ARTICULATION PART II
Mouthpiece placement
Having maximized lip vibration with a careful approach to breath control and embouchure formation, it is vital to make sure the position of the mouthpiece allows efficient continuity. Although the lip aperture forms a natural clue to the placement of the mouthpiece, one must consider a range of factors affecting horizontal and vertical positioning.
Placing the mouthpiece centrally is universally encouraged, given that the lip is sure to vibrate more efficiently in its fleshier part. The shape of the aperture is also important; a rounded one is preferable to oval shaped in order to avoid stretching and resultant harder, thinner tone with limited volume and range. Phillip Farkas calls this the forming of a ‘U’ aperture in his now widely established reference work entitled The Art of Brass Playing. Indeed, the pucker necessary to form the embouchure should also help in forming a rounder aperture, as opposed to a stretched or smiling slit.
Embouchure Apertures
Placement of the mouthpiece in the centre of the embouchure will allow muscles to work in a more symmetrical manner. However, if the lip vibration is stronger when the mouthpiece is placed off-centre then one must look for a reason. This will usually be because of the unique positioning of teeth and gums relative to the lip, between individuals so that a certain amount of experimentation may be necessary to establish comfort, ease and efficiency.
Buzzing on the mouthpiece alone is widely encouraged and enhances concepts of pitch and muscular awareness. This had lead to the development of elaborate aids to education, one such example being the visualizer. This is a mouthpiece rim attached to a rod for convenient use so that the exact function of the lip can be observed during buzzing.
Visualizer, B.E.R.P. and cut away mouthpiece.
Other accessories are are admirably illustrated in Mastering the Trombone by Edward Kleinhammer and Douglas Yeo. They include ‘cut away’ mouthpieces, the B.E.R.P (Buzz Extension Resistance Piece) and an eight-inch extension to the mouthpiece to simulate resistance developed by Ralph Sauer (Principal Trombone Los Angeles Philharmonic) and known as the Forced Air Resistance Tube (F.A.R.T). Naturally the rather humours acronyms used enhance popularity among our traditionally fun-loving brethren. The B.E.R.P. is a particularly useful tool, resembling a mouthpiece shank attached to a parallel mouthpiece receiver. The idea is that the player places the mouthpiece in to the empty receiver and simulates playing in every way, except while buzzing the chosen exercise.
Excessive mouthpiece pressure is common, usually prompted by poor embouchure formation and breathing and will inevitably hamper the efficiency of any lip vibration. When buzzing on the mouthpiece alone always ensure that one holds it lightly between one finger and the thumb. This will help the player to ‘pull away’ a little, thereby encouraging maximum support and freedom of lip vibration while still maintaining a seal. Peter Gane recommends further use of this concept in his excellent manual, Circuit Training, by balancing the instrument (in this case the trombone) with the thumb and middle finger of the left hand between the slide and bell section to minimise mouthpiece pressure. All the energy and support should then originate from the abdominal muscles.
It may also be fair to assume that maximum efficiency would arise from projecting the air straight down the throat of the mouthpiece. However, deeper investigation reveals that for a typical low note air enters the mouthpiece at a slight downward angle and only the extreme pedal register goes ‘straight through’.
Embouchure Action
These two illustrations from Denis Wick’s book, Trombone Technique, demonstrate that the pedal notes seem to possess virtually no resistance absorbing huge quantities of breath. High notes, however, have significant resistance as the air from the lip is directed progressively downward, on the lower part of the cup from the throat towards the rim.
Striking points of air stream on lower mouthpiece cup
This can be clearly demonstrated by buzzing on the lip alone and holding one’s hand under the chin. The opposite is true of players with a significant under bite or ‘upstream’ embouchure. Such players often produce shrill high register notes in preference to a poor quality or sometimes, nonexistent low register. However, compromise can often produce unorthodox success stories.
Mouthpiece Placement Profile
As illustrated above, placing the mouthpiece at right angles to the facial profile can only promote efficiency in line with maximising vibration by positioning the lips opposite one another when actually forming the embouchure.
Taking the size of the mouthpiece into consideration, there are many different opinions as to the best vertical position, though two-thirds on the top and one third on the lower lip is commonly recommended. Farkas actually includes photographs of colleagues from the Chicago Symphony Brass Section to demonstrate this point. Legendry Jazz Trombonist Tommy Dorsey, however, recommends players with thinner lips to adopt half and half placement while some older manuals suggest that a third on the upper and two thirds on the lower lip is preferable, in particular for people with severe under bites,
Ensuring quality of tone and flexibility throughout the range is a universal quest with the position of the mouthpiece proving a crucial element to success. The fact that most players lubricate their lips with saliva, enabling the lips to slide within the mouthpiece, has given rise to what is known as the ‘pivot system’ as advocated in Donald Reinhardt’s Pivot System for Trombone: A Complete Manual of Studies (1942). Some players recommend resting the weight of the mouthpiece on the lower lip thus releasing the upper lip to contract for changes in pitch. However, in my experience I believe the opposite to be preferable, keeping the top lip static in the mouthpiece and sliding the bottom jaw down and forward for a really controlled and focused lower register which is accurately reflected by the buzzing position of the lips.
We are all familiar with the fact that the bottom lip is fuller and fleshier than the top, making it more prone to swelling. Excess pressure on the bottom lip can cause it to swell upwards into the air column and distort the vibration causing an ‘airy’ sound and even in extreme cases a ‘double note effect’. The top lip, on the other hand, is much stronger and usually thinner offering protection to the teeth and gums. Therefore, when the embouchure is formed at the culmination of inhalation, one should carefully try to ‘hang’ the mouthpiece on to the ‘hook shaped’ top lip. The pucker of the top lip can then work in conjunction with a straight chin, everything reinforced by the embouchure muscles.
Finally, it does no harm to remember that a brass instrument can prove to be a dangerous ‘weapon’ in musical terms and so that a careful, considered partnership between abdominal strength and embouchure can only improve accuracy and projection when ‘taking aim!’
The illustrations above are reproduced from :
Embouchure Apertures
Visualizer, BERP and cut away mouthpiece
Mastering the Trombone Kleinhammer/Yeo
EMKO Publications Wisconsin 2000
Embouchure Action
Striking Points of air stream on lower mouthpiece cup
Trombone Technique Denis Wick
Oxford University Press London 1971
Mouthpiece Placement Profile
The Art of Brass Playing Philip Farkas
Edwards Brothers Inc. Michigan 1962