Vanishing Lower Lip

[gms979]

Howdy Folks,
What a great site! I first heard about Caruso stuff from Jon Nelson at the Atlantic Brass Seminar at Tanglewood in 1999....was mildly intrigued about it, then subsequently forgot about it altogether. Long story short, I feel like my playing has been on a several year decline from where I was about halfway through college (1999 or so)....this was the result of a hodgepodge of factors that I won't even begin to bore you with! Anyways, as college progressed I noticed that my embouchure had drifted way off to the side, with my lips becoming drastically contorted in every which way.....my range had begun to drop (from an e or so - third ledger line above staff - to where it is now, maybe just a "b" or "c" 2 lines above the staff - nothing extraordinary) I ultimately decided, for better or for worse, to make a drastic embouchure change in the summer of '01, working on a "textbook embouchure" where it has since settled in nicely. This was after my Junior recital and Senior recitals which I did early....I had reached the point on my old embouchure where I very comfortably performed the Purcell Sonata, Honneger Intrada, and the Haydn on my Junior Recital and the Hummel, Artunian, Trois pas de Danse (Berthelot) and a Strauss nocturne for my senior recital. But I did feel a definite decline in my playing, and decided to swallow my pride and switch to more of a textbook embouchure. I know, I know, in many camps this would be a controversial move....I had a horrific senior year playing-wise (that would have been musical waste had I not gotten so deeply into jazz piano studies....my other "thing".....any Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett or Kenny Werner fans here????) at college, and have spent the time since then doing extensive freelance piano work, teaching beginners through intermediates on trumpet and piano, all while in brass recovery mode trying to reaquaint myself with the basics.

Not to say that I can't play and sound like an eight year old....I just have many many unfulfilled professional ambitions that really require me to take the next step.


Anyways, I've been incorporating Caruso stuff into my playing (just the first six-note exercise) for the past month or so and have a few questions for anybody who might know more than myself!!!!

1 - In general, should the mouthpiece be set while the lips are firm (in a position able to do a "free-buzz" without any mouthpiece at all) or should they be flabby and relaxed? Various people in high-profile places have recommended both ways; how does any of this apply to Caruso?

2 - Also, as I continue to ascend, my bottom lip vanishes from sight, to the point where it looks like I am, quite literally, a one-lipped player. It is almost as if my embouchure "collapses into itself." This becomes prononuced as I approach the top of the staff, and when I am approaching high c I definitely feel that my lips aren't vibrating.....almost as if they are like a piece of clay, with the mouthpiece caving in. Even though it seems chic to say that it is ok to use "some" pressure, I feel like it impedes my playing. Needless to say, my piccolo playing (which was a strong suit in the late 90's....was able to do all of the Bach excerpts except the Brandenburg) is not what it once was!


If anybody has any suggestions feel free to drop a line or respond to this post - I appreciate it!

[_bugleboy]

[PH]

[gms979]

Thanks, Pat and Charly, for being so on the ball with answering my questions and pointing me in the right direction!

My two primary teachers of the past decade or so, both high profile people in the Baltimore/DC area have been exceedingly helpful in helping me get to the point where I am now and have nothing but the highest respect for both of them....but am very much at the point where I feel like the playing problems I have can best be fixed by a very focused and physically oriented approach like Caruso, and neither of them are qualified to teach the system (one of them actually called it "poison" when I asked about it!!!! Whatever works best, I guess!!!) The whole approach seems to fit my temperament and my learning style the best, plus the people I've run into who are fans of the system have always had ultra-efficient embouchures and an ease of playing that I have always envied. Even though its only been a few days since your responses, I've gotten myself on the program and had 2 outstanding practice sessions today (incorporating 5 or so minutes of Caruso into each one) and am beginning to feel something positive going on.

My question is about the schedule....what is the reason for limiting yourself to just the six notes in week one, followed by the seconds for week two, etc. Is there danger in doing multiple exercises (six notes, seconds, minor 7ths, harmonic scale, and sls seconds) as given by Charly in a previous post....a schedule he said would be appropriate after week 7? Or is the point to gradually evolve your muscle responses in a more efficient direction, taking every precaution not to rock the boat with regular playing? Can an entire session be spent on just Caruso, or is healthiest to mix in normal playing during that session as well?

Also, I know in MCFB Caruso states that it doesn't matter if the lips are wet or dry. Initially (1995-2001) I had a dry top lip and bottom wet lip (when I felt my range and playing were at its peak 5 or so years ago) then in 2001 switched to completely wet (which threw my playing into the tailspin from hell) and since 2002 I've been completely dry (which has been more than satisfactory). Tried to switch back to the dry/wet combo of the late 90's briefly in '02 but it never clicked again, so I made it work successfully with all dry (I know you're rolling your eyes by now!!!) Any opinions or personal preferences on this? Does anybody know if any big names play dry (I've heard that Doc and Rolf do, anybody else?)

Thanks again for your time and help, guys - you do a great service!
Greg

[PH]

[_bugleboy]