Re: [Hornlist] Building the Embouchure
On Tue, 15 Nov 2005, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Dear List,
How can I build my embouchure and facial muscles?? Are there any
techniques I could use without touching the horn
Several years ago I described a technique in this forum, to mixed
response. Here it is again, and I make no claim for it except to say that
it has helped me. My situation is that I am often out of shape. This
technique is likely of no value to a professional, or anyone who plays
efficiently and a lot.
Begin with a black plastic Kodak 35mm film container. Cut off the bottom
to make a hollow tube. Squeeze it so that the circular cylinder becomes
an oval. Stick the top of the tube, the ribbed end, into your mouth, up
to your teeth, so as to grip it with your lips (not with your teeth).
The rib helps keep it from zooming out of your mouth. Now you can do
isometric exercises with it - it gives your embouchure an object that
resists its pressure. If the film can is too uncomfortably big, you might
try one or another size of flexible plastic tubing that is available at
hardware stores.
With some practice you can learn to exercise different places around your
embouchure, in particular the corners. Without a mouthpiece pressing on
your teeth you can experience exerting force purely toward the center.
You might notice that your embouchure without mouthpiece can exert a
tremendous force against your teeth, and you can learn to control or
eliminate that force.
The first time I ever tried serious exercising with the film can, my
corners became so fatigued that I was unable to play the horn for nearly a
day - my corners spit and bubbled air and there was nothing I could do to
stop it. That suggests that significant exercise happened. Normally I
mostly bear down until my lip is fatigued, relax, repeat.
I make no claim for this technique, nor do I know how to optimize its
usefulness. But it costs nothing and it doesn't have to take up any time,
say, if you use it while driving. It is not meant as any kind of an
instant cure for anything or as a replacement for practice time with a
real horn. Your embouchure might in fact be a momentarily disoriented
when you next play for real, but I think that you can't hurt yourself with
this, you might over time become more familiar with your muscles,
strengthen them and control them a little better.
{ David Goldberg: [EMAIL PROTECTED] }
{ Math Dept, Washtenaw Community College }
{ Ann Arbor Michigan }
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RE: [Hornlist] Building the Embouchure
Jonathan West wrote: > > How can I build my embouchure and facial muscles?? Are > there any > > techniques I could use without touching the horn > > > > There's perhaps one thing here we can learn from athletes. > They recognise that muscle tone is not built by the exercise > they do, but by the time spent in rest and recovery afterwards. It is worth mentioning that alternating periods of relatively taxing exercise with relatively long periods of rest is not the only method of exercising. There are many components to strength, and strength is largely a skill. Bodybuilders strive to increase the size of their muscles but not necessarily their strength, and for increases in size, a day of strenuous exercise followed by a day of rest is a tried and true formula. Strength athletes, on the other hand, often train every day, sometimes more than once per day, and stop their practice/training before fatigue sets in so that they can be fresh for their next session without requiring a lot of rest. Both methods can be useful for horn players, but my suspicion is that not a lot of hypertrophy (growth in the size of muscles) takes place in the muscles of the embouchure, especially given the small size of the muscles involved. What likely happens for the most part is an increase in skill, and frequent, sub-maximal practice sessions are what will enhance skill the most. Age is a factor as well, of course, since recovery generally worsens with age. While I do not claim "expert" status on the subject of exercising of muscles, I am the current world champion in my age and weight class in the deadlift in the AAU Raw Powerlifting Division (go to http://www.aausports.org/sports/powerlifting/records/Deadlift.pdf and search for my last name and you'll see me there) and I hold a couple of trainer certifications as well. At a bodyweight of 67.5 kg (148 lbs.) and a height of 5'8" (1.73 meters), I'm pretty skinny, and I have made a point of increasing my strength without increasing my muscle size through frequent but short practice. -S- ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
RE: [Hornlist] Building the Embouchure
There is a series of exercises in William Brophy's "Technical Studies for solving special problems on the HORN" Part IX Bussing Exercises. They include buzzing with and without the mouthpiece and then some which alternate between having the mp on and off the lips. Would anyone care to offer up an opinion on these exercises? -Original Message- > > But the original question was: "How can I build my > embouchure and facial muscles?? Are there any techniques I > could use without touching the horn " Correct. And the answer you and everyone else have been providing can probably be summarised as follows. "No there are no techniques that don't involve touching the horn. You just have to do the necessary practice, gradually building up your endurance and taking adequate rest between practice sessions." Buzzing might be of some assistance to some players, but at best it can be regarded as a minor supplement to proper practice, and is probably of more help in maintaining endurance already achieved rather than for building it up. Regards Jonathan West ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
RE: [Hornlist] Building the Embouchure
> > But the original question was: "How can I build my > embouchure and facial muscles?? Are there any techniques I > could use without touching the horn " Correct. And the answer you and everyone else have been providing can probably be summarised as follows. "No there are no techniques that don't involve touching the horn. You just have to do the necessary practice, gradually building up your endurance and taking adequate rest between practice sessions." Buzzing might be of some assistance to some players, but at best it can be regarded as a minor supplement to proper practice, and is probably of more help in maintaining endurance already achieved rather than for building it up. Regards Jonathan West ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
