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Two years ago something began changing in my playing. Before that time I could play the Penderecki Capricco very well, without any bigger difficulties.

but it changed

Today Im able to play the bottom register with a big sound, with all dynamics. I'm able to play the very high register with a nice sound without to much effort, and it sounds beautiful most of the time.
But in the mittle register I'm getting lost all the time. For example a legato from the first space a to the third space e is difficult, not to mention the octave changes. I feel blocked, my sounds going to be thin, and there is a bad feeling on the lips.

I really dont know what to do......
I practice scales ( Bobo-Stamp)
I make glissandos ( Claude Gordon)
I use the Jacobs idea- just think about the result-the sound.
I play soft, loud
I make breaks often,

but I feel lost...

Please read it and think about what is wrong, what happened to my lips ??

thanks for any help and I wish you to never feel the same like me !

Best regards!

Have you recorded yourself. Perhaps it doesn't sound as bad as you think. Your standards may have outpaced your progress, but I would bet that you have still made progress.

ubq wrote:I feel blocked, my sounds going to be thin, and there is a bad feeling on the lips.

Conversations with top pros recently have led me to suspect that too much mouthpiece pressure might be to blame for issues like this, and that it's more common among pro players than we admiring hobbyists might realize. The descriptions I head hinted that some high-end players are trying to produce sounds right at the limit of what their horns will support. One mentioned this in the context of playing very dark sounding instruments with a lot of color, and the amount of extra work that comes along with that.

I'll never be able to hack my way through the Penderecki, but it has been a central issue in my own playing, affecting flexibility significantly between my "low-register" and "high-register" chops, which sounds just like what you describe. The trouble spot for me is right around the bottom of the staff and it glows in the dark when doing lip slurs and ornamentation across partials.

I've found an inverse relationship between overall embouchure strength and the need for mouthpiece pressure, with the latter being a coping mechanism for lack of the former. If this were general physical fitness (where I have some real experience), I would worry about overtraining for someone like you, and undertraining for someone like me, with both having a similar ultimate effect.

Of course, all this is pure speculation on my part, but your description rang some of my own bells. Were I you, I would seek out a top teacher who emphasizes a very low-pressure technique and see what he says.

Rick "who thinks it possible for the same issue to appear at multiple levels" Denney

I agree with Rick as to probable cause. I work constantly to back away from my mouthpiece. Pressure is an insidious thing in that it can build up over time as you strive to reach the next step.
Another consideration is breathing. Things like the "Breathing Gymn" and/or "Song and Wind" cover this topic well. If you are not putting a sufficent (read LARGE) quantity of air through the horn, you are forcing your embrochure to do all the work. Adequate air flow can help alleviate the issues you describe. Chris Olka refers to tuba playing as an aerobic activity and I agree. I get lazy and don't work at moving air and then I wonder why my range or certain "easy" things all of a sudden become hard. Typically, we compensate with pressure and start the whole vicious cycle again. Simple things like long tones can build a lot of strength. Again, we as players too often tend to figure that after we reach a certain point of proficiency that we don't need to work that hard on long tones any more and we focus on technique. Big mistake, that.
So, perhaps these thoughts will help you in you quest and with your problem.
Best of luck.

Have you ever taken a break from playing? I find that if I constantly zero in on my chops (I'm speaking horn here) I can work against myself. For me, a break followed by an un-needed change of equipment combined with sight reading in a group can show me that my focus is what is messing me up. Even the un-needed change of equipment (e.g., different mpc) combined with sight reading quartets, can get me playing about twice as well as I was when I was all zeroed in on my chops. Sometimes you just need to back off and have fun for a while.

Hoping someone says something that actually does help.

MA

I became a "two-embouchure" player back when I was in high school because I found that it was the only way for me to get a good sound in both high and low registers. (And I really couldn't play very high back then!) Playing in the crossover region did present problems for me. Eventually I learned to smooth out the transition by working a lot on scales and bel canto vocal exercises and by playing a lot of dixieland. Some teachers advocate leaning forward for high notes and rocking back for low notes, and that is sort of what I have learned to do. I certainly admire players who can cover all registers with one embouchure, but I don't think that is possible for everyone.

Oh, goodie! I get to be on a FREAK JURY!!

It is normal and common for (french) horn players to have an "embouchure break." It is always recommended that one practice "across the break" to be able to play in the troublesome region. Not everybody has such a break, but many successful players do.

Yeah, find a high level player who can show you what they do.

MA

My teacher doesn't move at all, and insists that I don't

Move *what* at all? Jaw? Position on mthpc?

I have noticed a similar problem to ubq with middle register on euph. If my airflow is low, like at the end of a passage, I tend to get double buzzing in the middle register. Better air support solves the problem. I did not have this problem when I was younger, and I am not sure if the reason is a difference in my ability to control the air flow, or if the vibrating surfaces on my lips just aren't as supple. I know that exercises I have been doing to improve airflow have had a positive affect on the problem.

-Dave