Balancing an embouchure change with normal playing

[Leaps of Faith]

Hey everyone! New to the forums here, although I've been reading around for a long time. Usually reading other people's posts is enough to answer my questions, but now I've got a problem big enough to warrant making my own

I'm a sophomore in college. Today, my trumpet professor and I agreed that we need to make a pretty drastic change to my embouchure. Last year, we had worked on moving my embouchure up, because I was playing with too much bottom lip and hardly any top lip, which caused issues with endurance and the day-to-day consistency of my tone/range. We made some progress, but ultimately a demanding practice schedule, juries, concerts, etc. gave bad habits a chance to kick in again and the mouthpiece started creeping back down throughout the year, though not nearly as much as it was before. But now, I'm trying to kick the habit for good. The problem is that all my responsibilities as a player still remain, and now I can barely play above a C in the staff.

How do I balance changing the way I fundamentally play my instrument with ensembles and other obligations that require me to be at a certain level? Are there any practice methods you guys can suggest to bring my new embouchure up to par relatively quickly and/or work around this schedule? I know these changes take lots of time; I've already had to do a couple before I came to college due to things like braces. I really wish I could just take a few months off and work this out, but that just isn't possible. The university calendar really makes it feel like I'm running on a clock here, with end-of-quarter performances and auditions coming up in a matter of weeks. It makes me reluctant to go through with a change as drastic as this, even though I know it'll be for the better. I just don't know how long it'll take to get there.

Any advice or words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated. I knew this day was coming, but that doesn't make the fact that I'm essentially starting over suck any less. Thanks for reading.
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[Robert P]

It might be possible but it seems like it would be hard. When I made a big change to mine years ago it was when I had no demands on my playing.

It sounds like your trumpet instructor hasn't done anything to coordinate with others at your school to facilitate this which seems odd. And the timing seems bad. Have you talked to whoever the head of your music dept is and/or any of the ensemble directors?
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[Leaps of Faith]

[JVL]

Being not enough experimented nor solid, i'd not attempt changes in periods of demands or stress, because you'd be tempted to go back and forth between the old and new embouchure.
I'd plan a serie of lessons with a chops specialist (Bobby Shew, Roger Ingram, etc.), let's say 3 lessons during the same week in the next holidays or so...
So, the teacher would be able to give you some foundations you could consolidate during the next weeks/months
best

[Robert P]

Another thing is it's also a bit of a gamble as to whether you'll benefit from it. You're also gambling that your instructor actually knows what he's doing.

For me it involved various factors. I moved the placement up and more centered, but also learned to use my embouchure differently which took a lot of analysis and experimentation - in fact I consider it an eternally ongoing experiment in progress. Further, I changed the shape of my upper front incisors - I shortened them.
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Chinese Rotary Bb/A piccolo

Chinese Flugel

[HERMOKIWI]

Are you really experimenting with a new "embouchure" or is this just a change in the vertical placement of the mouthpiece? What changes (if any) in the actual formation of your embouchure are you making?

What was your range before you made the current change?
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HERMOKIWI

[Andy Del]

It was hinted at earlier in this thread, but I'll come out and say it, as I teach brass every day, and at times need to adjust some poor kid's embouchure. I reckon this gives me a bit of perspective...

Your instructor needs to get their act together and work for you. This is what they are paid to do. This is what YOU (or parents or scholarship) pay them to do! If they feel your progress warrants this change, then they MUST make sure you can do it WITHOUT disadvantage. It may mean altering your class schedule, or getting allowances in improv class to use a restricted range, changing repertoire, etc. but THEY MUST take responsibility for this.

(now just PM me if you want my image for your studio dartboard!)

cheers

Andy
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[jengstrom]

Most of the time, I feel I'm not qualified to contribute to these kinds of discussions, but perhaps against my better judgement, I'd like to make some suggestions.

Most people, myself included, tend to set the embouchure first and then try to blow through it. In engineering terms, the embouchure is the independent variable and the air is the dependent variable. I find it helps if you reverse those. It is, after all, a wind instrument, not a lip instrument. With this in mind, I suggest:

1. Get back to basics. Think about posture and breathing. And attitude.
2. Think about air first. The turn around at the top of your breath should be smooth and instant. No pausing at the top of the breath. For more information on this, look through the Shuebruk books, read the intro to James Thompson's Buzzing Basics book, or look for Rowuk's Circle of Breath on the TrumpetMaster site.
3. Start the note with a somewhat relaxed embouchure (some people say completely relaxed, or resting). Let the lip react to the air, not the other way around. I saw a quote once that said we are not buzzing the lips, we are letting them flap in the breeze.

Your instructor may have you position your lips in a certain way. The key is not to tense them while you're doing it. The first college level instructor I had was full of commands like "Firm up those corners", "Flatten that chin", "Push out with your stomach while blowing". (I never did understand that one; it violates the laws of physics.) I thought he was teaching me universal truths that only good trumpet players knew and I took him quite literally. As a result, I turned into a very tense player, with bad habits I am fighting to this day. My point is, listen to him but do not let him make you a tense player. Tension is the enemy of trumpet players.

Just thinking about air first, not allowing yourself to regress into the chops first mentality, will do wonders for your playing. Good luck.

My 2 cents.

John
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[dstdenis]

Make the change with help from your teacher. It's only fair to tell the music directors of the ensembles you're in. Don't cover up or fake it.

Maybe they can put you on lower, easier parts so you can focus on basic rebuilding and they will have the parts covered. Better for you, better for your colleagues in these groups.
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[Billy B]

[scottfsmith]

What I have done is when I am playing with others I just think "play!" and don't think too much about the new embouchure. Let it fall wherever. But when I am playing by myself I am 100% rigorous on my new embouchure. Eventually the "play!" embouchure should catch up with what you have learned, assuming you can get in more practice hours than play hours.

