Getting Technical

GETTING TECHNICAL

ARTICULATION PART I

Embouchure Formation

All the action of inhalation and exhalation has to do is ration air to the embouchure and ‘if breathing is correct, the embouchure will tend to form and develop correctly’. This simplistic statement by renowned American teacher, Buddy Baker, illustrates the ease and harmony that one should strive for in producing a natural and fluent approach to brass playing. After breathing, the embouchure or formation of the face muscles is the next most important factor in establishing a secure tone and technique on a brass instrument but probably causes the most concern to players when not functioning correctly.

If one looks at the muscular structure around the mouth as demonstrated by the neutral human expression demanded by a passport photograph, one sees ‘the brass players face’. Lip slightly puckered, corners of the mouth pointing downwards or as ‘close to the facial mask’. Universally referred to as the embouchure, the word is derived from bouche, the French word for mouth (in fact, French speakers also use the word to describe the actual mouthpiece of a brass instrument). A thorough definition of the brass player’s embouchure is given by Philip Farkas (former Chicago Symphony Principal Horn) in his comprehensive booked entitled ‘The Art of Brass Playing’: ‘The mouth, lip, chin and cheek muscles, tensed and shaped in a precise and cooperative manner, then blown through for the purpose of setting air-column into vibration when these lips are placed upon the mouthpiece of a brass instrument’.

It would be nice to think that this concept of controlled tension of the muscles around the lips or ‘facial isometrics’ was as straightforward as suggested. In fact, there exist two quite opposing views as to the actual method required to vibrate the air column within the instrument in order to produce the upward series of partials successfully. Samuel Burtis, American jazz trombonist and teacher usefully refers to these methods as ‘fixed embouchure or multiple embouchure approaches’.

In his oft quoted book, Trombone Technique, Denis Wick provides a textbook definition for the ‘fixed embouchure’ method, accurately describing the ideal embouchure as the subtle co-operation of this complex muscular structure, epitomizing the ‘one embouchure for the whole range’ school of thought. ‘To begin with, the lower jaw should be pushed forward until the teeth are opposite, and arched slightly downwards. With lips pursed, as in whistling, they are buzzed by pressing them together gently while blowing air between them. The cheeks should not be distended, but allowed to remain in a natural, relaxed position. There should be the merest suggestion of a smile to pull against the pucker’.

The opposing belief is that there should be a separate embouchure setting or shape for every interval of approximately a seventh and that one should develop the ability to move seamlessly between these akin to ‘the break’ on a woodwind instrument. In my experience, however, this method is only moderately successful.

One common problem lies in the psychological approach to embouchure formation, where perhaps the most natural instinct is to attempt to reproduce the sound one has heard from a revered and respected player from one’s subconscious. We all possess mixed abilities to imitate, which can give rise to players solving problems in a somewhat unorthodox and incomplete manner. This is often true of the ‘self taught’ player and in particular the world of jazz where players are eager to express themselves, sometimes prematurely, through dazzling improvised tessitura. The result is usually the ‘stretched lip’ or ‘smile and press embouchure’ which brings with it inherent dangers.

Advice given by some tutors in the early part of the twentieth century, recommends one to smile and stretch the lips like strings over the front teeth. As the cultivation of tone depends on the vibration of the lip, this solution does seem contradictory, putting too greater demands on one set of muscles. Its excessive use, historically, can leave players with permanent muscular damage and the frustration of not being able to play in mid or later life. Renowned for his high ‘ballad’ style of playing, one might expect jazz trombone legend, Tommy Dorsey to subscribe to the ‘stretched lip’ method favoured by others in his era but instead he advocates that ‘the muscles of lips are made rigid by contraction and not by stretching’. The use of the word rigid implies the use of tension, which Dorsey goes on to qualify: ‘this does not mean that the corners of the mouth should be tightly closed but on the contrary, they should remain in a relaxed, natural position’. As the information in his excellent trombone method suggests, Dorsey may have been a pioneer at this time, insisting on fundamental playing principles rather than speculation.

Facial Muscles

This diagram illustrates the complexity of the human embouchure but the brass player need only be familiar with the main functions of this structure.

Obicularis oris - ‘clown muscle’ surrounding lip.

Triangularis - mouth corners down and sideways.

Platysina - lowers jaw (yawning).

Buccinator - flattens cheeks keeps lips taut.

Zygometicus - mouth corners up and sideways (smile).

These muscle functions, however, admirably demonstrate the potential for imbalance and the areas prone to misunderstanding and weakness.

Buzzing

A range of terminology is used to encourage natural embouchure formation from pronouncing the letter ‘M’ to creating a combination of ‘smiling, whistling and pucker’, while the practice of ‘buzzing’ is also widely recommended. After inhaling, one can purse the lips, mouth corners down against the teeth and force air between the lips causing them to produce a rather unrefined, ‘airy’, pitch. This very successfully simulates the shape and tension required to produce a note on the instrument. ‘Buzzing’ on the lips alone creates ‘an inside look at playing’ but in excess can cause stiffness. Although I have found no definitive medical evidence on this subject, common sense might suggest the possibility of weakening the ‘pucker’ and stretching the lip with too frequent use. Dutch Bass Trombone virtuoso, Ben van Dijk usefully suggests periodically relaxing the lips between playing by producing a very wide frequency vibration or ‘horse sound’ to promote endurance. However, as in the case of posture, one should not under estimate the possibility of repetitive strain injury if the embouchure is not treated with respect. Buzzing’ also allows one to strengthen the cheek muscles, which are prone to distending when the instrument is played in the low register and to dispel any build up of air between the lip and the teeth (air pockets). These two common problems are universally discouraged and only serve to weaken the embouchure thus causing tonal insecurity. Indeed, Dorsey goes as far to warn that ‘cheek puffing’ might even ‘be an impairment to health by forcing air into the brain cells!’.

Lip Profile

Debate has arisen historically as to whether just one or both lips actually vibrate during performance. On this subject, Lloyd Leno has produced a study using high speed photography to record the working embouchures of eleven different trombonists. Comparing the function of a brass player’s lips to that of a double reed, Leno concludes that both lips do in fact vibrate. In addition, he found that the lips actually vibrate at exactly the same frequency as the air required to produce the required note from the instrument, adding that the vibrations initiated by the lips are then improved by the natural overtones produced by the instrument itself.

To conclude, as one synchronizes increases in air speed and downward tension at the mouth corners, the pitch should rise. However, the temptation to allow the lower lip and jaw to recede will be very strong, causing the lower lip to roll over the lower teeth and eventually tuck under the upper teeth. This will eventually lead to an abrupt halt in the rising pitch, chronic sharpness and poor tone quality (when instrument is added) and at worst, a total blockage when only a small amount of mouthpiece pressure is used.

Happy buzzing !