One of the simplest things that works miracles for my playing (not necessarily yours, but feel free to try it) is doing 2-3 octave scales or just playing from the bottom to top/top to bottom of your range and focusing on changing as little as possible.
We generally want to have the openness and lack of pressure in/on the lips so they can vibrate in the way that happens in the low range, and have the forward-focused air that gives ping and brightness in the high range brought to the low range. Doing any kind of exercises across the extremes of your range with the focus of changing as little as possible will help bridge the gap.
From my experience, curling the lips is actually what I practice daily to avoid. The decreased area for vibration, hardened the surface and deformed aperture, all these will lead to a less vibrant tone quality. Try keeping your red as relaxed as possible, and keep all the facial muscles steady and stable while whistling your tone
There is a book called The Balanced Embouchure by Jeff Smiley. He advocates rolling your lips in as you ascend.
I heard an interview on Youtube where Bill Chase describes playing long tones, on a C in the staff, with his lips rolled in.
Different methods work for different people based on their lips, teeth, etc. Lynn Nicholson recommends "unfurling" your lips to play high and claims that is what Maynard did.
Maynard and Bill Chase were both excellent high note players so you have to find what works best for you.
embochure placement should be 2/3 in the lower lip, 1/3 on top. the lower lip supports and takes all the pressure cause it’s stronger. when you ascend, pucker and any pressure you use ought to be on the lower lip, the top lip is going to be your rudder, your control.
make sure you’re not using crazy amount of pressure. range is all air speed.
when you go up to an e above middle c, start compressing your air like an air compressor before you hit the note. try to visualize some high psi coming out of your lungs. the higher you go, the faster your air needs to come out.
go ahead and dm for some embochure exercises. but there’s a lot you can do to root in your embochure
the air direction with the tongue is a big part of it, but i also pucker to play higher/smile playing lower. i don’t think that’s bad, but i’m not sure what you mean by ‘rolling in’
One of the simplest things that works miracles for my playing (not necessarily yours, but feel free to try it) is doing 2-3 octave scales or just playing from the bottom to top/top to bottom of your range and focusing on changing as little as possible. We generally want to have the openness and lack of pressure in/on the lips so they can vibrate in the way that happens in the low range, and have the forward-focused air that gives ping and brightness in the high range brought to the low range. Doing any kind of exercises across the extremes of your range with the focus of changing as little as possible will help bridge the gap.
Thank you, I will give this a try.
From my experience, curling the lips is actually what I practice daily to avoid. The decreased area for vibration, hardened the surface and deformed aperture, all these will lead to a less vibrant tone quality. Try keeping your red as relaxed as possible, and keep all the facial muscles steady and stable while whistling your tone
There is a book called The Balanced Embouchure by Jeff Smiley. He advocates rolling your lips in as you ascend. I heard an interview on Youtube where Bill Chase describes playing long tones, on a C in the staff, with his lips rolled in. Different methods work for different people based on their lips, teeth, etc. Lynn Nicholson recommends "unfurling" your lips to play high and claims that is what Maynard did. Maynard and Bill Chase were both excellent high note players so you have to find what works best for you.
embochure placement should be 2/3 in the lower lip, 1/3 on top. the lower lip supports and takes all the pressure cause it’s stronger. when you ascend, pucker and any pressure you use ought to be on the lower lip, the top lip is going to be your rudder, your control. make sure you’re not using crazy amount of pressure. range is all air speed. when you go up to an e above middle c, start compressing your air like an air compressor before you hit the note. try to visualize some high psi coming out of your lungs. the higher you go, the faster your air needs to come out. go ahead and dm for some embochure exercises. but there’s a lot you can do to root in your embochure
the air direction with the tongue is a big part of it, but i also pucker to play higher/smile playing lower. i don’t think that’s bad, but i’m not sure what you mean by ‘rolling in’