EMBOUCHURE: Are You Doing This? | Trombone Basics 

I was looking up a ton of trombone resources earlier today for some help (kinda frantically just coming to terms with the fact that I have a lot to fix in my technique--might have even discovered a little bit of focal dystonia), and whew I'm glad I stumbled across this. I didn't know about the jaw/air information, and I think it really helped my lungs and my embouchure out.

You are a very good teacher who explained things well, very light hearted and funny with it too, which gets you the fifth star in my book 👍

I especially like the in-depth info on how having your teeth/jaw more closed can negatively affect your tone. There are many aspects of playing that we take for granted that we are doing "right," so it's good to get some more insight into these things, especially as an instructor. Thanks for spending a few hours putting this together and sharing it.

As a 50 something coming back after 30+ years away, I find your playful approach refreshing, fun and informative! I appreciate the content your are creating! Sub'd!

Thanks Allison: This was very helpful; especially the parts on jaw opening and pressure. I constantly fight agains too much pressure as I try to play higher notes. I'll look forward to some more videos from you.

Some nice points, last year was conducting a musical and trumpet player donated me a trumpet, loved it so much, I've now ordered a trombone to try

So cool you did this video with simple explanations - I can use this when I give low brass clinics !!

Thank you. Spot on!

This is awesome!!! Thank you!

Thank you Allison....this is very affirming and helpful

thanks, Mrs. martin I've been trying to improve my tone quality, so this helped a lot.

This was very helpful!

Thank you for this video and your advice. As far as I'm concerned, I am always switching from a "natural" and flexible embouchure in legato, and a "tight " embouchure for staccato. Difficult to decide which embouchure I should stick to at all times, especially in the middle of the register.

Oh! I see! Thank you!

thank you! very helping video

Thank you!

You should have 10x more subscribers then you have, Beutiful video, I learn a lot!

Long time jazz trombonist, found this quite helpful :) looking forward to trying to implement some of these principles ^^

Excellent tutorial. I've been playing for many decades and it wasn't until fairly recently that I started to take my tone seriously. Everything you mentioned is 100% true. The main thing that I found that helped me was to relax.... relax.... relax and stop worrying about things too much. Play it loose, play it fun. When I started with the 4 valve I had to really focus on air control and not tightening the throat too much. Again, relaxing and playing loose improved my tone immensely. That, and experimenting with different mouthpieces (mouthpiece selection is a very dimly understood concept) I can hear a clear difference from recordings I made 5 years ago compared to today. The hardest lesson I had to learn was that if you aren't having fun, then you aren't doing right....:)

Ah, I didn't realize until now that I was clenching my teeth. Thank you! 😊

thank you so much i am not the best with playing my trombone so thank you so much for helping me

I think you'd find the MRI photos of specific brass players head while playing to be very interesting. You'll see a very subtile correlation between range, dynamics, jaw position, oral cavity size. For all of these prolific brass players, these 4 playing aspects were in a continual proportional flux. As to buzzing. I used to be a trumpet player. I experienced an embouchure collapse predicated by a dental accident. My teachers afterwards were "buzzers". The result of this buzzing, both free buzzing and with the mouthpiece was a chronically tight throat, an inability to breathe out because of that, an inability to EVER transfer the pitch from free buzzing to buzzing on mouthpiece to instrument (I was continually at least a fourth off) and this resulted in uneven performance quality which then led to confidence problems with an end inability to perform in public at all. Which led to a 9 year break from playing, concentrating instead on conducting. Then I took up the trombone, determined to make a totally fresh start and NOT to make any of the mistakes I did on the trumpet. That was in 1991. No more buzzing of any kind. Instead using the Chichowitz air flow exercises, starting on mid-low f and expanding range in both directions alternative. Only increasing range when I could get and hold good tone quality. In 1996 I got a performance/teaching degree in tenor t-bone nd immediately switching to bass trombone. Was then founded a local professional trombone 4-tett and got into a local orchestra on bass bone. Retired last year. In my current playing, mouth/jaw aperture combines with lateral jaw position to expand working range (high range=jaw back slightly closed, air moving downwards as if across my chin. Pedals=jaw thrust forward and slightly more open, air going directly into the mouthpiece throat - ie the bass trombone "shift") And listen to what Christian Lindberg has to say about buzzing - you have to admit, his perspective works for him. At the end of the day, there is no one "correct" embouchure. Everyone has to see what position on the face, airflow direction, mouth cavity positions "work" best. And what works for one can be absolute poison for another.

Super!

You’re funny and this was very informative ✌️❤️

Nice thank you

Thanks I've been having problem with airy trombone embrochure that's been affecting my tone.

Hi , for me its less pressure the better , i have no teeth so my corners have to be extra tight , it starts to get difficult the higher i play and totally agree its like a constant battle but my attitude is it will not beat me , teeth they just got in the way

You actually helped me locate my problem. I barely started playing the trombone at the end of 2020 and I didn't even know how to read music(I still have so much trouble) and I would almost always get in trouble by my band teacher for having a strained and weak sound. My band teacher keeps saying to relax my throat and shape my mouth into an O but I find it so hard and I keep getting strained sounds. It seems more likely that I was pushing the mouth piece to hard against my teeth and tightening my lips So hard that my braces dig into my flesh and cause it to feel tender. He also said I needed to up my air stream but I don't even understand how!!! He doesn't explain it in a way I understand cuz he's like 60 or something!!!!

I play tenor an baritone saxophone for 19 months every day I just pick up a bach mouth piece 6.5 al just useing the piece until my trombone arrives in 3 weeks I will try your methods.the you explain it looks pertty ez only Im getting a valve trombone .your thoughts

thank you so much. I enjoyed your talking&playing. perhaps I can understand you. (sometime I cannot.)

This is my very first time ever commenting on a video.. And i only clicked on the "Like"..because there was no "Love it "button .

I like you I wish you were my instructor! I might be able to actually play by now!🤣

カメラめっちゃ綺麗やん！

Nice job. Just found you

😊

I've been pressing the mouthpiece hard on my lips since I started playing, so when I took it off to practice putting down less pressure, the quality of my sound went downhill drastically. Rather than producing a clean tone, it sounded flubby, and I couldn't keep a stable note very well. I also couldn't figure out how to actually tighten my embouchure to hit higher notes without pressing the mouthpiece harder into my lips. Any tips?

That's okay I'll clean my screen later

Alison did you study with dr. Steve WMU ?

420th like, gegegegegeg i have a lot of trouble with how hard i pressed my mouth to my mouthpiece, have to relax my embouchure to compensate, i guess i know what i need to fix now

Every player engages the embouchure lip muscles to firm the embouchure to play higher tones. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Relaxed lips play low tones. What's with all the mouthpiece playing? That is one of the worst things to recommend. If you play as if buzzing you WILL have inferior tone.