Anyway this is what has worked for me; YMMV.
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[Lukarino]

I am a high school junior going through the same thing, trying to fix my playing while having responsibilities in a youth orchestra playing taxing literature like Scheherezade. My teacher recommended this book by David Hickman called 15 Advanced Embochure studies. It progresses over 15 weeks to not necessarily shift your embochure, but help you "find your own unique embochure." It consists mostly of loud lip bends and loud pedal tones. I just got the book, and am excited to work through it. That may be something worth looking into yourself.

[Billy B]

[Craig Swartz]

And in the end, you may discover that your "embouchure problem" is really one of breathing and tonal concept,with a bit of the tongue stuffed in the way for good measure. When the wind isn't free to move and the necessary muscles are tense and bound rather than free and flexible for the pitches and volume being used at the time, no amount of changing the "chops" will solve the problem. It's very easy to make those adverse habits much worse by continuing to do the same, incorrect things, however. Good luck.

[chrispate]

Hey man, there's some really great advice on this thread right now. Some of these guys helped me out not too long ago when I was dealing with chop issues of a somewhat similar nature. I too had to deal with the issue of getting into school with some playing conflicts; your teacher must put your playing/development first and help to get rid of class/ensemble conflicts if possible, though I know this is easier said than done.

My recommendation, having just gone through something similar, would be to really question your own perception of what's happening with your embouchure and air, or more accurately, your sound production. Though there are some people who like to go into specifics of embouchure function, I was taught to focus less on these aspects and try to hear(rather than feel) what's happening. Even doing the "right" thing with your embouchure/air may feel completely wrong because of the old habits in place, so you must really ask yourself how you're sounding (be honest) and go off of that.

A teacher who I see a couple times a year mentioned to me that our lips are like fan blades, they don't flex to produce wind, wind makes them spin. John's post (bravo btw) reminded me of this; I constantly try to put this idea in my routine so that I remove as much micromanagement from my playing as possible. I know embouchure changes can be rough, but you'll get through it by reminding yourself of the basics we must all revisit so frequently.

Keep that thing fired up man.

Good luck

[JoseLindE4]

I made a pretty dramatic change in college. I was experiencing significant limitations and discomfort, so with the guidance of my teacher, I made some major changes. I believe that this change gave me a performing career.

Here's what I experienced:

1. I made a hard switch after my spring jury, so I had all summer without ensemble demands.

2. I was fully committed and believed in the process. I remember commenting the first day after the hard switch the I could already tell my playing would eventually take off. I wasn't constantly questioning and tinkering - I made a plan and went with it fully.

3. In the months before the hard switch, I continued to play on my old setup, but had developed some preparatory exercises for the new setup that I incorporated into my daily routine. I practiced them, but didn't worry about them otherwise until I switched. This wasn't experimenting or tinkering, just practicing some drills that would ease the transition.

4. Taking my time over the summer was helpful, but eventually you have to push yourself, so getting back into ensembles and resuming college level etude work, etc. was healthy.

5. I was last chair in the bottom band for the entire next year. This can be hard psychologically. I don't believe I was viewed as someone working out some kinks but rather as someone who was bad. I had to be ok with that and work through it.

6. I practiced obsessively.

7. The first few weeks saw significant improvements, sometimes from session to session. Early on, my range was limited to about a fourth - from 2nd line G to 3rd space C. It took over a year to turn back into a somewhat functional musician. It took maybe two years to catch up to my peers. The psychological toll from the change took some time to get over as well. Identity can be tricky to navigate. Sometime I still think I'm navigating these issues. It took six years from the change to win a professional audition. This stuff takes time.

8. I begin anew every day - in many ways similar to how I began again on day 1 of the change.

I believe making a change like this gave me a career. I was a pretty extreme case with a wholly unhealthy approach to the instrument. Despite this and knowing where it's taken me, I'm not fully convinced I would take this approach if I were teaching my college age self. Were I to push for a dramatic change, I'd make sure we're both all in. If you're going to do it, you eventually just have to jump fearlessly.

[Leaps of Faith]

First of all, thank you all so much for your advice and support; these are all things I will take with me to the practice room. It really means a lot to me that I'm not alone in this struggle. I have self-confidence issues and my ability as a musician is a big source of pride for me, so it's hard not to feel hurt in a situation like this, especially in a university setting full of talented players. But knowing that I'm not doing it alone helps a lot more than you realize. It's been a day and I can already tell it will be a long road ahead, but there is something to gain here. I'll try to keep those who are interested posted as long as this thread is alive, but I'll go ahead and respond to some comments now:

[Seymor B Fudd]

[HERMOKIWI]

[kfeldt]

I made a similar change when I was a freshman in high school. Up until then, I played with very little upper lip in the mouthpiece. I was struggling to consistently play anything above the staff and my tone was not good. I changed to a more "conventional" mouthpiece placement, about 2/3 upper and 1/3 lower. In the long run, it was definitely worth it, my tone and range improved considerably. In fact, I don't think I would still be playing (as an amatuer at age 40) if I didn't make the change.

Short-term, it was awful. Early on in the change, my range dropped to about a C or D in the staff, and everything about my playing got worse. It took a couple months of consistent practice with the new placement before I got back to where I had started, and then I started improving beyond that. For a while, I tried to play some with both setups, but eventually I got to the point where I couldn't really play with either setup, so I just committed to the new one. In hindsight, things might have gone faster if I'd committed to the new setup right away, but like you mentioned, it was pretty hard on my ego not to be able to play like I used to for a while.

Good luck!
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