Six years studying The Balanced Embouchure. It just keeps giving me more & more. The progress never stops unless I stop. I'm not the greatest horn player in the world, of course. I'm just a little old lady, come back horn playing grandma with a chronic neurological disease, who plays in community ensembles and gets the occasional paid gig. But, there are so many things I can do now that I wouldn't have been able to had it not been for BE. I'm thankful.
Once again, BE has come to the rescue. I injured my upper lip in an accident December 2nd, driving my front tooth clear through the center of the under side of my upper lip. Five days later a little blob of dead flesh sloughed off leaving a small hole, then a scar right where the aperture forms. (It reminded me of the injury Adrew Joy described that prompted him to find help, and eventually BE.) http://beforhorn.blogspot.com/2011/08/joy-continues-on-balanced-embouchure_07.html After taking few weeks off, I found myself with severely limited range and endurance, not to mention horrid tone. It was definitely a déjà vu experience. My embouchure function was eerily similar to what it had been 7 years ago before I started studying BE!
I thought it would be a quick fix, but progress was slow because my lips would swell at the slightest provocation severely limiting practice time. It took a full four months before I had recovered the range & endurance I had before the accident. Thanks to BE, I'm back & enjoying playing again.
Three cheers for Jeff Smiley!
I thought it would be a quick fix, but progress was slow because my lips would swell at the slightest provocation severely limiting practice time. It took a full four months before I had recovered the range & endurance I had before the accident. Thanks to BE, I'm back & enjoying playing again. 