Finding the Perfect Horn Embouchure
Thursday, December 28, 2023 by Billy Roberts | French horn
In last month’s reflection, I wrote that it was getting easier for me to switch back and forth between horn playing and singing. I also implied that finding the right balance of resistance in the throat for horn playing is akin to a singer’s discovery of mask resonance, that feeling of a perfectly balanced voice that is neither in the nose nor stuck in the throat. For singers, this often produces a sensation of vibration at the base of the nose which may also be felt in the cheekbones. However, not everyone feels the same sensations, so it is important to not get too hung up on trying to achieve a particular feeling. In horn playing, a similar balance needs to be found between a quality of air that is forced and stuffy versus air that is too breathy or throaty.
A horn player’s focus on breathing from the chest and diaphragm may produce a sound that is too breathy, throaty, or forced depending on the volume of air being used and the embouchure’s ability to handle that flow of air. Similarly, a player whose breath is placed too high may have a thin sound and weak support for the embouchure muscles. However, these issues can usually be resolved without much thought simply by developing a good embouchure shape. It is not enough to simply clamp the lips tighter when moving from the lower register to the upper register. A smile type embouchure results in a thin tone. Although the appearance will vary depending upon a player’s lip structure, the aperture must in some way be made narrower from side to side as a player plays higher. In general, if the player imagines the lips as forming a slightly rounded aperture, the neck and oral cavity will have to follow suit in order to make this possible.
Focusing on posture first and air supply second puts the player in a position to become aware of the shape of the oral cavity and the working of the embouchure muscles. That is the point at which horn playing becomes like singing. Posture is the first thing I think of when I sit down and the last thing I think of when I’m lost in the music. Air supply is something that I think of when my embouchure tells me that it needs a little help. In this sense, the embouchure muscles are like the little light in your car that tells you when your gas tank is getting too low. If you spend your whole drive overthinking the amount of gas you’re using, you’re not going to enjoy the scenery. Adjusting the embouchure muscles as you move up and down through the registers is like learning how much to press down or let up on the gas pedal as you drive a car. It is something that a driver is conscious of on some level throughout the drive, even though it is not the primary focus.
The perfect embouchure comes naturally when you find a comfortably upright posture that enables you to regulate your air supply with free lips and a relaxed throat. As you listen to yourself, you can hear whether you need to use more or less air. Although it may help to think about other factors, such as having the leadpipe angled slightly down and not placing the mouthpiece too low on the lips, it may be better to let these serve as signs to help you stay consistent once you’ve found an embouchure that is working. There really is a bit of trial and error that any beginner will go through before getting it right. Don't worry about trying to do everything exactly by the book. As you become familiar with your body’s own idiosyncrasies, you’ll be on your way to your own natural playing style. As in driving, these mechanical things become second nature as you learn to sing through the horn.
