Trumpet Embouchure Tips
You may have learned in science class
that all sound is vibration.
When we play trumpet, we make
sound by vibrating our lips together.
Roll in your lips so that only a small
amount of actual lip can be seen, and
the rest is face skin.
(People with larger lips will need to roll
in more than people with thin lips.)
Let your upper and lower lip gently
touch each other, as if they are two
feathers that happened to gently land
on each other.
Think the “mmm” that you make when
you smell homemade baked goods
getting ready to come out of the oven.
Make that sound and you’ll feel a lot of
little muscles around your mouth flex.
Those are the same muscles you need
to flex every time you play trumpet.
Do not clench your jaw closed. There
needs to be about ¼” of space
between the upper teeth and lower
teeth.
Flex the corners of your lips. Keep
them tight every time you play.
Make your chin flat / point your chin
down.
*This needs to be checked in a mirror,
as most people think it’s pointing down
when it’s really scrunched up.
Pull the corners slightly back (toward
your ears), but avoid stretching them
too much.
Press the inside of your cheeks against
your teeth.
**Since your teeth should be slightly
separated, some of the cheek skin will
actually be between your teeth… so
don’t bite down!
Put a straw in the center of your
mouth. Don’t let it touch your teeth or
your tongue. Flex your face muscles to
aim it straight forward, then try making
it move up and down WITHOUT
moving your jaw or teeth.
For first attempts (or anytime you need
to see your buzz), make the buzz into
an embouchure visualizer or using two
fingers to help the lips have something
to vibrate against.
Place the mouthpiece in the center of
your lips, aiming straight forward. Do
not let it be to the left or the right.
Place the mouthpiece on your lips so
that there are equal amounts of upper
lip and lower lip in the mouthpiece.
Leave space between your upper and
lower molars.
Buzz with just the mouthpiece.
Tip: Right handed people should hold it
with their left hand & vice versa to
avoid pressing it into the face too hard.
Think “soft lips” for low notes.
Think “hard lips” for high notes.
Buzzing with just the mouthpiece,
make sirens (sounds going up and
down).
Rubber Band:
Your lips are like rubber bands. As you
stretch a rubber band and pluck it (like
a guitar string) it makes higher sounds.
As you stretch your lips, they will also
make higher sounds.
Buzzing with just the mouthpiece, hold
a balloon tight to the end of it and
blow up the balloon while buzzing.
(This helps you learn to buzz / blow with
more air pressure.)
Different Size Straws:
1. Use a large straw to learn how big
your hole needs to be for a low
note.
2. Use a medium straw to learn how
big your hole needs to be for a
medium note.
3. Use a coffee stirrer to learn how big
your hole needs to be for a high
note.
Buzzing with just the mouthpiece, try
to match pitches.
Buzzing higher and lower notes takes
different face muscle. You can tighten
your face muscles a few ways:
1. Keep them in the same position and
flex them.
2. Pull the corners back (towards your
ears).
3. Buzz a smaller amount of lip (not all
the lip inside the mouthpiece needs
to buzz).
Buzzing with just the mouthpiece, try
to play simply songs like “Mary Had A
Little Lamb”.
On the instrument, try buzzing low
notes and high notes (lip slurs).
*This is how music is made on
trumpets. All trumpet players must
master this.
Sing the notes, then play the notes. If
you can hear it, it is easier to play it.
Buzz without the mouthpiece, then
add the mouthpiece while continuing
to buzz.
Use more air (blow harder). If you
don’t put enough air in the horn, you
won’t be able to make your lips
vibrate.
Buzz with the mouthpiece, then take
the mouthpiece away while continuing
to buzz with just the lips.
Don’t pucker your lips… that makes it
look like you’re kissing the
mouthpiece!
Remove the tuning slide from the
trumpet and buzz (with the
mouthpiece) through the lead pipe.
*This is a great time to review the
proper way to use tuning slide grease.
Air Direction?
Most brass players blow the air directly
through the center of the mouthpiece.
Experiment with aiming it up and
down, as well as forward. Do what
works best for you.
