The Balanced Embouchure for Horn: Extreme embouchure

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Luke Zyla, No Longer a Skeptic

The following is a composite of remarks Luke Zyla shared with members on the Memphis horn forum with in the last week. Thanks so much for sharing your testimonial with the horn community, Luke.

Dear Horn Listers,

I am not what you call a "stellar" horn player, but I do make a decent second income from performing with the West Virginia Symphony and freelancing in the area. I have been practicing the BE method this summer and have found positive results already. I definitely have not mastered the exercises yet, but working on them has improved my high register and endurance. One of the things I find most valuable is that it is not a method that tears down and rebuilds a new embouchure, but one that gradually improves ones playing.

Being a second horn player, I always dreaded having to play pops concerts where one plays music arranged by people who do not understand the custom of having horns 1 and 3 on high and 2 and 4 on low. The music of John Williams always brought concern to my mind. I have found that these exercises have enabled me to have better endurance and a more relaxed high register. I am not at the point where I am ready to attack the screaming high baroque horn literature yet, but I expect that my horn playing will continue to become more effortless.

The BE method does not involve lots of time practicing the extreme embouchures. I find that it does develop my embouchure in a positive way. The immediate result is that my endurance is much better. I think the best feature of this method is that it is not a sudden change and restructuring ones embouchure, but a gradual exploration and development that can result in positive results. Personally, I do not bunch up my chin when I play. Just can't get my chops to be that relaxed. It is more relaxed than before, which is a good thing. One thing I have noticed about the really great players in the world is that they all seem to produce tone in every register effortlessly. The method does not result in a goofy looking embouchure. Check out Steve Park's videos on YouTube. I don't think anyone would fault his embouchure.

The method is very simple. I was very skeptical about the method for a long time, but have come to appreciate the benefits of the exercises.

I would encourage anyone to buy the book and give it a try. The cost of the book is small compared to the benefits one can achieve.

CORdially,
Luke Zyla, second horn
West Virginia Symphony Orchestra
www.wvsymphony.org

Friday, July 22, 2011

EXTREME EMBOUCHURES!

Can you hear the cheesy radio/TV ad announcer attempting to increase adrenalin levels with: "EXTREME demolition derby!" "EXTREME sports!" "EXTREME thrills!" Hmmm.... How about a cheesy announcer to say...

"EXTREME embouchure exercises!"

These are still shots of the extreme embouchure settings I use when I practice some of the BE exercises. This is how it works for me:

(1) If I can develop tone, range and facility in an extreme embouchure; then tone, range and facility with a "normal" embouchure will be easier.

(2) If I can learn to play in both extremes, I'm bound to find settings between the extremes that work well for me.

(3) If I systematically practice in the extremes as well as transitioning from one extreme to the other, I'll eventually learn maneuvers I can use to navigate efficiently within the less extreme registers I encounter in daily playing.

Works for me!
Also see: Why the Extremes?
Also see: "Circus Trick" or Developmental Tool?

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The roll-out and roll-in exercises can be performed "correctly" with or without air pockets as seen in the examples contributed by horn players here. Air pockets are an option, not a requirement in BE. Some people can't do the exercises without them; others can't do the exercises with them. It's an individual thing and nothing to stress over either way. I like practicing with air pockets as pictured, because it helps me isolate and control individual muscle groups to play with less overall tension.
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"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!"

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Cute comment from Iris: Thanks, Valerie— these pictures are great! I was just joking earlier this week with my daughter (an accomplished trumpet player) that everyone would want to try BE if it was called "X-treme Embouchure!" The photos also helped to show me that I'm on the right track with my goofy-faced ROs and RIs! ~Iris
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If one picture is worth a thousand words, then multiply that by what you see here!

Welcome to The Balanced Embouchure For Horn

Hello and thanks for stopping by. I’m Valerie Wells, a horn player starting this blog to share my success using The Balanced Embouchure (BE) and to provide a place for other horn players to share their positive experiences with BE. The Balanced Embouchure is an embouchure development system originally written for trumpet by Jeff Smiley. BE is now helping an ever growing number of horn players improve their embouchures, too. To learn how I came to BE, see this. There is only one BE book. The same book is used for both horn and trumpet.

For additional information about BE in general, please see the following links:

Jeff Smiley’s website
http://www.trumpetteacher.net/
The Balanced Embouchure Forum http://www.trumpetherald.com/
Michael Camilleri’s website
http://users.actrix.co.nz/mcamilleri/BE/BEFAQ.htm
Bert Loch’s website
http://bertlochs.com/

Ko de Rooj's website (Netherlands)

www.balanced-embouchure.eu

Skype lessons available

Bruce Lee: teatro333 "at" gmail "dot"com

Valerie Wells: ValerieW78 "at" gmail "dot" com

Common Misconceptions about BE

For various reasons that seem inherent in our approach to the instrument, French horn players (self included) often develop misconceptions about The Balanced Embouchure that can potentially impede progress.

Misconception #1: BE is written for trumpet, therefore much of it will not apply to French horn.
Some exercises need transposition or adaptation for French horn, but the principles and techniques taught in this book are as applicable to French horn as they are to trumpet. (I learned this lesson the hard way.)

Misconception #2: BE is all about rolling the lips in and out.
Lip rolling is only part of BE. There are tonguing exercises, snaps, zips, breathing exercises, etc. All these elements combine to form a development system that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Misconception #3: Roll-Out exercises are for developing the low register. Therefore a horn player with a secure low register, need not practice Roll-Out exercises.
Roll-Out exercises are designed to develop tone, flexibility, endurance and balance in all the registers, not just the low. A balanced embouchure has elements of roll-out in every note of every register.

Misconception #4: Roll-In exercises are for developing the upper register.
Roll-In exercises are designed to develop tone, flexibility, endurance and balance in all the registers, not just the high. A balanced embouchure has elements of roll-in in every note of every register.

Misconception #5: “Doing BE” means rolling out for low notes and rolling in for high notes.
“Doing BE” means practicing the BE exercises and following the program as designed. Directly applying lip rolling to your regular embouchure is not BE and will be of limited value.

Misconception #6: The correct BE embouchure has a bunched chin and puffed cheeks.
There is no, one correct “BE embouchure.” The balanced embouchure you develop following the BE system will be unique to you. There is no way to predict what your final embouchure will look like. Horn players need to avoid preconceived ideas of what their balanced embouchures will look like.

Bert Lochs has taken the above #6 misconceptions and elaborated upon them for trumpet players.