The Tongue Controlled Embouchure??

[Dan Schultz]

After a rehearsal last week a trumpet player started a conversation about Tongue Controlled Embouchure. He suggest that it is when a brass player rested their tongue against the lower lip and between their teeth.

My first reaction was "how else would I be doing it?" Talking to another trumpet player after a rehearsal a couple of days later about it... he said there was no way he could tongue without his tongue being BEHIND his teeth.

I'm curious what this is all about. Have I been doing something wrong all these years? ... or is this a matter of mouthpiece size?

[Erik_Sweden]

Hi all,

I have always played with my toungue behind my teaths (I started to play on trumpet, then euphonium and now tuba), then a tuba friend told me to test play with toungue between teath and I found that it is much easier and gives me a distinct articulation this way (especially in low range). It may be a bad way to play but it works great for me.
I guess if it sounds good then it is good

[Donn]

I tongue the same way as I pronounce a "T" in ordinary speech. I understand either way works.

[happyroman]

I think a lot of how we should approach articulation depends on the instrument and the size (diameter) of the mouthpiece, which in turn determines the length of the opening of the embouchure, and to a certain degree, the thickness of the air column presented to the lips. If you read the introductory information in the Arban's method for trombone (Randall/Mantia), they say that correct articulation is produced by the withdrawal of the tongue from between the lips, as if one was going to "throw off a small seed." For higher pitched instruments, such as the trumpet, the tongue may actually strike the roof of the mouth behind the teeth, just as when we pronounce the word TAH.

However, regardless of where the tongue actually strikes in the mouth, the psychological motivation should be approached just like diction in speech. As we are playing, we hear the word TAH in our head and the tongue will replicate this as best as it can, depending on the length of the embouchure and the thickness of the air column.

A couple of points that Arnold Jacobs made regarding articulation included making sure that the tongue retracts during act of articulation. It is a downward movement, not an upward movement. Also, the vowel is to be emphasized over the consonant in order to keep the tongue low in the mouth and allow a thick column of air to reach the lips. The articulation should be 5% consonant and 95% vowel.

The tongue is an unruly beast, and if allowed to, will completely fill the oral cavity and choke off the air stream, preventing the embouchure from receiving the fuel supply it need to vibrate. Since we can't feel where it is in our mouth very well (there is very little sensory feedback from the tongue to the brain), diction is the best way to control it. Think TAH, TOH, or TOO while blowing thick air past the lips and all should work out well in the end.