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The Big Lipped Fellas



 
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wohlrab
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PostPosted: Wed May 31, 2017 4:32 pm    Post subject: The Big Lipped Fellas Reply with quote

Hey guys. I have been blessed with pretty big lips which haven't really hindered me too much. I've been playing for a little over ten years and I've developed good range, tone, flexibility, etc but on occasion I have found myself really struggling to get my lips in the cup.

I play a pretty large mouthpiece already and I know cats like Clifford brown had huge lips and played a small rim, but I can't for the life of me imagine how.

Has anyone got any tips / good exercises for getting big lips into reasonably sized mouthpieces?

Thanks
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Benge.nut
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Joined: 18 Mar 2017
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PostPosted: Wed May 31, 2017 5:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lips going "in" the cup might be the wrong way to think about it.

Some guy's lips protrude forward a lot, and some have very little to no protrusion.

I never think of "pinning" my lips inside th cup, in fact my rim rests on the red fleshy part of the bottom lip. And I've never had a problem.

Further, you might consider trying an even smaller mouthpiece id than you are currently using.

Just some food for thought.
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dstdenis
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PostPosted: Wed May 31, 2017 5:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have big lips too. I've tried smaller-rim-diameter mpcs, but they don't work for me. My lower lip starts to tuck under and behind my upper lip and the rim edge starts to fall on the red part of my upper lip—both of these things mess up my playing.

I solved this problem by moving to a mpc with a bigger rim diameter and ignoring those who suggest I play something smaller. Some can do it, and I tip my hat to them, but the issue is settled for me—I go with the bigger rim, and everything works much better.

The downside is that these bigger mpcs can have lots of cup volume, which makes range and endurance more difficult. I addressed that by choosing a mpc with a medium-shallow cup and tighter backbore, which makes the mpc easier to play.
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drboogenbroom
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PostPosted: Wed May 31, 2017 6:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't have big lips but I do play bigger diameter mouthpieces.

One of the pieces I'm surprised doesn't get mentioned more is the Marcinkiewicz B. Findley piece. It has a huge rim id (I want to say in the neighborhood of a Bach 1 1/4 or 1) but with a cup depth right around a Shew 1.25.

I find it to be a wonderfully balanced and all around killer commercial style piece that lets me keep the bigger rim id I like.

Like every mouthpiece, I'm sure it isn't for everyone, but it was sure one of my saving grace pieces.

Kevin
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Hnelldor
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Joined: 02 Apr 2017
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PostPosted: Wed May 31, 2017 8:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

drboogenbroom wrote:
I don't have big lips but I do play bigger diameter mouthpieces.

One of the pieces I'm surprised doesn't get mentioned more is the Marcinkiewicz B. Findley piece. It has a huge rim id (I want to say in the neighborhood of a Bach 1 1/4 or 1) but with a cup depth right around a Shew 1.25.

I find it to be a wonderfully balanced and all around killer commercial style piece that lets me keep the bigger rim id I like.

Like every mouthpiece, I'm sure it isn't for everyone, but it was sure one of my saving grace pieces.

Kevin


I agree on the Marc. B Findley piece. I use that for lead playing when I'm not on my ACB MV3C and it's saved my butt more times than I care to count. It's fabulous. Although to my lips it doesn't feel quite as big as my MV3C but I susbect that has something to do with the bite.
It's worth at least trying.

My caveat: I have smaller lips.

But as always it would be good to consult a trumpet teacher if you can

-Nick
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dcjway
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 3:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Clifford Brown had big lips, he played a small diameter cup but not a small rim. He used a Bach 17C1 and 17C2 which have very wide rims, todays equivalents would be the Bach 10 3/4CW and 10 3/4EW. If you want to hear the fat rich sound that Clifford Brown could produce with a small diameter wide rim mouthpiece check out his version of Stardust on Ultimate Clifford Brown.
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deleted_user_02066fd
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 5:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have thin lips but have always preferred a large diameter. I tried a very narrow and shallow piece that I got from Jerry Callet and just couldn't adjust.
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Robert P
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Joined: 28 Feb 2013
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 12:06 pm    Post subject: Re: The Big Lipped Fellas Reply with quote

wohlrab wrote:
Has anyone got any tips / good exercises for getting big lips into reasonably sized mouthpieces?

I don't know how big is big but the goal isn't to stuff as much lip as possible into the mp, you need to put whatever amount of lip is needed to create a viable buzzing membrane that you can control and that seats comfortably. Not too much and not too little. I have fairly thick lips and use a Yamaha Bobby Shew Lead. Not the tiniest peashooter ever but it's fairly shallow and small.

I think most people do a specific kind of "flexing" particularly of the upper lip to get the mp to seat.
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trombahonker
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 12:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe share more info about what kind of playing you do, and what specifically you play on?

Exercises - Earl Irons 27 groups, that'll help balance things out. Read the text, several times.

It's all relative anyway. If you've got big meaty lips, a big mouthpiece isn't really that big, is it? You probably have other inabilities that are causing your troubles, not the big mouthpiece. Unless you're playing lead or something I suppose. But even then, a Purviance 10, for instance, is a pretty big diameter.

Could be, if you've been playing 10 years, that you're just getting to a point where you need to work through some inefficiencies. As long as you're playing some sort of standard big mouthpiece (ie Bach 1C, 1X, 1B, Parke 655, Laskey 84, Curry 1BC, Yamaha 17C4...) you're fine. But if you're playing some weird brand, particularly with a ridiculous monetty-flip oaksy kinda throat, that might have some issue.
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