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Tone Centering for Trumpet

sound. A properly functioning aperture requires a balance between firmness and softness, wind and muscle, flow and
flesh. The aperture is really a nozzle controlling the air column’s focus and speed and must remain soft enough to vibrate
freely, firm enough to produce desired
pitches and open enough to allow
air to flow. Excess tension dampens
vibration adversely affecting tone and
intonation. Inadequate tension leads
to an unstable sound and limited
range. A well-developed embouchure,
when properly trained and adequately
fueled can remain more relaxed and
therefore exert less effort in tone
production thus enhancing vibration,
resonance and endurance.
A common problem with aperture formation is the tendency to press the lips too tightly together, especially in the
upper register, thus closing off the “nozzle” and limiting the flow of air. If the lips are pressed so tightly together that air
cannot flow through them sufficiently, they will not vibrate. No amount of pressing or straining will work if there is no
room for the air to travel through the lips and make them buzz. This presents us with a dilemma: How are we to tighten
our lips for the upper register if tightening tends to close the aperture and stop the flow of air? The answer may be found
in studying Trumpeter’s Enemy Number One: Excessive Mouthpiece Pressure. Why does mouthpiece pressure work? It
“works” because we are using our arms to do what our lips ought to be doing—compressing against the firm foundation of
the dental structure and producing a resilient vibrating surface which can react with increased air speed to produce higher
frequency vibrations. But pressing creates a whole host of other problems—swollen lips, bruising, cuts and abrasions
along with tone and intonation issues. What we need to do instead is compress the lips against the teeth by using the
lip muscles themselves, not our arms. This allows the lips to become firm enough to produce higher pitches without
closing off the opening that
lets the air pass through and
energize them.
The contracted muscle
becomes thicker providing
a foundation as well as a
protective cushion between
the teeth and the mouthpiece.
This “pucker tempered with a
smile” is a fundamental characteristic of all effective brass embouchures. The lips come in towards the teeth as if to smile,
but the corners stay firmly planted without stretching back as the area of lip outside the mouthpiece moves toward the
center of the mouth as if to grip the outside of the mouthpiece.
Great caution must be used when reading about or working on the embouchure! It is extremely easy to do too much
of something and throw the whole mechanism out of balance. Use good judgment and common sense, and above all,
use your ears. Good sound and good technique go hand-in-hand.

Bandmasters Review • June 2019 25 Texas Bandmasters Association