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Good Morning Embouchure

Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 8:02 am
by Anterux
Is it normal to dont have a good embouchure in the morning?

When I play in the morning I have to worm up longer. My facial muscles seam tense, with little flexibility. after a longer worm up it starts to go well. Is this normal?

Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 8:17 am
by JayW
Thi is actually a topic i recall discussing at length in college with one of the brass profs. In the AM after you wake up your face (embouchure) just like all muscles is not all that loose. Also your lips tend to retain a very small amount of water through the sleeping process so like any good athlete it is necessary for us to warm ourselves up. I would liken it to this scenario: If you were a runner, jumped out of bed and expected to go on a long run right away it would probably take you quite a bit to get your muscles warmed up. However if it was say late morning or afternoon and you had been up and walking around for a while, the process of getting everything warmed up to run would not take you ask long because the muscles would have already been used. So I hope that makes sense and helps you a little bit.

Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:29 pm
by Chen
Remember to get plenty of sleep, too.

Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 5:31 pm
by Anterux
I have a 14 month child... not easy to get a good sleep... :P

Re: Good Morning Embouchure

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:28 am
by Captain Sousie
Anterux wrote:Is it normal to dont have a good embouchure in the morning?

When I play in the morning I have to worm up longer. My facial muscles seam tense, with little flexibility. after a longer worm up it starts to go well. Is this normal?
Yes.

Re: Good Morning Embouchure

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:20 pm
by smurphius
Anterux wrote:When I play in the morning I have to worm up longer.
Could you explain the WORM up process. :D

I have often wondered if there is a relationship between the concept of singers needing to be awake several hours before singing and us brass folk and warm-ups. Essentially, vocalists are told to wake up earlier on days of concerts so that their vocal chords will be ready for the singing. I guess the talking they do (which we all know is a lot) may help them. I could see where the same may hold true for us??

Anyone?

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 7:47 pm
by dopey
i notice the same thing, im at my peak if I play in the morning and put it away and come back later in the day.. then it feels really good:D

I dont' have a problem in the morning tho, since that is normal band stuff and nothing challenging compared to all region/audition pieces.

Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 9:18 pm
by tubatooter1940
Anterux,
With a 14 month old child,I assume that you love life is on track.I think of a big concert where our best trumpeter had no lip after smooching with his girl for hours the night before.Too much kissing(if that's possible) can devastate one's embochere for up to 48 hours after the happy event.
Could this be a problem?If so there are worse situations one could be faced with.
Good luck,
tubatooter1940

Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 6:52 pm
by Anterux
Too much kissing(if that's possible) can devastate one's embochere for up to 48 hours after the happy event.
That could be part of the problem! :oops:

he he!