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Lip Buzzing Embouchure and Mendez


Posted on November 22, 2017 by 

Lip Buzzing
This is the embouchure Mendez played. It is also what Clarke played. When Mendez taught a beginning student he made them lip buzz a month before he gave them a mouthpiece. He then made them mouthpiece buzz a month before he gave them the trumpet. By then they could change pitches and had decent tone. I use this embouchure on most of my students.He taught his own children this way and he toured with them playing trios for many years. He wrote about this in his book.

The fastest way to successfully go to a closed embouchure is :

Lip Buzz: (Like spitting seeds.)
Do this 15 – 30 minutes a day. Buzz scales, songs, arpeggios, etudes….
Set your new embouchure:
Buzz a note and while holding the buzz sneak the horn & mpc into playing position.
Take ALL breaths through your nose (so you don’t disturb the embouchure). (Most open aperture players try to start closed and open up the chops as they breathe. They pin the lips in place while separated and can only make the lips touch by using mpc pressure.)
And play songs and etudes.

(After the new setting is secure go back to normal breathing.)

Stay in the staff until you have strengthened the NEW embouchure.

Do a lip setting drill:
Buzz and sneak the horn into place to play 1 note. Remove the horn and start over. It takes thousands of good reps to break a bad habit.

Do those things for 1 month.

Then AFTER the new embouchure is set and the chops are stronger you can work on the Stevens palming exercise. I only do open arpeggios with this. Do it 15 minutes a day and after a month you should be able to play over High C with almost no pressure.

Then you must learn to relax the face and let the tone become full. Work on pulling the corners in to adjust tone color and assist range. Relearn your pivot and tongue arch. Work on more efficient breathing….

Pops