Best Embouchure??

[Craig Swartz]

[John Mohan]

[Lionel]

John,

Glad you included Chuck Findlay in your post. Now there is one 9unusual bird. Probably the lowest horn angle Ive seen on a trumpet player and still yet with out of this world range.

However I would like to know what his teeth look like. The reason is that the kind of extreme range he has is not often found on receded jaw players. I felt dumbfounded to have discovered a cat with a very low horn angle who wasnt a receded jaw player at all. At least not in tone production. Here's what he displayed,

Upon a closer examination of his teeth I observed his uppers to be almost acutely bent inwards. And this was what made for his low horn angle. So his range, ease of playing and natural brightness rivalled a higher horn angle player like Doc Severinsen. A modest man, I purposely joined a community band that he played in. Just to learn more of what made his chops work. That and to pick up some pointers from him.

I finally decided that although his horn angle was quite low? That the way his chops worked had much in common with those strong "upstream" players. The kind with their bells pointed at higher angles. And with more lower lip in the mouthpiece. And I suspect that Mr Findley has something going on similar. That perhaps he utilizes something similar to how my friend's teeth/jaw structure works.

As I see it one of the reasons most trumpet players with low horn angles struggle with range is because their upper lip is so far forward on the mouthpiece that when they start blowing out tones at high C and above their lower lip has curled inside the mouthpiece to its maximum. That he's rolled in that the lower lip so far that it can no longer be regulate the upper lip.

Its just my hypothesis. I cant prove it yet. But I've started to believe that when a trumpet player's lower lip stays in full contact with the upper lip that this lower lip can act as a "doorstop" to the upper. Allowing a shorter front to backwards swing on the upper lip. A shorter swing ='s higher pitch with greater ease of work. However this same shorter swing may also reduce airflow. And in turn just may account for what Doc Reinhardt noticed was a smaller tone in "upstream" players. As compared to receded jaw players.

Generally speaking most receded jaw trumpet players will roll or curl in their lower lip as soon as they hit a G top of the staff. And on the significantly receded jaw trumpet player he'll reach a point of no return somewhere slightly above high C.

The way which I have learned to blow above high C on my own very receded jaw embouchure has been to shift my range related movements to the facial muscles at the corners of my mouth. That and I work very hard to avoid any excessive arm pressure.

As it is now I can sustain a solid high G and even the A and B above with only minimal contact pressure. It is then and only then where I'll begin to increase the srm pressure. I like what Doc Reinhardt once siggested. He said to only use arm pressure to attain the last perfect fourth in your range. LReferring to that last tippy top of your musical range to be accessed with a little extra pressure. Calling this pressure your "trump card".
_________________
"Check me if I'm wrong Sandy but if I kill all the golfers they're gonna lock me up & throw away the key"!

Carl Spackler (aka Bill Murray, 1980).

[blbaumgarn]

There isn't a perfect one as anatomically we are all slightly different. watch good, excellent, and great trumpet players and even when they go to a higher ranger or more dynamics they still look relatively relaxed in the corners and they aren't pressing the mp through their teeth. My college professor told me expanded range comes with practice in every range and them working your way up. People who are looking for a quick way to get from double f to C are in the wrong business. There a few very talented and natural players that will get there faster but most mortals work there way there. I loved Colin's lip flexibilities. My professor would tell me to pick out an etude and make it one that stretches you in the upper register and put more volume of air into the horn the whole etude, forget the dynamics. It requires you to take more volume and push more volume and when the lip becomes more flexible you move up, with control a note or two at a time. It is something you need to approach with separate practice if it means building an upper register. It's is the same as building a full rich middle register or lower register, Find yourself some vehicles to try and stick with it.

[Sustained note]

[deleted_user_02066fd]

Tony Kadleck is another good example. His horn angle is almost like Herb Alpert's. He absolutely rocks,

[Oldpipesandchops]

[Jerry]

The OP has had one post on TH. One! The one that started this thread fifteen years ago. I bet he never found the perfect embouchure.

[Sean_E]

[chuck in ny]

i don't know about getting there the fastest, but you should try the roll out position ala maynard and lynn nicholson.
i suppose the idea being these guys have achieved the high register. if it won't work for you, it was an experience in trying something different.

[bnsd]

I was playing in a college bigband and a guest musician came to a rehearsal. Clean head Vinson or something like that. He listened a while, and between songs he looked at me and said..."you have a perfect embouchure...you play lead right?"..."the guy right next to me playing down at the floor out of the side of his face plays lead"... so many ways to get good sound in the upper register. Its different for everybody