"I tried rolling-in and it f***ed up my embouchure" - what to do

I had a conversation recently which I'm grateful - because it surfaced a blind spot that is ESSENTIAL to using the information I'm putting out about #highrange for #frenchhorn.
It is REALLY IMPORTANT to practice these enhanced ranges of motion, squeaks, squeals, etc., in BALANCE with the rest of your playing load.
So if you don't practice a lot, you shouldn't do a whole lot of high range experimentation or you might struggle to find your way "back home".
You shouldn't be doing more than 1/3 (really not more than 25%, unless you are super focused on high range) of your practice trying out unfamiliar or novel ways of playing.
In general, progress pace should be adjusted to match your overall level of practice momentum & progress.
This video covers how to do that 🙂
#healthy #deliberatepractice

[@beforhorn]

You've just described THE BALANCED EMBOUCHURE by Jeff Smiley, published in 2001. It took all these years for his terms, "Roll-In" and "Roll-Out", and "dragging up" and "dragging down" to become accepted as legit in high brass embouchure pedagogy. He was derided by the "big shots" in the trumpet and horn community for developing a method that focuses on establishing an efficient balance between the forces of roll-in/roll-out and air. (I was also derided for promoting it for quite a few years, if you recall!) I'm glad to see his ideas finally being accepted and used around the world.

[@marsgelfo]

thanks valerie! yes, Jeff Smiley deserves a lot of credit for helping develop, name, and share out these ideas despite it not being very popular (Jerome Callet and Claude Gordon also deserve credit in the trumpet world). And you really helped bring it to the horn world. I remember trying BE in 2001 when it first came out and I got my first taste of high notes, but it did not at all bridge to my normal playing despite trying the exercises for years after that. Maybe I just needed better guidance? It wasn't until I integrated the tonguing ideas from Claude Gordon, the mechanical leverage principles of Wing Chun Kung Fu, the pedagogy of Arnold Jacobs (massively important to me), and some deep alexander technique work with multiple gurus (Alex Farkas deserves massive credit), that the high range finally came in for me, 15 years after I first started playing with Balanced Embouchure. That said, the roll-in, roll-out, etc. have been super important to me and now that I've evolved them a bit into my own approach, they have been getting me massive benefits.

[@geminimusicstudios9197]

Balanced Embouchure by Jeff smiley

[@marsgelfo]

@geminimusicstudios9197 I believe that Jeff Smiley is the one who coined the term "roll in" and "roll out" as well as "drag down". My opinion is that while he did us a great service by doing so, thank goodness these are now fairly standard terms in brass pedagogy and don't need to be capitalized or origin-storied every time they are mentioned. If you want to read my full list of acknowledgements & credit for the system of high range liberation that I teach, and why I don't mention Balanced Embouchure every time I make content, please see this public post: facebook.com/groups/936224677134174/permalink/1258636548226317/

[@MattAllenTeller]

Looks to me like you are re-presenting The Balanced Embouchure by Jeff Smiley without giving him credit.

[@marsgelfo]

i learned some things from Jeff Smileys's approach, though I'm not sure if he's the one that coined roll-in and roll-out. I've also integrated Claude Gordon's approach through Jeff Purtle, Arnold Jacobs via Dick Erb, Myron Bloom via a year of undergrad with him, Michael Hoeltzel, Pip Eastop, Vocal Alexander Technique, Jeff Nelsen via university studies, Gail Williams via university studies, Bob Ward via playing together in San Francisco Symphony, Julie Landsman via playing together and working together, Jen Montone via playing & talking at length together in Philly, Dave Cooper via playing & talking at length together, super important learnings from Joshua MacCluer when he was principal trumpet at Hong Kong Philharmonic, and many others who deserve credit. I can't do a full acknowledgement reel every time I make a video though. I appreciate you bringing attention to all the amazing players & pedagogues who have moved the art forward though :)

[@marsgelfo]

oops can't forget to credit andrew bain who helped me with corners, valerie wells who helped translate balanced embouchure to horn, andrew joy who made it normal, Eric Terwilliger who helped me with yogic relaxation and understanding of balance, Bill Vermuelen who helped me in private lessons with the path, Noa Kageyama who helped me in private coachings + group course on practice technique, etc. Lots of gratitude!

[@snrnsjd]

​@@marsgelfo thats why we need each other :)

[@marsgelfo]

@@snrnsjd it takes a village! and what a brilliant world village of musicians we have these days