Chapter 4: The embouchure
In this chapter, I will further explain French horn embouchure and compare it to that of a woodwind player. The reason for this comparison is that 2 out of the 3 Dutch horn methods (namely 'Horen Lezen & Spelen' and 'Easy Steps') were originally written for the saxophone. They have been adapted for other wind instruments, including the horn. Therefore, I am curious if there are significant differences between a woodwind instrument and a brass instrument that could affect the pace at which children learn new notes.
Since the level and range in the books for brass players are comparable to those for woodwind players, does this mean that we can also compare embouchure and physical abilities?
Let us begin with understanding the term 'embouchure.' The word 'embouchure' originates from the French word 'La bouche,' which simply means 'the mouth.' According to the Cambridge dictionary, 'embouchure' means: ''the way in which a player uses their lips and face muscles to produce sound from a brass or wind instrument.'' 1
I had the expectation of finding many sources that discuss the development of a child's embouchure, since the embouchure is crucial for mastering the French horn. Unfortunately, there was not much specifically about children. There is plenty of information about the embouchure of horn players in general, though.
Physical strength, not limited to the lips, plays a significant role in producing a beautiful sound and playing in the different registers.
Our lips are not necessarily made for playing the French horn, although it is possible with some training. Like any other muscle in the body, the muscles in our lips require exercise and practice to develop.
I like to compare the development of this with sports. I tell my students that this takes time and I use two examples:
-If you want to lift a weight of a hundred kilograms in the gym, you also have to start lower. You see what you can already do, and from there, you build it up, preferably in small steps, as you do not want any injury.
-Marathon runners start with short runs and gradually increase their distance over time. Similarly, horn players must practice regularly to expand their capabilities.
As I mentioned before, using the correct fingers gives no guarantee for playing the right notes at all, it is possible to play completely wrong, and not just ''out of tune.'' The correct fingers are just a first step, but there is more:
- Have the right pitch in mind in advance, because there are many different tones that you can play with the same fingering! This creates many possibilities to play at a different pitch than you actually should. To give an example: If I do not press any fingers, these are all the possible notes I can play. If I press the second valve, I can play all these notes a half step lower.
Since the horn can play up to the 16th overtone, there are therefore 16 possible outcomes with each fingering.
So if you can't estimate the correct pitch, it becomes a bit like guesswork.
- Ensure correct airspeed and breath control.
- Maintain a correct embouchure.
As I wrote before, I could not find specific resources on children's embouchure, and fellow horn teachers were unable to recommend any.
Although I believe there are significant differences in the physical abilities between children and adults— it is said that you're physically strongest around age 25— I will therefore look into what the sources say about a general embouchure.
The Norwegian French horn pedagogue Frøydis Ree Wekre wrote a book called ‘’Thoughts on playing the Horn well’’.
Ree Wekre has devoted an entire chapter to the embouchure. She looked at the general views on the embouchure and explained her own point of view. Frøydis: ‘’The term ‘’embouchure’’ can easily be misunderstood, in that it is often taken to mean one ‘’correct’’ position. In my experience, it is not so simple.2 She says that everyone who plays the horn knows that a good embouchure is worth its weight in gold, but there is no answer on the question what a good embouchure is, because the experts disagree.3 ''Professional horn players’ techniques vary greatly, due to physiological differences (faces, lips and teeth); also due to the sound and register they choose to emphasize, as well as what they were told (or not told) when they began playing. Finally, many have found creative, personal solutions to problems that they have encountered''4 [...[ Many successful horn players have an unorthodox self-taught or random playing technique. Their talent has permitted them to find a technique with which they can manage the music and one that works.’’5
According to Ree Wekre, several factors are crucial for a good embouchure:
- ''mouthpiece placement6
- mouthpiece pressure7
- the mouthpiece's angle to the face8
- use of facial muscles9
- the aperture in relation to: how high or low in the range a given note is10, sound11, dynamics12, various articulations13, and endurance14 (how long it takes before you get tired)
- the use of the muscles inside the mouthpiece rim15
- the use of the muscles outside the mouthpiece rim16''
The following source is an article by Dale Clevenger and Alice Render titled "First Lessons on Horn." They mention that there are no strict rules for embouchure placement. ''There are no absolutes on embouchure placement''18 but suggest aiming for 2⁄3 of the rim on the upper lip and 1⁄3 on the lower lip. Another approach is to position the bottom of the rim just inside the fleshy, pink rim of the lower lip, allowing the top of the rim to touch wherever it may. They emphasize the importance of watching for any shifting or movement of the mouthpiece when preparing to play a note after breathing. Some beginners may use too little pressure between the lips and mouthpiece, resulting in flaccid lips or even blowing their lips out of the mouthpiece. Others, particularly eager beginners, may use excessive pressure, especially those aiming to play high notes immediately. it is crucial to encourage students to find the right balance through demonstration and experimentation. Additionally, they highlight the importance of maximizing air usage, as most beginners tend to under-breathe. Using a mirror during practice sessions can help beginners observe and replicate a good embouchure position, which contributes to producing a beautiful tone. They also note the unfortunate reality that many college freshmen have incorrect embouchures, often due to inadequate initial instruction or the development of bad habits, making it challenging to correct at a later stage.19
De Haan explains that the lips of a horn player serve a function similar to that of a reed for a woodwind player. ''The lips of the horn player have the same function as the reet of the woodwind player.''20
Sound is produced when air passes through the lips, causing them to vibrate, and this vibration is transformed into sound by the instrument. Crucial for a proper embouchure is the close coordination between air flow and lip position. This coordination leads to producing a beautiful sound on the horn, achieving flexibility when playing large intervals, maintaining good control over dynamics, easily playing different notes, and ensuring accurate pitch and tuning..21
In conclusion, mastering the embouchure is essential for horn players, requiring coordination between factors like mouthpiece placement, pressure, and facial muscle use.
