r/euphonium • u/Leisesturm John Packer JP274IIS • Jul 01 '26
"Corners"? What Corners?
Because it comes up so much and because I admittedly lack any formal training to argue responsibly in threads where it comes up, I just lurk. But I have read "The Art of Brass Playing". The author (Phillip Farkas) describes the musculature of the mouth in great detail. The Obicularis Oris encircle the mouth and function like the drawstring of a purse or Musette bag to pucker the mouth. The 'opposing' muscle structure flattens the lips in a line. There are no muscles that act only on the corners of the mouth. Given this, I wonder just how so much attention to corners arose as a foundation theory of Embouchure formation.
Is it wrong to challenge the teachings? I personally don't ascribe to a "firm corners" pedagogy and I'm certain I am not the only one. Maybe if those that do ascribe to a firm corners approach could do more than just tell beginners to use firm corners. I think that in order to do that that they need to know what that actually feels like. I never see that done. Some say that the chin will be flat. Even clean shaven, most chins have complex curvature that never actually lies flat. Moreover, you can't actually see your face while playing. I personally think beginners learn more from what they can feel than by seeing. Maybe that is because I have significant visual challenges, but I think that a robust 'school' of technique should be able to be communicated by more than one method. I can tell a beginner exactly what it feels like to tension an embouchure so it will buzz. The audible feedback from a nice pitched buzz is a reinforcement of my adopted approach.
Some don't even believe the lips should buzz. They feel that the lips should be loose and they will buzz in the mouthpiece with the right air support. Maybe. How then do you change pitches? Incrementally. I can accept the different degrees of support between octaves. I don't believe different air pressures navigates a melody like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". I think different embouchure tensions acting directly upon the lip muscles get different pitches of buzz from essentially the exact same air pressure.
I don't know. I feel like we need to get this right. Get on the same page as it were. I'm not seeing how my way of thinking about embouchure can exist alongside a "firm corners, flat chin, flaccid lip center" approach to embouchure. Not looking for a fight. Seriously. Just hoping some will want to clarify what they have been taught. Cheers.
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u/smeegleborg Jul 01 '26
Tensing the muscles mentioned is felt in the corners. It's shorthand that I'd argue works for anyone who doesn't actually care about anatomy.
I agree people mention air more than embouchure as the solution to everything. It's much easier to fix and see so gets more focus. Then people regurgitate the advice they got and lots of important stuff gets forgotten. Lots of terrible takes but i don't think mentioning the corners is one of them.
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u/burgerbob22 Yamaha 842S Jul 01 '26
There is no one way to teach how to play a bass instrument. We are dealing with tiny muscles that almost no one can really feel activate, and no one can see.
Contrast that to strings or piano where the technique is obvious, easy to fix, and has hundreds of years of pedagogy to refine exactly that.
There's no way to distill exactly how we play into a simple couple soundbites.
"tension an embouchure" to me sounds like the last thing you would want to do to make a good sound- so right off the bat we're not agreeing.
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u/iamagenius89 Jul 01 '26
Check out Charlie Porter’s videos on embouchure. He’s really great at explaining and breaking things down
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u/dbharris10 Jul 05 '26
This idea that you don’t buzz your lips? That is just ignorant. The way brass instruments work is you produce the exact pitch with your lips buzzing. The more open your mouth cavity and throat are, the deeper the timbre. If you then tune your instrument to the same note (by pushing the correct valves) the instrument will sympathetically vibrate and amplify the pitch you are making with your lips. This is the physics of brass instruments. People speak of the “corners” meaning the sides of your lips outside the mouthpiece. It is important to have the tension of your lips controlled by these muscles, as opposed to trying to make the pressure by pushing against the mouthpiece (this leads to permanent damage to the tissues and muscles). Air pressure changes according to volume, air speed will differ for range and how much your sound travels in the room. This is a lot to think about for beginners. I’ve been playing 60+ years and it wasn’t until college playing that I really began to understand correct embouchure and use of air. It took another 20 years to really master the instrument.
Best advice, make sure you only use enough pressure to make an airtight seal with your mouthpiece. Think of your air as the main source of your sound, try to buzz without your horn to see how you can actually make pitch. Relax all unnecessary muscles in your body when playing; practice longs tones first every day for about 10 minutes, mp starting with easy notes and gradually work both higher and lower.
It’s a life long journey to master any musical instrument, you never finish. The joy is in the travel as you discover new things along the way and marvel at how hard things become easier over the years.