exercises for lower lip?

[trumpet_bob_silver]

Yes, just the lower lip. I think that's a problem for me. It ends up getting crushed by the mouthpiece and doesn't get stronger.

I've had some success working on firming up my lips. But I'm wondering if there's anything else, anything better.

Firming them up. That's works. And it explains some on why Chopsticks worked -- bottom lip was getting a workout and not getting smashed by the mouthpiece.

I'm thinking off the horn too here.

The pencil exercises (or heavier sticks) isn't so great because the weight presses down on the lower lip. Still good, but maybe there's something better. Pencil exerise... upside down? Haha. I don't see myself doing that much but it would get the weight off the lower lip.

I suppose... something like lip pushups, similar to puckering for the mouthpiece.

(Kissing, yes, haha. )

I suppose possibly having a weighted stick between the lower lip and teeth. That's sounds tricky, but it might get the lower lip moving.

Or holding the muscle firmly. Isometric it's called I think?

There's a patch on my lower lip that's puffy -- on the dry red part of the lip and a spot on the skin | below there. I'm thinking the puffy dry red part is from the mouthpiece. Or I just have a teardropped-shaped lower lip, but I'd like to reduce that if I can. And so far, it's gotten a little smaller just from firming exercises.

And so far for being back on the horn after some of these lower lip exercises, I've been able to play a little easier. I noticed that in the mid part of my range. It might be the lower lip and kicking my jaw out a little too.

[John Mohan]

Really, if you just practice a normal, well-balanced routine, your lips (upper and lower) as well as the rest of you will get exactly what you need in terms of strength development.

A daily dose of flexibilities, Clarke Technical studies, and Claude Gordon's "Systematic Approach" exercise will do it, every time.

Stop fretting about your individual lips and just stick to a sensible routine.

Best wishes,

John Mohan

P.S. If you think you are mashing your lower lip, as painfully obvious as this is: Stop mashing your lower lip.

[jadickson]

[shofarguy]

Here's what I am doing now that is working very well. I put together pointers from various people with my own breathing excersize to arrive at this:

Byron Autrey (many years an educator and world-class cornet/trumpet player) - The proper embouchure setup is to imagine you are holding a grape seed in the very front and center of your lips and that you are going to spit it out with a "pf-ff" of air. The higher the note you wish to play, the farther you "spit the seed".

Flip Oakes (a self-taught natural player who, at 60 years old, can still put most players to shame, though it would never be his desire to do so) - You need to focus your airstream. Learn to lip buzz and get just the center of the lips buzzing.

Pops McLaughlin (educator extrordinair, who posts here on TH when someone seems to be ready to listen and always has beneficial comments.) - From his website: Lip buzzing is escential. You don't need to be able to buzz every note (yet, I've heard an mp3 of him buzzing a double or triple C) just fourth line middle C down to peddle C. Then, learn to mouthpiece buzz. Do these every day.

A poster here on TH (I don't remember who wrote this to me, but it was good advise) - Play low volume long tones. Play them at as low a volume as you can maintain good tone.

Brian's own (for what it's worth) - I learned to lay on my back with my knees raised to relax the lower back, upper arms straight along the floor in line with each other, forearms along the floor, parallel to each other like I'm being arrested. This gives the proper breathing position and forces one to fill the lungs correctly in a relaxed cycle. The belly goes up when air is inhaled, then down as it is exhaled.

I lip buzz long tones in this position to using Byron's imagery and Pop's tonal range. My goal is to isolate the buzzing into just the very center of the lips, and balance the buzz between top & bottom lips. It has not mattered, in my case, that the buzz is a little different than with the mouthpiece and trumpet. The excercize has taught me the correct muscles to use and how to use them.

Once the breathing and buzzing are coordinated properly and become natural, I began to buzz scales, intervals and songs. I now use the buzzing to warm up before I touch the horn. Sometimes I use mouthpiece buzzing after lip buzzing, if I have time. I find that I can carry bad habits into mouthpiece buzzing if I don't preceed it with a full course of lip buzzing. (Pops, I'm getting to the mouthpiece buzzing thing little by little. It is, as you say, escential to resonant tone!)

Doing this has made my usable range much more usable, my tone more resonant, my accuracy more accurate, my upper range more accessable. In short, there have been no bad results of these excersizes.

Hope they help you, too,

Brian
_________________
Flip Oakes Wild Thing
LA Benge 5X
Kanstul 1025 Flugel

There is one reason that I practice: to be ready at the downbeat when the final trumpet sounds.

[garrett901]

shofarguy Wrote:

[John Mohan]

I'm going to expand a bit on what I posted earlier:

The pedal note exercises in Claude's "Systematic Approach" book, when done as assigned, will correct almost any and all embouchure deficiencies over time. Please don't fall into the trap of thinking your particular alledged embouchure deficiency falls outside the norms of what the pedal note exercises will correct. The odds of that being the case are probably less than one in a thousand.

Trust me - I speak from experience.

Think of that line from the Terminator movies (with a slight modification):

Come with me if you want to play.

Best wishes,

John Mohan

[trpt.hick]

Loud lip bends are good. Pedal tones are good, too.

[trumpet_bob_silver]

I got Gordan books a few years ago. I still never used them -- It went too high right away. They're around here somewhere.... grr...

[John Mohan]

[trumpet_bob_silver]

Looks like whatever I was doing, just firming up the lips, etc., was effective. Too effective. My playing crashed. Which isn't great, but at least I know it doesn't take much to overdo it with these.

(Although I have been more tired lately, so I don't think I'm healing up as fast. Still an effective exercise though. My lips and checks are sore.)

[eric33]

the new cat anderson book could help you a lot: the way you must practice the warm-up helps to find a balance between the higher and lower lip.

Eric

http://www.myspace.com/larealfabrica
http://www.masbajo.net/

[trumpet_bob_silver]

I did some buzzing, without mouthpiece. It was relieving. I don't think the mouthpiece helps much when the lip muscles are fatigued.