Taught by renowned trumpet player
Charlie Porter
Renowned player and pedagogue Charlie Porter provides his most in-depth discussion yet of how the embouchure works. He shares a four-step process for creating an embouchure, discusses what is required for resonant vibration, the role of the aperture, how to troubleshoot common chop issues, how our chops contribute to range, and much more. By the end of this course, you'll have a deep scientific understanding of our vibration mechanism, and be empowered to make yours as efficient as possible.
Principles of Vibration
All vibrating musical instruments share three principles: they must possess tautness, stability, and airflow. Charlie demonstrates using a hand drum, an acoustic guitar, a saxophone mouthpiece, and a blade of grass, before returning to the trumpet. He also proves these principles by demonstrating a synthetic embouchure!
Aperture
Much like that of a camera, our aperture can become larger or smaller depending on what we need. Charlie discusses why buzzing is such a great tool for spotting issues, how we can use a visualizer for maximum benefit, and more.
Setup
In this lesson, Charlie provides his four-step method for constructing an embouchure from scratch.
Troubleshooting
Most embouchure issues stem from the lips being too close together. Charlie addresses a variety of issues systematically, providing actionable suggestions that can relieve some of these symptoms.
Range and Practice Tools
What is an active embouchure, and how do we use our aperture to help us play higher? Charlie demonstrates a variety of gadgets, gizmos, and exercises that we can use to engage our embouchure properly.
Conclusion
Charlie concludes the course by reminding us to follow our intuition!
Click here to download the course workbook PDF and see the full syllabus →After studying at Juilliard with Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Porter has made a name for himself as one of the most virtuosic and exciting trumpeters in the classical and jazz spaces, teaching today at New York University.
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