RE: [Hornlist] Building the Embouchure
But the original question was: "How can I build my embouchure and facial muscles?? Are there any techniques I could use without touching the horn " === -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 12:51 PM To: horn@music.memphis.edu Subject: Re: [Hornlist] Building the Embouchure In a message dated 11/16/2005 2:42:48 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Everything needs patience first !! Understood. Embouchure builds up mainly through the lip - mouthpiece contact, so building up muscles or an embouchure (muscles, lip surface build up, contractability of lips, muscle reaction) just by moving the lips (stretching & contracting) does not work. It works just in interaction between lip muscles, brain, mouthpiece, left arm (holding the horn at the right distance & at the right angle). I had the good fortune to have a brass instructor once who compared playing a brass instrument to lifting weights. "You don't think those body builders get that way overnight, do you?" he would ask. Building an embouchure is very much like body building. You are exercising muscles, asking them to become strong, and to retain a certain shape at an instant and for a prolonged period of time. Weight training includes periods of hard physical activity combined with periods of rest without which you would damage your muscles severely as they "build up". The same is true of the embouchure. It takes time. Dave Weiner Brass Arts Unlimited ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/hans%40pizka. de ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
Re: [Hornlist] Building the Embouchure
In a message dated 11/16/2005 2:42:48 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Everything needs patience first !! Understood. Embouchure builds up mainly through the lip - mouthpiece contact, so building up muscles or an embouchure (muscles, lip surface build up, contractability of lips, muscle reaction) just by moving the lips (stretching & contracting) does not work. It works just in interaction between lip muscles, brain, mouthpiece, left arm (holding the horn at the right distance & at the right angle). I had the good fortune to have a brass instructor once who compared playing a brass instrument to lifting weights. "You don't think those body builders get that way overnight, do you?" he would ask. Building an embouchure is very much like body building. You are exercising muscles, asking them to become strong, and to retain a certain shape at an instant and for a prolonged period of time. Weight training includes periods of hard physical activity combined with periods of rest without which you would damage your muscles severely as they "build up". The same is true of the embouchure. It takes time. Dave Weiner Brass Arts Unlimited ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
RE: [Hornlist] Building the Embouchure
> > Dear List, > > How can I build my embouchure and facial muscles?? Are there any > techniques I could use without touching the horn > There's perhaps one thing here we can learn from athletes. They recognise that muscle tone is not built by the exercise they do, but by the time spent in rest and recovery afterwards. It seems to me that the application of this for building endurance on the horn is to do a little practice and often, progressively building up the length of time that you spend on each session, and making sure that you leave adequate rest periods between. If you try to play too long in a single session, you will end up straining or bruising muscles, and you will slow your progress as a result. So, if for instance you are very out of practice, several 10-minute sessions spread throughout the day are going to be what is needed. Gradually, this will build up towards longer sessions. I hear about various people on the list who do very large amounts of practice. In my opinion, any continuous single practice session of longer than 90 minutes is at best wasting your time because you aren't practising properly, or at worst actively damaging your embouchure because you are working too intensively for too long. If you want to or must do three hours practice a day, then I would strongly recommend splitting it into at least two and preferably three sessions spread through the day. There are exceptions to this rule, but I suspect they are relatively few. Regards Jonathan West ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
RE: [Hornlist] Building the Embouchure
Everything needs patience first !! Understood. Embouchure builds up mainly through the lip - mouthpiece contact, so building up muscles or an embouchure (muscles, lip surface build up, contractability of lips, muscle reaction) just by moving the lips (stretching & contracting) does not work. It works just in interaction between lip muscles, brain, mouthpiece, left arm (holding the horn at the right distance & at the right angle). For the one not patient enough, there is the "crash method" developed by the esteemed Prof.Mitgestopftscheisst: Go to the boxing stadium & do just one round. If you get one plain punch against your mouth only, you will have the feeling like having practised Wagner & Strauss or Oooompah for 5 hours without a break right after six weeks abstinence from the horn. Next day you will feel fine, the embouchure trained well, power in the lips - or you will give up playing & be converted to a conductor, Music director, composer Remember: nothing comes over night or without patience - music no sport even the learning methodic might be compared in some ways. Regarding the horn: long notes in different ways, scales up & down in different tonalities with the benefit of improved fingerings, arpeggios over two octaves - the only way to improve the lip reactions & tone quality & flexibility. One etude book after the other, playing until being really sweat, yes, this works, but not without the horn (the so called "dry course"). == -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 5:55 AM To: horn@music.memphis.edu Subject: [Hornlist] Building the Embouchure Dear List, How can I build my embouchure and facial muscles?? Are there any techniques I could use without touching the horn ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/hans%40pizka. de ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
[Hornlist] Building the Embouchure
Dear List, How can I build my embouchure and facial muscles?? Are there any techniques I could use without touching the horn ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
