• Look into either a mirror or the front facing camera on a smartphone. 

• Look at yourself while following along. 

• Start by making an mmmmmhmm sound out loud, focusing on mimicking the shape of the above drawing. 

• Then place the mouthpiece on your lips, center it from the right to the left and up and down, shown below.

 

It can be difficult to change your embouchure, especially if you have been playing with your old embouchure for a long time. There are two different approaches, make small gradual changes over time until you reach your new embouchure, or move it all at once. 

 

The first method, making small gradual changes can somewhat avoid the period of time where your new embouchure is unnatural and difficult to play with; however, I prefer the second method, moving all at once. Moving all at once does come with the downside of, playing poorly for a while. But everytime you move your embouchure, you have to learn that new embouchure. If you make small gradual changes you will be in a constant state of learning a new embouchure. In my opinion, this makes the process take longer, often less successful, and can cause bigger headaches. 

 

The embouchure is unique for every player, and on top of that, it is fragile. If you are just starting trumpet, you may find success from just reading this article. However, if you are moving your embouchure, I highly recommend you take trumpet lessons to help guide the process. 

 

Charlie Meacham