Mystery to Mastery Forums WindWorks Roll In, Roll Out Embouchure

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    • #5264
      Hugh
      Participant

      Hey Greg,
      First, I have to say that I’m really liking the course. It’s very well put together and has obviously been very well thought out. I’m a come back player, and I’m trying to get it right this time.

      I have been trying to study your lip setting on the videos. It doesn’t look like your lips are rolled in, and I have read and heard so many things – some have said “roll in when ascending and roll out when descending”. When rolled in, it seems like it’s necessary to kind of clamp down to keep the lips in that condition. I have not yet seen where you reference a “lip setting”, but I’ve not yet gone through everything! It is really confusing, so if you can address it, it would really be of help to me.

      Thanks!

    • #5265
      Greg Spence
      Keymaster

      Hey there Hugh, thanks for your really important question.

      I am going to be totally honest with you, I cannot stand the psychology of “roll” in or out. That is not to say that the embouchure muscles surrounding the aperture do not engage or that the aperture size does not change. I must also add that if the idea works for someone, then they should totally embrace it; clearly it is not working for you.

      I fear that the psychology of the “roll in” can create an incredible clamping down of the oscillator and encourage WAY too much activation of the musculature in the face and throughout the body. Now I am sure that not is the intended result of those that talk about rolling in, but I have seen time and time and time again the issues that this causes.

      Consider that playing a wind instrument is the oscillation of an air column in the horn/body system and the lips responds to that system. If the oscillation goes from sympathetic to “synthetic” i.e. manipulated and artificial, this creates all kinds of inefficiencies.

      I guess you could call the “aaaaahooooh” a roll out – similar to saying mmmmmmooooooo (like a cow)?!?!? maybe, depending on ones definition or idea behind it, but the whole idea of talking about aperture corners and the inward/horizontal sensation is to eliminate the clamping as you ascend. The concept of Roll In, in my mind, encourages clamping.

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