Athletes frequently train strength and endurance by cross training with lifting weights or isometric exercises. A football player, for example, can get stronger simply by playing more football, but lifting weights specifically targets the muscles he wants to build without risking injury. Likewise, there are certain exercises that brass players can practice away from the instrument that will help build embouchure strength and control without the risk of playing too much and using too much mouthpiece pressure as you get tired.
There are a few of these sort of away-from-the-horn exercises, such as the pencil trick, jaw retention drill, and the P.E.T.E. My personal favorite is free buzzing.
Free buzzing is essentially buzzing your lips without using the instrument or mouthpiece. Some teachers and players discourage free buzzing as being too different from actual playing while others huge advocates of it. Like in many things, I feel that when done in a certain way with moderation free buzzing can be an extremely helpful exercise, particularly for players who have issues with their embouchure related to having too loose an embouchure formation or with things like bunching the chin or a smile embouchure.
Here’s a short YouTube video I put together to demonstrate how I recommend practicing free buzzing.
Free buzzing is different from playing, particularly for some players, so I don’t recommend that you try to use is as a diagnostic tool.
For example, it’s simply not true that you should look at where your aperture forms and center the mouthpiece there. As I’ve shown before, there are a lot of great players who have apertures that form inside the mouthpiece off to one side. While many downstream players, who place the mouthpiece with more upper lip inside, buzzing into the instrument can be helpful practice. While upstream players, who place the mouthpiece with more lower lip inside, can benefit from free buzzing as I describe in the above video but don’t want to practice buzzing into the instrument. If you’re not sure which embouchure type you have, you can still benefit from free buzzing but don’t worry about buzzing into the mouthpiece and instrument.
The simplest free buzzing exercise I recommend was developed by Donald Reinhardt. Reinhardt suggested students start by forming rolling their lower lip slightly in towards the lower teeth, bring the top lip down as if saying, “em,” and commencing the buzz with a breath attack. Buzz the highest pitch you can to the fullest extent of your breath and repeat two more times. Make the sound light and airy, sort of like a mosquito buzzing sound. This will ensure that you focus the work on the correct muscles, the ones at and just under the mouth corners.
Hi Dave,
I’ve been doing this exercise for a couple weeks already, but I have not seen any improvement in terms of high register playing. I do believe that this exercise works, but I am just wondering how long does it take for a player to see his or her progress. Also, I have noticed that there is a lot of air leaking out while I am trying to free buzz, and often times it creates a double buzz. I am wondering if it is normal or if it is okay if that happens.
Oscar, I’d have to watch you free buzz to see what’s going on. Ideally you don’t want to have air leaking or be getting a double buzz. It may be that you’re buzzing too loudly, too low, or otherwise targeting incorrect muscles. Can you post video of you practicing this exercise?
Hi Dave ,
At first i was buzzing more like you do and just for warm up . But recently i got advise from my teacher about buzzing .
I had lesson and at first i played Weber concertino which is quite demanding piece for horn and afterwards i needed to play brahms trio ,in brahms trio i horn has to play very softly ,as soft as violin .So my lips was quite tensed after weber and i couldn’t play freely piano . So my teacher asked how i practice buzzing and i showed him . He noticed that my buzzing is to tensed he said that it’s best to practice buzzing quite low and use as less effort to begin buzz as possibble so lips remains relaxed ,and it’s specially beneficial then you need to start note piano and play extremely softly . I tried and i can say that it’s really works like he said .What you think about that ?
All best ,
Horn player
Hi, I’m 39 and I’ve been playing the trumpet on and off since in grade school. I have a scar right in the middle of my lower lip and I believe it is the cause of a double buzz. When I play I feel the air coming through 2 or 3 places at once, within the larger aperture. This is also true when I free buzz. This has been very frustrating for me and I have had two surgeries already to try and remove the scar tissue. Unfortunately, it seems to have not improved and maybe worsened. Is there any way to overcome this issue?
Sorry to hear about your issues, Brad. In order to give you any advice I would need to see and hear how your chops are working. Scar tissue on the lips can definitely affect how your embouchure is working and create a double buzz like you describe, but lots of players get one without the scar tissue. There could be something that you can adjust that would make it easier for you to play without the double buzz happening.
If you can post video footage of your embouchure (look here for what I would want to see https://wilktone.com/?p=4580), contact me (use this web form https://wilktone.com/?page_id=186) and I’m happy to check it out.
Dave