Extremes?
•What is the lowest note you can make
with just the mouthpiece? …with the
trumpet?
•What is the highest note you can
make with just the mouthpiece?
…with the trumpet?
•Learn to feel the different face
muscles needed for high and low
notes.
We will learn to play soft later. For
now feel free to play loud while your
lips are learning to hit high notes.
Many beginner trumpet players can
only play the high notes when they’re
loud.
Pretend you are spitting out a piece of
rice or a piece of hair that is stuck on
your lip. Feel your tummy muscles
moving? We need that same force of
air when you play trumpet.
Relax your shoulders while you play. If
they tense up you will close off some
of your lung capacity and have sore
muscles after you play.
When playing different notes by just
changing your face muscles (lips slurs /
low-mid-high) shape your mouth like
you’re saying “ah” for the low note, like
you’re saying “ee” for the middle note,
and like you’re saying “oh” for the high
note.
That’s OREO!
Experiment with how far your teeth
are apart.
There needs to be space fore the lips to
fold inward (over the teeth). The buzz
actually happens on the soft inner
surface of your lip.
Watermelon Seeds: Pretend you are
going to spit a watermelon seed across
the room. Use that same face muscle
to play your trumpet (especially on
higher notes). For lower notes, just
pretend you’re not spitting the seeds
as far.
Experiment with how much lip is in the
mouthpiece.
Try flattening out your lips (less), and
pushing more in. Find what works best
for you and do that!
Wall-Paper: Take a piece of copy paper
to a smooth wall. Stand about 1 foot
away. Hold the paper against the wall
directly in front of your face. Start
blowing and let go of the paper. Hold
the paper against the wall with your
breath for as long as you can.
Now try playing high notes with THAT
MUCH air pressure.
Experiment with the way you tongue:
Try using “ta” or “tu” for lower notes,
but switch to the “ti” syllable for higher
notes.
The actual opening in your lips is called
the aperture. Make the aperture
bigger for low notes, and smaller for
high notes.
Try pressing your bottom lip against
the mouthpiece.
Experiment with moving the corners of
your lips up and down.
For low notes, think frown (or look like
a bull dog).
For middle notes, think flat.
For high notes, think of smiling.
High Notes = Fast Lips
Low Notes = Slow Lips
Skinny Lips vs. Fat Lips
Make your lips skinnier for higher
notes and fatter for lower notes.
Try to make dimples at the corners of
your mouth & hold the dimples there
while you play (spend time playing in
front of a mirror).
Build face muscle by making a loud
racing car engine sound with just the
mouthpiece.
Keep your tongue flat (down). If you
raise it up in your mouth it will make it
hard to play high notes.
Experiment with placing the
mouthpiece a little higher than
center…
Experiment with placing the
mouthpiece a little lower than center…
While having 50% upper lip and 50%
lower lip is ideal, do what works best
for you.
Experiment with placing the
mouthpiece a little to the right…
Experiment with placing the
mouthpiece a little to the left…
While having the mouthpiece centered
is ideal, do what works best for you.
Higher notes require more air speed.
Think of a low note as 20 mph (slow).
Think of middle notes as 30 – 40 mph
(side streets).
Think of high notes as 60 mph
(highway driving).
Experiment with air temperature. Have
your hand in front of your face. Open
your mouth and throat as if you’re
saying “whoa” and when you blow
you’ll feel warm air. Then close your
lips like you’re blowing out a candle
and when you blow you’ll feel cool air.
Try playing with different air
temperatures, and do what works best
for you.
Play long tones to build face muscle.
Be sure to have your teacher watch
you (or play in a mirror) to make sure
your face muscles are being used
correctly.
PUSHING
If you press the mouthpiece really hard
into your mouth you can hurt your face
muscles, and possibly your teeth.
Generally we want to play with as little
pressure as possible. BUT, experiment with
added a bit of pressure. If it makes you
play better and doesn’t hurt, do it all the
time.
Keep doing everything! Remember we
need to grow face muscles and learn to
control them. Practice, practice,
practice.