How much conscious thought in your mp placement and setup?

[Robert P]

Do you just sort of put it up, get a general feel of being "in the slot/pocket" and go or are you highly conscious of whatever manipulations you need to get the mp to seat, lip alignment with the teeth, teeth opening, horn angle, pressure, muscular tension around your embouchure etc.?

Do you have a particular series of steps you consciously go through?
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[brassmusician]

Zero steps or manipulations for me. I would think this is the case for most players, unless they are going through an embouchure change. Could be wrong though.
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[Andy Del]

Really, it depends. Warming up, I think one needs to be conscious of setting up to the best possible sound and response. Thinking is critical here.

BUT, manipulating? My take is to develop the most natural setup you can. I need to push my jaw forward a little, but that's it.

Once you are up and running, well, think a little for sure, but in a performance, I am concentrating on the music, not my chops, which I trust I had setup to work as well as they can. If I am practicing, then it's a slightly different mindset - checking on what I am doing.

Hope that helps.

cheers

Andy
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so many horns, so few good notes...

[GeorgeB]

On the lips and away I go, though on the rare occasion I do make a slight correction.
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GeorgeB
1960s King Super 20 Silversonic
2016 Manchester Brass Custom
1938-39 Olds Recording
1942 Buescher 400 Bb trumpet
1952 Selmer Paris 21 B
1999 Conn Vintage One B flat trumpet
2020 Getzen 490 Bb
1962 Conn Victor 5A cornet

[Seymor B Fudd]

[Brad361]

I “just sort of put it up”, the only other thing I’m aware of is if I’m using my Olds Recording, I am aware that I might whack myself in the chops because of the “balanced” (valve block closer to the the bell) construction. I actually thought that could be a problem, for me it really hasn’t been.

But I cannot imagine going through this checklist consciously (“.... lip alignment with the teeth, teeth opening, horn angle, pressure, muscular tension around your embouchure etc.? “) every time I play, and I certainly would not tell a student to think about that.

Brad
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[Billy B]

Blow the embouchure into place.
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[Jazzalive]

This is actually a good question. I find that if I'm doing Colin exercises, mp placement has an effect on my ability to slide through the harmonics. It's a thin line between being able to slide from one partial to the next or to get "locked" into place. Normally when "stuck" I pull the mp off the chops and start again.

[deleted_user_680e93b]

[kidtwist]

In the last couple of years, I've become more conscious of NOT manipulating my chops, at least not after I put the mouthpiece up.

I set my chops in an "M" formation, make sure corners are "set" and just play!!
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WCU '03

Selmer K-Mod-24B-LT
King Silver Flair - 1960s Vintage
Carolbrass CTR-4440L-YST-Bb-S
Carolbrass CTR-4000H-YSS-C
Kanstul 1523
Yamaha 631 Flugel
Bach 3C, 10C, & Warburton 5 Mouthpieces

[RussellDDixon]

I warm up using a Bill Adam set of long tones that allows me to find my “ sweet spot” and dial it in. . When playing on a larger mouthpiece, I find that I can move my chops around a lot with the same results because there is so much room.

Not so with a shallower piece.
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Nicholson Monette Prana Resonance LT mouthpiece
Kanstul Claude Gordon Personal mouthpiece

[zaferis]

My general approach is to try to be conscience of every detail in my "warm-up" "daily routine".. at the beginning I'm trying to check everything-making sure I'm not slipping into bad habits or losing my place. Which includes mouthpiece placement, posture, hand position, etc... then as I move into practice or into performing, the concentration moves onto other things.
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[kxk558]

I usually just try and make sure I'm not playing on the "red" of the lip. Making sure the lip is vibrating freely and can respond at any dynamic and range. Some days I spend more time on the "physical" aspect of my playing depending on how I feel but usually just in my fundamentals routine. Sometimes physical difficulties could be fix with musical decision and vica versa.

[Coolcol123]

I recently made a mouthpiece placement / embouchure change, so I'm very conscious of it... placing it naturally is what led me to a very one-sided set-up... I use a mirror and also lots of recording on my iphone... not an issue for everyone I'm sure

[trickg]

I put the horn up and play, and I don't think about it. I don't know if that's good or bad, but that's my approach, and what I've been doing for most of the 36 years I've been on the horn.
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Patrick Gleason
- Jupiter 1600i, ACB 3C, Warburton 4SVW/Titmus RT2
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- ACB Doubler

"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP

[kehaulani]

[rufflicks]

To make playing become as second nature as possible the mechanics should be something that happens not something we think about. It is the feeling of norman/correct that should occur. This feeling should become second nature like closing your eyes and touching your ears or nose. If we are bound by ritual or arduous process our playing will be less natural.

Best, Jon
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[chuck in ny]

i use a small series of steps to get the mouthpiece into position, first of which is jaw comes slightly forward, then getting to the lips grabbing or contacting the mouthpiece. same routine of conscious adjustments each time to achieve the same feel and position.

[dershem]

Not as much as there was 40 years ago. After a while, it's pretty much automatic - you know what works.