"Uplifting" Thoughts

Hello,

Tonight when I was practicing (interspersing buzzing with playing my flute) I once again noticed that my tone and articulation were noticeably clearer when my embouchure felt more related to the upper part of my head (skull) rather than the lower part (jaw.)

In his Master Superchops DVD, Jerome Callet describes a good spit-buzzing embouchure as akin to licking an ice cream cone. This analogy well describes the feeling I wrote about in my May 3 post.

If the corners of the upper lip are lifted, then there is more room for the surface area of the tongue to come into contact with the inside of the upper lip, creating efficient compression of air.

Three useful warmup exercise videos for the upper lip are posted in the LeGrand Virtual Studio, Category B:

• "Rabbit Face" Exercise
• "Tongue Sandwich" Exercise
• "Miss America" Exercise

Happy practicing!

Catherine

Skull/Jaw "Mapping" and Lifted Embouchure

Greetings,

This past week I have had some seemingly simple, yet profound realizations.

When "mapping" the skull/jaw relationship, it is useful to remember that the jaw is an appendage of the skull, much as an arm or leg is an appendage to the torso.

While reaching around your face with your hand and pressing gently just under the cheek bones, imagine your tongue as related to your skull, rather than your jaw. This helps activate the zygomatic major and caninus muscles, lifting the embouchure and keeping the upper lip flexible.

Another approach to feeling this relationship:
If you place a finger on each side of the upper lip, just inside the corners, gently pressing upward with your fingers, then relax your entire face to be supported by the upward pressing fingers, you can feel many muscles of the face and head relax as the upper lift is lifted and remains soft and flexible. Wow!

This is a great position for buzzing, leaving lots of room for the tongue.

it is a good idea to also activate the triangularis muscle slightly to stabilize the lower lip.

A good interactive webpage for understanding the function of the facial muscles is found here. This wonderful website created by Joseph C. Hager, Ph.D., has many detailed illustrations of the anatomy of skeletal and muscular structures of the head and face.

I invite you to post your insights and questions as always.

Best,
Catherine