you Dylan!
“They don’t know YOU” classic!
:-)
Really important NOT to change your embouchure unless it’s crucial to advancing. I was told I had to change by a renowned symphony player. He was wrong! It took me a week with Claude Gordon to get my old chops back. What I needed was to get my breathing together and have a structured routine. Claude called the guy and yelled at him in front of me!!!
Great to hear from someone who actually studied with Claude Gordon. Sounds like some things haven't changed much.
Hi Eddie. I'm in the beginnings of an embouchure change and I'm slowly but surely making progress. However, my main concern is that with my previous embouchure my lips would burn after some days of playing or become extremely chapped. After I became first trumpet in my marching band my lip started to bleed into the mouthpiece and they would swell to twice their size for 2-3 days. This, my lack of endurance, and struggle with range and flexibility led me to start doing an embouchure change. I haven't met anyone else with the inflammatory problems I mentioned, so could you explain how I can avoid the swelling, burning, etc. during my embouchure change and future playing?
I would need to see and hear you play to know for sure what was going on. I'm not one of those who has the answer to every question...simply because I know that every player is an individual. The words you use may be the same as the words I use, but that doesn't mean we are talking about the same thing. So, for that reason, for me to answer this kind of question, I would need to see and hear you play.
Thanks a lot
You're welcome.
Thanks Eddie. Did you ever find that Stradivarius quote about approaching practice each day as if you were starting from scratch? I'd love to use that quote :)
Hello Kingsley, It's a Paganini quote, but no, I haven't found it. I'm almost certain that it was something I read in a book. I thought it was one of those "Book of Quotes", but I haven't been able to find it.
Thanks so much!!!
You're welcome Nathan!
🙏🏽
Do you use your tongue anchored to bottom lip to do lip buzzes
So tongue is vibrating with top lip ?
I'm going to answer this in the live stream Q and A today. Here's the link: th-cam.com/video/QwdAQFl0hkM/w-d-xo.html
I have had many band directors that have told me to change my embouchure and there reason for it was because if I do than I will sound better and get farther than I am now. My embouchure isnt the best for I rely more of my bottom lip than my top and I play inside my top lips flesh. Because of it I look like I’m playing a clarinet for I hold my trumpet downwards. I’m still debating either I should or should not. I am changing it right now and I sound like a beginner and I’m scared that maybe all of the hard work would be for nothing and would be to late when competition for jazz or region starts. So idk if I should continue playing the new or stick with the old embouchure. I really hope you read this comment for I am in need of help.
What did you change in your embouchure and WHY did you change it? Not why did they want you to change, but why did YOU change it? I can't really help you without more details.
@@eltigredo i changed it because I’ve been having problems with responds issues which occurs to me randomly. Like one day I’ll be doing fine and normal then the next I cant even play a note and air will only come out. What I changed about my embouchure was that now I changed my mouthpiece to be more up so that I use more my upper lip than my lower lip it was suggested by my band director. I looks like the embouchure that most trumpet players have. I also want to change it because when I do marching band I have to left my trumpet up and straight, but since I hold my trumpet like a clarinet for the way I have my embouchure, I have to left my trumpet extra high just to make it look straight which also leads to neck problems. I’ve been trying the new embouchure and so far it’s been going good ever since I started to do long tones. My tone was pretty bad but ever since I’ve done long tones, I have a decent tone. All I have problems is with the higher register. I’m struggling trying to hit a high g when I’m my old embouchure i could hit higher. Also do you have any tips on not pressuring when I want to play higher notes?
@@eltigredo ty for replying back ❤️
Well, it sounds like you're heading in the right direction.
The range takes a while because on your new setting, it forces you to use the muscles in your lip for the high notes. Your old way was based on using mouthpiece pressure.
And that's why you are using too much pressure now, because this new mouthpiece setting does NOT work the same way as your old setting. This new setting only works well with muscles. The lips have to be strong enough to get the notes.
If you keep this in mind, then it can guide you in the decisions you make.
I have a book called One Range that talks about how to build your lip muscles in a musically appropriate way. You might be interested in reading it. The information in that book would help speed up the process of getting your range back.
@@eltigredo omg thank you 🙏❤️ and your so right for I did rely on pressuring to reach high notes in my old embouchure even tho I knew it was bad I just couldn’t stop pressuring for I got use to it. But now I will focus on not pressuring with the new embouchure. Thank you so much 😊
Hi Eddie, I was wondering if you would recommend an embouchure change. When I audition for college I was told by one professor that I would need to change my embouchure. This was devastating to hear, especially because I had spent years building my range to a consistent and reliable D above high C. He said that I would have endurance issues in the future. Later in my senior year of high school I participated in a season of pit orchestra. On about day five of the season I had noticed that my chops weren’t recovering fast enough before the next performance, by the last performance it was a severe struggle to play followed by an embouchure collapse. I just wanted to now if you think it would be reasonable to consider an embouchure change or if I just need more endurance.
Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks
Maybe. There's no way I can tell without seeing and hearing you play. Is there a way you could upload a video of yourself and send me a link? If so, go to my website at eddielewis.com and use the contact form to send me the link.
Also, when you make the video, make sure the camera is zoomed in on your embouchure. Your whole head should fill the screen. Take the video at an angle, not straight on. Two sides is even better. The more I can see the better.
Great 👍
Thank you!
For four years I've been breathing the way you mention causes the top lip to slowly disappear from inside the mouthpiece. This caused me to become extremely bottom heavy and to play in the red. By now I have recovered from playing in the red but am still very, very, bottom heavy. However, tone and range are not issues for me. (From g below the staff - e above the staff) What is causing problems is endurance. Do you recommend that I start over with an embouchure change or adjust back towards the middle of both lips? I also have issues playing any higher than the high e and playing out anywhere higher than a high a.
If what you are doing now works, with the exception of endurance, then I would NOT recommend changing your embouchure. Endurance comes from strength and efficiency. Efficiency comes from familiarity (in my opinion). And to be more familiar with your full range will put the horn on your chops often enough to develop greater endurance.
You might want to check out my One Range book. In it, we talk about both familiarity and efficiency and we layout a plan on how to put that to work. It's not just about range.
Hey Mr Lewis, I had a question about the lip buzzing. I find it hard to buzz the right octave on the daily routines book, and find myself struggling to buzz the right pitches. Any tips for buzzing higher/the right pitches?
Hello Ethan, we will talk about this in the Q and A today. If you can't make it live, than feel free to watch it later. I try to keep it public for at least a week.
Hi Eddie, I've been playing the trumpet for 5 years and I recently bought one of your books (Chops Express). I admire your work and the dedication with which you try to spread your belief. I have watched dozens and dozens of videos explaining what is the best method for a good embouchure and what you say in this video seems very reasonable to me. I believe that every person needs to make an autonomous path, since each of us is different, and increase his musical abilities with exercise, which derive from the ability, first of all, to relax every muscle and structure responsible for produce a good sound, after which being able to use your facial muscles naturally as well as your diaphragm and throat in order to achieve the best possible result. All this can be done gradually with the appropriate exercises and with a good dose of perseverance and love. Your every suggestion will be appreciated. Thanks.
Hello Nino, Thank you for your interest in my books and my overall method. It sounds to me like you understand precisely. Yes, it should be an autonomous path. There's not right or wrong embouchure. We are on a lifelong journey to find our own best embouchures.
Congratulations! Blessings to you in your own embouchure journey!
Hey, did i get this right? You should tighten the embouchure and then put the mouthpiece against it?
That's right.
I need to adjust to playing like this. but i do think it sounds better! Thank you!
i can play really well with the embochure i have , up to screamer notes and also a good tone, but its so off and i hate how it looks. My first teacher didnt fix the embochure while i was still moldable, and he just me play how i was, pretty much he said "its good enough". and now ive been stuck with this embochure. ive been trying to change for the past 3 years but i keep coming back to the old one to be able to play at rehearsals and concerts. Espescially being one of the lead trumpets in my band, i dont think im in the posistion to be able to drop down for a long time to reset my emobochure correctly.
what im saying is, im not sure what to do anymore.
My recommendation is to leave it alone and continue to play really well with the embouchure you have. If you were my student when you first started, I would have ALSO told you that it was "good enough"...because I don't care how pleasing your embouchure looks. I care only how well it does it's job. I do not like vanity, and caring about looks over performance is absolute vanity.
But I'm confused. I talk about this in the video above. Did you watch the video?
I want to invite you to look at ANY of my videos of me playing. Look at my mustache. I don't know if it's genetic or if I was bashed in the face when I was like one year old, or what... But my entire face is crooked. My nose is crooked. My teeth overlap. And on top of all that, all the hair on my lip grows in one direction.... When I put my horn to my face, the fact that my whiskers are all pointing to the left is emphasized visually by the mouthpiece. When I'm editing the videos, that's all I can see, is how weird my face looks.
But my channel is not a channel for male models. I'm not trying to win some beautiful contest. I'm a trumpet player. I play off to the side (watch the video - I am far off from center) because that's what works best and sounds best for me. "Looks" was never part of the equation.
