Lips
General Considerations
- Mouthpiece placement: You'll want to place the inner rim of the mouthpiece
just above the vermilion border, where the red of the upper lip and the skin meet.
- The lips should always be flexible and moist to move freely in the mouthpiece.
Learn to roll them in and out, and do isometric exercises for strength.
- The activated Orbicularis Oris -- the circular muscle around the mouth --
is the basic ingredient of the aperture, the "air hole" in the center of the
embouchure (lip and facial muscles involved).
- The entire embouchure setting is increasingly drawn toward the center by
means of lateral movement when ascending into the upper register and
gradually relaxes when descending into the middle and low register. This
activity, commonly known as "The Pucker Embouchure," operates like an
air valve and is supported by the constantly tightened lip corners.
Upper Lip
- In the low register both lips vibrate. In the middle register the upper lip
vibrates more than the lower lip. In the upper register, it's mostly the upper
lip that vibrates. Therefore: Beware of excessive mouthpiece pressure
toward the upper lip in the upper register. Mouthpiece pressure should
always be minimized to the amount necessary to seal the lips.
- In order to reduce the pressure on the upper lip in the upper register
experiment with the pivot. A lot of players with an overbite benefit from
angling the instrument slightly downwards in the high register.
Lower Lip
- With the Orbicularis Oris flexed, the lower lip constantly manipulates the
size of the aperture depending upon the degree the music being played
ascends (slightly moving inwards) or descends (slightly moving outwards).
Be aware though: This is not the same as "puckering." Here we are talking
about a vertical movement (mostly used in the low and middle register);
"puckering" is a horizontal movement (mostly used in the upper register).
