[Trombone-l] Embouchure

[George Carr]

I have seen several talented college-age players ruined by teachers
who insisted on particular embouchures.  I was fortunate to study with
Joe Duchi at Ohio State (did I mention him during the favorite-teacher
thread?), who had a more holistic approach: he wouldn't hesitate to
correct embouchure problems that were interfering with tone center,
flexibility, or extremes of range, but players came out of his studio
with all sorts of embouchure types, and many went on to great playing
success.

A contrasting example is John Kitzman (who studied at U. Michigan
alongside Duchi), and whose clinic (at least the one I attended)
emphasized a very specific embouchure setup and muscle set.  I tried
it in the clinic, it didn't work for me, and now I don't even remember
much about it, except that it involved tilting the horn slightly
upward so as to permit the lower lip to vibrate more freely.

Overall, even though I don't teach, I'd recommend the more open-minded
approach, just because I would have never gone anywhere if I'd studied
with Kitzman as a younger student.  But your mileage may vary.

George

On 4/6/06, Chris Tune <crtune at adelphia.net> wrote:
> Timothy is absolutely right regarding education.  One size DOES NOT fit all.
> Do we realize that Thomas Edison had to be "home schooled" because his
> elementary school could not teach him?