The Balanced Embouchure for Horn: Horn Player with Unusual Embouchure

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Horn Player with Unusual Embouchure

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/liberace/peanut-vendor--208593581
The interesting video linked above, was posted on the Yahoo horn list by Susan McKeever. (If the link doesn't work, you can find it by searching Yahoo Music for "Peanut Vendor by Liberace.") The horn player is Susan's uncle, John Graas. Notice his very unusual embouchure: rolled in with air pockets, relaxed lip corners and gently bunched chin. Wow! He looks like the kids on the cover of the BE book! I've seen a few trumpeters play like that, but never a horn player. To learn more about this remarkable musician, John Graas, follow this link: http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=GRAAS%2C_John
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When I first started BE, I couldn't do RI exercises with air pockets. I was naive enough to believe it couldn't be done on horn. I've since learned I was wrong because two years into BE, I finally learned to do RI's with air pockets. This video not only proves it can be done, but it also proves that a horn player can develop an efficient, flexible embouchure with a rolled in set up, relaxed lip corners, and a bunched chin. Who knew?
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Please don't misunderstand, I'm not promoting John Graas's embouchure as the "ideal" or "correct" BE embouchure. There's no such thing as the "correct" BE embouchure. I'm only trying to open eyes to possibilities. This video shows that the hard & fast embouchure rules of the past -- tight lip corners, no air pockets, flat chin, etc. -- aren't necessarily the best thing for everyone. Can you imagine the results if John Graas had had a horn instructor who insisted he follow the rules and change his embouchure?
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Valerie Wells

1 comment:

LFRoberts5January 1, 2010 at 7:41 AM
Great Post. I read the article about John and love the part where it says,

"During recording sessions, Graas' accuracy was so great that some of the band would buy him drinks if and when he missed...Graas would hit high "E" entrance notes night after night, never missing."
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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.