This is not an unusual problem. I have had this problem and I'm told that many horn players have similar problems with at least some of the notes in the range to which you refer. In my case I do three exercises as part of my daily warmup to overcome this and, as a result, most people don't know I have this problem, but if I neglect to do these exercises for a time, the problem comes right back, so it appears that it is not curable, but takes constant diligence to keep it at bay. The exercises I do are these. First I play each note pp without tonguing, sometimes called whoo attack. You will eventually be able to start each note cleanly, airless and right on the beat. Second I play 16 beat long tones at mm 60, ppp-fff-ppp, striving for a completely smooth dynamic transition with no wavering in the sound. Third I tongue the major scale from c1 down to C and back up at ff, making sure I get an equal ff volume and nice clean accurate attack on each note with no wavering. I do the same from c1 up to c2 and back if I think it is needed. When I do these exercise I use as little pressure as possible and I keep my embouchure and air pressure steady on each note, opening and narrowing my throat and sometimes raising the back of my tongue as needed to control my dynamics. I hope this helps you.
Loren Mayhew \@() [EMAIL PROTECTED] (520) 403-6897 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ellen Miller Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 7:50 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Hornlist] embouchure problem I'm pretty sure this is a result of overpracticing, but I'm not sure how to fix it: I'm having trouble articulating anything from about first line E down to an octave below - at least not with a normal embouchure. I tend to just get air instead of sound. I feel like I can't get my lips to come close enough together to vibrate. Besides that, everthing looks fine in a mirror, and my high range and pedals are fine. I tried taking a few days off, but it felt the same when I came back. As of a couple of weeks ago, I was free lancing full time, after graduating in 2001. I don't know what's going on - any ideas? _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/lorenmayhew%40comcast.net _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
