Someone has uploaded to YouTube Jerome Callet’s video lessons, Master Superchops Disc 1. According to this thread in the Trumpet Herald Jerome Callet Forum Callet has decided to allow this video to remain up on YouTube (disc 2, which can be found here, provides more successful players than in disc 1).

I’ve written about Callet’s unusual recommendations a bit in my article on the so-called “tongue controlled embouchure” before. I discuss my reservations on why I generally don’t recommend this technique over there and many players searching for some advice about the tongue controlled embouchure have made this post on of the most popular ones here. At the time that I wrote that post I had not seen this video but based my thoughts largely on what was more publicly available online and in books as well as with conversations with tongue controlled embouchure advocates. Keeping in mind that the tongue controlled embouchure is not unique to Callet and his students, after watching this video I haven’t changed my mind about this technique. If anything, watching Callet work with three different trumpet students has reinforced my opinion that this technique is generally not useful for the majority of trumpet players and I would typically discourage players from trying to incorporate these techniques in their own practice and performing.

I’ll discuss some of my reservations below, but watch the video all the way through and make your own opinions. While you do so, let’s play “guess the embouchure type” with all the players in the video, starting with Callet and then going on to the three students in this video. My thoughts after the break.

Looking through all of the players working on Callet’s unorthodox technique reinforces how regardless of whatever else a player may be doing or thinking, the mouthpiece placement will always imply an air stream direction and there will always be an embouchure motion, if you know what to look for. Using these two basic embouchure characteristics we can see each player using one of the three basic embouchure types. 

Kurt and I were involved in a discussion on the Trumpet Herald Forum a while back and we got sidetracked into a private discussion. I had asked Kurt if he would be willing to video tape his chops so I could take a closer look at them and he sent me the below video. Take a closer look and see if you can guess his embouchure type. My guess after the break.

I’ve blogged recently about Denver Dill’s new book, Still Playing, My Journey Through Embouchure Surgery and Rehabilitation.  Shortly before my copy of his book arrived I got an email from Denver, who happened to come across this site.  After watching some of my embouchure vods he was interested in putting together something similar that would show his embouchure.  He demonstrates his mouthpiece placement both prior to the surgery and after.  Denver also got a hold of a transparent mouthpiece for his video, posted by the West Point Band’s YouTube page.  Take a look and see if you can guess Denver’s embouchure type.  My guess after the break.

This one is a sort of a repost.  I had done this same “Guess the Embouchure Type” of Tine Helseth from this video earlier, but a server hiccup (and not remembering to put on automatic backups) caused about 2 weeks worth of posts and comments to be deleted.

At any rate, Helseth is a very fine Norwegian trumpet player.  She’s really known for her classical trumpet soloing, but the below video shows some excellent closeups of her embouchure while playing (or at least during a video shoot, the production value of this video is such that they may not be playing exactly what we’re hearing).  Take a look and guess which embouchure type you think she plays as.