I think that the learning process may take longer for children compared to adults due to differences in physical strength.
French horn versus clarinet embouchure
Three Dutch-language horn methods were originally written for saxophone (a woodwind instrument) and later adapted for the horn.
The way of producing sound on a brass wind instrument differs from that of a single reed instrument such as a clarinet or saxophone. In the latter, the mouthpiece is placed inside the mouth, and the sound is created by the reed vibrating. However, with the horn, the mouthpiece rests on the lips, and the lips themselves vibrate to produce the sound. This is an important distinction.
The way of blowing/the embouchure appears to be a significant difference. If the embouchure of a brass player is not comparable to that of a woodwind player, how can we then - and can we indeed - use the same methods and expect similar progress? Is this realistic?
I compared the embouchures through an interview with my colleague Jaap Schoneveld, a teacher of Methodology at Codarts, the Rotterdam Conservatory. Schoneveld his main instrument is the clarinet, but he also studied the saxophone. He mentioned that the embouchure for the clarinet and saxophone are comparable, which, in my opinion, makes him suitable for this interview.
To confirm this, I asked him if the things he shared also apply to the saxophone. Schoneveld: ''Yes, that is correct. The big difference is that the saxophone has a closed key system, while the clarinet has an open key system. That actually makes the clarinet a slightly more difficult instrument.''
Basic embouchure
It appears that in a brass wind instrument, the embouchure is much more determinant for the correct pitch than in a clarinet or saxophone. Schoneveld: ''Well, especially in the initial stages, when learning the instruments, the embouchure for brass instruments is of much greater importance and more difficult because the embouchure for brass, without valves, can produce different tones, which isn't the case with a clarinet. [...] If you take the lower register, you can actually play the entire lower register with one embouchure.''
in contrast to the horn, this happens without a higher note being physically heavier.
I received a crash course in clarinet to feel how this basis embouchure works, and to check if I could also notice the mentioned differences myself. I experienced that I did not need to blow any harder or provide more air support to reach a higher pitch. Schoneveld: ''Yes, actually just using your fingers and a basic embouchure. You can actually play all these notes with that. Provided your fingers are in the right place.''
This makes me believe that some of the methods I discuss in this research are much more manageable for a woodwind player. Things that are difficult on the horn (I mean by this that it is physically too heavy) seem to pose no problems on the clarinet.
Isabelle: ''For example, in our case, we have "Horen Lezen & Spelen’’ In Lesson 2, we have to play a G and many of us can't do it. But for you, that should just work, right?''
Schoneveld: ''Actually, that is quite easy, because they do not even need to grab a key. The clarinet can be held at the mouthpiece, and actually only the basic embouchure determines whether that G comes out or not.''
I would say that with every finger I lifted from the key, the pitch became one note higher, without it requiring more physical effort. This explains a lot to me about the way some methods are written. If the basic embouchure is correct, you can focus on reading notes, playing the right rhythms, and all the other aspects involved in playing a wind instrument. Physical strength will not be a reason to get stuck in the method book.Although woodwind players undoubtedly have their own difficulties, it seems to me that this could prevent a lot of frustration.
Tones produced by the fingerings versus embouchure
The interview reveals that on a clarinet or saxophone, there is not immediately the possibility to play a wrong note with the correct grip. This is because the fingers determine the pitch rather than the embouchure. In earlier chapters, you could read that on the horn, pressing the correct keys does not necessarily result in the correct pitch. Horn players must be able to estimate the intended pitch quite accurately.
Schoneveld: ''Once you've mastered the basic embouchure of a clarinet, the tones are produced by the fingerings and not so much by the embouchure itself.''
On the horn, the valves are much less decisive. Jeffry Agrell, Horn professor and author of the book 'Horn Technique: A New Approach to an Old Instrument' says: "Traditional teaching simply lists fingerings for pitches that students learn by rote without a thought as to what valves do. They should learn that a valve does one thing. It is either closed or open. The default position is closed. [...] Shocking truth: Valves do not do as much as we think they do, or as much as we wish they would do. They are useful in narrowing down the exact pitch of a note, but they are of little or no help in changing the pitch by more than a major second (except in the lowest register - the higher the register, the less functional they are). Pitch changes of more than that with or without valves must be realized by valveless technique. Definition of a valve: A mechanism that, when engaged, opens to add extra tubing''22
Below you can hear what I achieved during my first encounter with the clarinet. Although there is still much room for improvement, I was surprised by the range. On the horn, I have never heard anyone play so many different pitches so quickly. This physical strength really needs to be built up slowly; playing a whole octave is not possible without training.
Click here to listen to the (Dutch spoken) interview again or to read the English translation.