Steve, thanks for your thoughtful comments & questions. I'll respond below.
<<Maybe I've been missing something, but how else would you go up and down the range other than rolling in and out? That's pretty much how it was explained to me back in the dim reaches of the past. You mean there's another way?>> Yes, you are missing something. There's more to it than rolling in and out. The BE exercises develop lip shaping & breathing skills that enhance facility. <<As far as using a different embouchure for the lowest notes, I don't know. I see a lot of players using a distorted looking embouchure for low notes, usually pushing the lips way forward, and it usually doesn't sound very good, airy, hard edged, etc.>> BE method does not direct the student to use separate embouchures for separate ranges, but the student is free to chose what meets their needs and sounds the best. <<The idea of a "balanced embouchure" is slurring from low C to high C and back and you would have a hard time seeing the difference outside the mouthpiece.>> BE encourages the student not to judge success by looks, but rather by sound. Two equally good players can have embouchures that look like they come from different planets. Here's a link to a video of a John Graas. Look at his unusual embouchure. http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=GRAAS%2C_John -- Valerie Wells The Balanced Embouchure Method http://bebabe.wordpress.com/ http://www.beforhorn.blogspot.com/ _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
