{"id":2085,"date":"2011-05-23T18:28:09","date_gmt":"2011-05-23T22:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wilktone.com\/?p=2085"},"modified":"2023-03-27T10:56:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T14:56:48","slug":"embouchure-question-top-lip-slipping-out-of-mouthpiece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wilktone.com\/?p=2085","title":{"rendered":"Embouchure Question: Top Lip Slipping Out Of Mouthpiece"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hank stopped by to ask a question I’ve also had to personally deal with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I’ve found that the only way I can get the sensation of “embouchure motion<\/a>“, i.e. the MP\/embouchure\/jaw `tracking’ along the teeth foundation either for ascending or descending, is on a so-called `dry’ set up.  If I try a `wet’ set up the MP tends to slip down onto the red part of top lip in stead of the whole assembly moving\/tracking. Thanks, Comments?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is actually a pretty common issue for some players, particularly those who belong to the Low Placement embouchure type<\/a>, but also sometimes Medium High Placement players as well.  These types both have an embouchure motion to pull the mouthpiece and lips together down to ascend.  When the lips feel slippery, sometimes the mouthpiece placement will slide on the lips to a lower placement like Hank describes.<\/p>\n\n\n

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First of all, there’s nothing inherently wrong with placing the mouthpiece so the rim sits on the red of the upper lips, in spite of what many teachers and players believe.  My own embouchure, shown at the right, has the rim right on the red of my upper lip.  This just happens to be where it works best for me, and is a quite a bit lower than most Low Placement embouchure types I’ve seen.  Perhaps the reason your mouthpiece wants to slide down there is because that’s where it works best.  Try it out and see what happens.  But without watching you play in person, that’s just a wild guess.  Caveat emptor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did mention above that I’ve dealt with this issue myself, though.  As you can note from the photo, if my top lip starts to slide up it goes right off the rim, so I have to be careful.  I’ve tried a few different things, all of which help to a certain degree.  Here they are, in no particular order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n