Fundamental Embouchure Muscle Use Change

[yanbu000]

I played all thru my youth and adulthood never thinking about my lips as a reed-like mechanisms. I was taught to only “following the sound”. So I never considered using the embouchure muscles to manipulate the pitch and tone. Instead I followed the school of “let the tone be your guide”. Consequent no range.

I went to NTSU and saw the power and range of the other guys and I began to experiment. Even though teachers all said my embouchure was perfect I had no GAME. I began to experiment and discovered how to bring my lips together as I ascended. I instantly produced out of control High-Gs and more. The muscles usage was RADICALLY NEW TO ME, but, I thought I could master the control problems; I never did. It was too radical a difference and I could not control anything, even with lots of practice.

After 4 or 5 attempts to get control over 10 years, I rethought the lips/reads concept and moved the mouthpiece down to isolate the top lip more while brining my lips together when ascending. EUREKA, I found huge control, endurance, and all the rest. I had to play a new and radically different way, but, it was like night & day.

The moral to my story: my blindly listening to the teachers talk about “following the tone” was NOT enough. I should have taken responsibility to think about exactly what the lips were doing when solving my range issues.

Anyone else have a story similar?