Posted by K on May 11, 2003 at 10:09:09:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Lips hurting? posted by Rick Denney on May 11, 2003 at 09:24:32:
Lack of blood, pressure on a nerve, or maybe another explanation?
I haven't suffered too much pain by playing anything but French horn. Yet my playing many very differing members of my brass instruments collection have had me thinking about the question, whether a player can force his/hers lips to relax in the sense of reshaping them to allow and encourage all basic biological functions.
My answer gathered from actual playing experience is: YES!
Long before I entered the computing world, I found the reset button for my embouchure(-s). It apparently is not a recognised modus operandi, as I rarely have gotten a serious answer, when I have touched this point in previous postings on various low brass forums.
Try to play a forced (that is lip strength controlled, but non-pressure) glissando from the 2nd partial to the 1st partial and back to the 2d partial (of course neither valves nor slides should be involved). By means of a strongly flowing air support make the "break/non-sounding" interval (in musical speaking) as small as possible. Eventually make it disappear. One could say, that one should let embouchure-strength win over instrument resonance. (Mpc alone exercises are good, but should only be considered being the entry stage).
Wise readers will reply, that a strong appliance of muscle strength will not cause relaxation. Rather that relaxation will be strongly counteracted. Wise reply.
But this full control, eventually, glissando involves a thorough, evolving, and non-static reshape of ones lip tissue structure. At some stretch or another of the movement blood will stream through all of the tiny vessels. And likewise nerves will get space to re-uptake electrical activity.
The value of this exercise is enhanced by making it chromatically descending through as many fingerings/slide positions as possible. On the lower tubas there are not that many fingerings, that respond positively to this not exactly easy exercise. G should be achievable for most, F for the really persistent ones. My experience says, that it is much more important to be able to do a perfect glissando on the open horn, than to do badly controlled glisses on ever so many different fingerings.
Klaus