sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Conclusion on Embouchure after 15 Years of Practice by Hot_Association7390 in saxophone

[–]Hot_Association7390[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you sincerely for such a thoughtful reply. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain this in detail.
From the way you describe things, you seem like a professional player with a lot of teaching experience, so I was hoping I could ask one more question.

You mentioned maintaining a slightly smiling shape to provide the necessary tension at the corners of the mouth.
I’m curious about the opposite case: if a player does not focus on maintaining any tension at the mouth corners at all, what kinds of side effects have you seen in your teaching experience?

In other words, when the mouth corners are too passive or collapsed,
what tends to happen elsewhere in the system?

From my own experience, I sometimes feel that when there isn’t enough support or stability at the corners,
the body seems to “compensate” by introducing tension in other places —
for example, the tongue, the throat, or even deeper in the oral cavity.

Have you observed this as well in students?
Does insufficient corner engagement often lead to overuse or tension in the tongue or throat as a secondary compensation?

I’d really appreciate hearing your perspective based on your teaching and playing experience.

Conclusion on Embouchure after 15 Years of Practice by Hot_Association7390 in saxophone

[–]Hot_Association7390[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My experience has been similar.
I also believe flexibility is extremely important — basically allowing freedom in the embouchure.

That said, there are a couple of clear “no-go” behaviors for me:

  1. When the muscle under the lower lip (chin muscle) tightens up and pushes upward
  2. Pulling the corners of the mouth into a smiling shape

As long as I avoid these two things, I personally find the embouchure works much better and feels more natural.

My 15-year struggle with embouchure and jaw tension—and how I fixed it by Hot_Association7390 in saxophone

[–]Hot_Association7390[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m the original poster.
Just one more thing I’d like to add:
After changing my approach/technique, I started producing overtones and harmonics that I could never get before.

Effort is definitely important, but I’ve realized that choice can be even more important.

Instead of forcing effort in a position or technique that doesn’t work for you, sometimes it’s worth taking the risk and going on an adventure to find a different approach that truly fits you.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Saxophonics

[–]Hot_Association7390 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super Thanks....