I’ve tried it and find it to be a great tool. I’ve also made a version of my own, and once I noticed the benefits of it, I purchased one.

It’s had some great results with some of my younger students, too. With students that had a pronounced overbite, it relieved the pressure on their top lip and immediately helped create a better sound.

To…[Read more]

Thanks, all great points! I suppose the confusion can stem from Greg saying “it’s a starting point” when playing in the red. I can clearly place my mouthpiece on two places on the spot where, through zero manipulation, the air stream is straight out. One is way in the red on the top lip, and the other one is way in the red on the bottom lip. The s…[Read more]

Thanks for the comments. I agree, for me folding in the bottom lip has limited my range.

Aiming the airstream upward is weird for me since as I ascend like that it turns into the Cat Anderson approach, with teeth together and bunched bottom chin without much of a sound

Thanks so much for your response. I greatly appreciate it.

At first I thought I could make some significant improvements by not changing my embouchure and just focusing on air, shape, and relaxation. That’s great to a point, but after one year, it helped me notice my tension problems and play slightly more efficiently with a tiny improvement i…[Read more]

Okay, so here’s my update after one year. I have become super aware of how much tension I’ve been using, and I improved my sound and endurance slightly, which is always a good thing.

However I’ve been unable to reap any benefits from the new setting or improved range at all.

I can’t seem to transfer any of the ahh-oooh to my regular set up and…[Read more]

wjtakacs, do you do 20-30 mins of just the breath/leadpipe/sympathetic buzz with the mm-oo-ahhh setting? I’ve tried it and it seems like a long time, but not to physically tiring since it can be super relaxed.

It’s after this step where I guess I get a little confused. After I get a sympathetic buzz, I spend 15-20 minutes playing the Singing C e…[Read more]

I’d be interested in seeing what results you get with a new “rolled in” set up with less red. It seems like it should naturally go there after some time. (I’ve been trying to figure that part out for 15+ years). Changing my lip position with the Ahh-ooooo set up seems to be the only promising way, but it’s scary and feels wildly different…[Read more]

This is crazy, I’ve read this thread several times over the last month or so. I was about to post something when I read Bill’s post, and was surprised at how similar his story was to mine.

For me, full time playing and teaching career, with years and years of lessons, books, clinics, methods, and systems, with virtually no increase in range or…[Read more]

Plus, since I’m still struggling with my bottom lip curling in around a G on the staff, “Pu” attacks are near impossible for me if my lips aren’t somewhat in line. So, I find it’s a good exercise for that as well.

Although that might be the case for some, it’s probably not a strength thing. I think there’s value in feeling the corners working while playing a trombone mouthpiece since there’s more cup to vibrate in. When going back to the trumpet mouthpiece, however, it becomes more apparent how subtle the movements need to be. Plus, it really relaxes the c…[Read more]

I found my areas that are a struggle, and I focus on that right now. Mostly, the passive harmonic slurs around 4th space D and higher are a struggle. Most all articulation stuff (passive) is a breeze right now. Also, I’m doing lots of the early Ruby stuff since that’s what seems to help work on my bottom lip from rolling in.

I’m also inter…[Read more]

Yes, the bottom lip rolls under the top lip. I think the “psychology” of blowing the air out straight or up helps a bit.

The inward motion of aperture corners when ascending feels new and challenging to me, which is exciting.

I think I’m in the same boat as many others: I’ve found out what works for me to get the notes out, however it’s no…[Read more]

I find the bottom lip rolling in discussion fascinating since that is how I play. I’ve been trying to correct it for more than 15 years. It creates a lot of compression for me, making it quite easy to squeak higher notes. This makes most exercises here easy to do passively up to about high C and a little beyond, especially articulated. However, a…[Read more]

I didn’t mean opening/closing the jaw but more protruding the jaw out, to combat a slightly receded jaw. Perhaps it’s more tension inducing, but it sure takes a lot of pressure off the top lip and improves my endurance a lot.

I’ve been experimenting a lot with this lately and was wondering if anyone else tries to push out their jaw while ascending to combat the lower lip from rolling in. It does provide a bit of tension, but feels like another part of the “shape” at times.

Thanks for your feedback.
I’m hoping that working on aperture corners through this method and sticking to the process will help.

So, to change your airstream, you’re essentially changing your embouchure, correct?
How do you prevent your bottom lip from rolling in and still maintain a good sound?
I wasn’t sure it was a negative thing since I know a few pros that have zero range issues that roll in their bottom lip.