I remember in high school (in the late 70s early 80s) when I used to get bad scores at solo ensemble contest and one of the negative comments was that I was holding the trumpet lazy, with my elbow stuck into my chest.
I recently realized what was going on. I was playing with my elbow like that because that was the only position that would put the angle of the trumpet in exactly the right position for me. If I don't hold the horn like that, then the instrument doesn't line up with my crooked face and I start cracking a LOT of notes.
Those judges were WRONG to give me lower scores for the way I looked. If I had played my trumpet "the right way", then I wouldn't be a pro today.
I didn't know back then why I was holding the trumpet like that. I just kept going back to that naturally.
Maybe your face isn't as crooked as mine is. I'm not saying it is. But if you have been trying to play centered for three years and it's not working, then there is probably a reason for it that you haven't figured out yet.
The bottom line is that you shouldn't give in to that kind of vanity. If you are as good as you say you are, on the off center embouchure, then stop focusing on what it looks like and appreciate how blessed you are to have skills that many trumpet players never acquire.
Mr Lewis, I’ve been play trumpet for about five years now and I feel like my playing has declined in terms of tone and endurance, I have noticed that I’ve been using a lot of pressure recently and I think that is the problem, but I also believe that while I am play the mouthpiece appears to be inside of the red of my top lip, but when I look at it with a visualizer my lips don’t seem like they’re the issue, I have tried an embouchure change for about 3 months and haven’t seen any improvement in my playing so if you have any ideas or tips to fix this that would be great? If you have any tips for pressure reduction that would be nice as well.
Good for you, looking at the visualizer before jumping to conclusions! Congratulations, a lot of people aren't as careful.
I have a video that outlines my approach to mouthpiece pressure. Here's the URL: th-cam.com/video/3BffHkmBaso/w-d-xo.html
Watch it and let me know if you have any questions afterwards.
@@eltigredo I watched your video on pressure and noticed that during my play I can actually feel fatigued and I think the problem is me not applying the 3 levels of rest in my daily routine, I also realized that I don’t split my practice up throughout the day so do you think that would immediately resolve the issue or do I need to do something else perhaps?
@@musicalmindset1754 These things don't get fixed "immediately". Make rest habitual and actually live that way for a few weeks to a month. You will see a lot of changes in your playing.
Hey Mr. Lewis. About 2 months ago I started an embouchure change because I had been playing with the top rim of the mouthpiece set on the red of my top lip. I had been told that this is a bad method of playing. I started the embouchure change but have not gotten very far. When I started my range went down from high C down to about middle B. Now, 2 months later it’s only gone up a few notes. It’s at an E right now. Do you think it was a good idea to change, or should I go back to my old embouchure?
I'm not a big fan of changing embouchures because of what it looks like on the outside. Did you check with a visualizer first? Sometimes people look like they are playing in the red, but when you use a visualizer, there isn't anything wrong inside the mouthpiece. Also, let me know if you are self diagnosing. Did someone tell you to change your embouchure, or was it just your own idea?
@@eltigredo I checked with a trumpet teacher and he advised to change my embouchure to one that would have both of my lips fully inside the mouthpiece. He said that playing in the red can give you tone and endurance issues. My only issue with this new embouchure is that it’s hard for me to play high; I can’t play above the G above the staff. Everything else feels great. I like my tone, and my flexibility feels good.
@@eltigredo on the visualizer I have very little top lip in the cup compared to bottom lip. It was about 1/4 top lip inside and 3/4 bottom lip.
@@Jason_Bob Okay, well it sounds like you are right on track then. My advice is to continue with your embouchure change.
As for the range progress, you need to keep in mind that the physical mechanism for playing the higher notes on your new trumpet embouchure is 100% different from the physical mechanism for playing the higher notes on your old trumpet embouchure. In other words, YOU HAVE NEVER PLAYED HIGH BEFORE. Not correctly. So playing high is entirely new for you now. You're not going to just "get it back" because you never had it.
This is a very important point because if you keep trying to play the high notes the same way on the new embouchure, then it will most definitely impede your progress. In extreme cases, the old approach can even nullify the new embouchure and you will end up worse off than before you made the change.
If you don't have it, then I strongly recommend my One Range book. That book spells out precisely what you need to develop a solid range on your new embouchure.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
@@eltigredo thank you for the advice
Trumpet embouchure are like women. The more you seek. The less you get. If you work on a strong base. Relaxed, focused on tone and articulation. The rest just fall into place. The rush for playing high destroys the base.
Hello Rebelk. Thanks for the comment. To you, what is a "strong base"? Are you saying that the base is "relaxed, focused tone and articulation"?
@@eltigredo looooong tones basically do miracles.