Horn/Technique/Embouchure

Horn
Introduction General Information Playing Technique Posture and Use of Body Right Hand Usage Breathing and Moving Air Embouchure and Facial Musculature Articulation and Tonguing Playing Dynamics Mutes Reading Music Transposing Music Miscellaneous Techniques Playing with Other Musicians Repertoire Glossary Partial List of Authors

Embouchure is extremely important to producing a good sound on the horn. There are many different opinions as to which embouchure is "correct". However, a standard technique exists that most other embouchure styles are based upon:

• The corners of the lips must do the majority of the work of forming the embouchure. If the corners are not firm, then the player will be forced to push the mouthpiece hard against the lips, which will result in an unpleasant tone quality.
• No part of the embouchure should be tight except for the corners. In particular, the lips must not be jammed together. If the lips are too tight and/or jammed together, the horn will sound very bad, if it can produce a sound at all.
• Thus, a good embouchure has firm, tight corners, and the rest of the embouchure is loose. The lips should be slightly apart in the center so that the air can vibrate the lips easily. Forcing the air is a bad idea. The lips must be able to vibrate constantly and freely without requiring the pressure of the mouthpiece.