The Ultimate Embouchure Challenge

[@ThomasHaehnlein]

Hey guys, I'm happy to announce the release of my ebook "Jazz Improvisation for Beginners: Improvising with the Blues Scale". If you're new to improvising, this might be something for you! :) You can find more information here: www.thomashaehnlein.com/shop

[@stewartwforbes]

I recommend thinking about pushing the mouth corners inwards towards the ‘Centre’. . . Thomas is quite correct in describing the shape. I’ve found that I got better results in teaching the ‘traditional’ embouchure firstly, and I am a rampant Bebopper. Lip out with beginners is tricky.

[@peedrowchan-man102]

I am glad to hear this because sometimes I wonder if other players also release air from the corners of their mouth while playing as I sometimes do, and if that’s OK

[@ThomasHaehnlein]

Just to be sure: I mean this only as an exercise / challenge, but not as a regular thing to do when you play. When you feel the need to release air because you have too much left, you might not let enough air through the mouthpiece or your reeds might be too soft

[@adriancriscuolo8797]

Thomas Buen día!!! Muchas gracias por tu valioso tiempo y ayudarnos a mejorar nuestro sonido!!! Un Fuerte Abrazo!!!

[@rickstokes2239]

I tend to think of it differently. Air is what makes the sound by vibrating the reed on the mouthpiece. The Air causes the attack to create the notes and the sound. Our Embouchure is the entirety of our ability to control the Air starting with our Diaphragm and the lips are just the valve which will help control the reed to shape the sound we’re listening for. The goal is to practice until what we expect to hear is produced.

[@jihaenglee4308]

How much muscle strength do you need for the corners of your mouth? Is it right to fix the corners of my mouth and relax my lower jaw?

[@ThomasHaehnlein]

Hi jihaenglee, I’d recommend my other video I did about this topic, you’ll find the answer to your question there :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3S7mIunq8yIr6M

[@Krmvsymr]

Very good broo

[@Jaujau933]

😱 Just practice and many of these things will take care of themselves.

[@calebcunningham9000]

I was tought that you need to have firm corners. Through this, I have found that I am able to be flexible in my jaw. How does this excercise help that? The excercise seems to be puttting the pressure in the jaw, which I have found leads to decreased flexability.

[@JayCee-hw4zc]

Same here. So good question.

[@ThomasHaehnlein]

Thanks for the question! Since a few people asked this as a response to the video, let me try to do another video about this soon. In short: you don’t really need a firm embouchure at all

[@BsktImp]

Thanks for the video. A bit confused: are you saying the normal playing embouchure is for air to escape from the corners of the mouth, or is this just a specific exercise to measure the level of control a player has? Also, if you're a clarinet player what are the differences in embouchure, and what are the challenges transitioning to sax?

[@ThomasHaehnlein]

Thanks for watching! Yes, it’s only a specific exercise. The main difference between saxophone and clarinet is that a clarinet’s embouchure is more firm, similar to a classical saxophone embouchure. The biggest challenge is to losen up your embouchure and for that f.e. the exercise to let air escape through the corners of the mouthpiece can help

[@BsktImp]

@@ThomasHaehnlein 👍

[@adriancriscuolo8797]

Thomas Buen día!!! Por Favor, podrías mejorar este tutorial ta que sale error cuando solicito traducción. Muchas Gracias!!!!

[@ThomasHaehnlein]

Hola Adrián, extraño que no lo hiciera, ¿quizás ahora?

[@dennis524]

Hey Thomas, I see you've got yourself a different mouthpiece. What might it be? Thanks and have a good one.

[@ThomasHaehnlein]

Hey Dennis, yeah I've found a vintage Selmer Soloist (long shank) recently which plays great :)

[@dennis524]

@@ThomasHaehnlein Good luck with it.