I don't know what to do anymore! My embouchure is not correct, and I can't get it right, I've been trying and trying, but my personal teacher tells me that the muscles that I need to play french horn are not being used...
He said I should learn how to whistle? Is this a good idea?
ALSO... I can't whistle and that's very hard for me... I don't know what to do!!
I really like the sound of french horn but I think I'm loosing my feeling for music because I just can't play...
Too many people whistle in too many different ways - for some people the embouchure for whistling is close to a trumpet or horn embouchure. I personally cannot whistle very well at all, sometimes I can't even get a sound. You don't have to learn to whistle to get the horn embouchure right.
How long have you been learning? (this is an important question! )
Also... apparently your instructor isn't helping you any more than saying that you're doing it wrong? Maybe you need a new horn teacher - somebody that knows how to approach teaching a correct embouchure to people that just don't naturally get it. You can learn it just like everyone else, don't worry. You'll just need to work on it. I learned trumpet and horn by myself and to this day I haven't had a single lesson in a wind instrument. And I still made honours band. So relax, it's not impossible to learn if you just can't get it at first - there is certainly a lot of hope.
I am totally against the "Whistle/smile" embouchre. I cannot buzz with my whistling embouchre. I whistle very well, but it does not good for Horn playing. Those that do use this type of embouchre I find end up pinching most of their notes.
Enigmus is also correct on teachers. If the teacher cannot observe you and figure out what to do to get you to buzz notes, then the teacher is seriously challenged and you should find another. IF you have two lips (an upper and a lower) and the ability to breathe in and blow out we can get you to play notes on a Horn.
I don't play french horn, but this is what I think:
Try taking a break for a little while (a day or two) while you look up everything you can find about embrochures for your instrument, then try coming back and starting fresh. Don't rely on your old embrochure just because that is the only way you can get a noise out, really pretend like you are a begginer again. Most likely, your embrochure was just developed wrong. If you can "un-develop" it and satrt over, than maybe you will learn in right. You just have to get rid of the muscle memory that has been built up. Your embrochure can't be formed automatically on the first day, then you know you went back to your old ways.
I had the same problem as you on my flute. It helped me to get a fresh start. If you really love your instrument, than you have to put some more time into forgetting what you've learned, as hard as it is.
Our flutey bassoony friend is right about that. If you are just starting out on horn and are having a difficult time, just give it some time and keep working on it. Experiment blowing in slightly different ways and you'll eventually find what works when you get the sound you've been looking for. I had been playing for a little over a year when one day I accidentally stumbled across the correct embouchure for low notes. Before that I had been doing it wrong and I had to unlearn my old way and try and convince my lips the the new way was the way I should be doing it. I'm still working on controlling my low notes but at least I'm a lot more secure than I was and flexibility between high and low registers has improved greatly - just because I stumbled upon a little trick one day on accident.
I agree with the flute player as well. Take a break & don't stress over it.
After you take a little break, try this:
(1) Say, "Mmmmmmmmmm," put your horn to your lips & blow.
(2) Say, "Tooooooooo," put your horn to your lips & blow.
Which one works best for you? #1 will produce a higher pitch. Work with this set up for a few minutes a day, playing down a scale from your highest notes to low keeping the same set up (mmmmmm). #2 will probably produce a lower pitch. Work with this set up a few minutes a day from low notes to as high as you can go while keeping the same set up (ooooo). Otherwise play your regular way. In other words, don't mess with your chops.
Some people play with more "oooo" while others play with more "mmmm." Some people need more of one or the other. Working with both every day will help your lips figure out what they need.
If you spend a few minutes a day working both extremes of your embouchure (high to low with "mmmm" & low to high with "oooo"), your lips will indirectly be guided to find a "sweet spot" that makes playing a easier in all registers.
BTW: I have a good horn embouchure, but can't whistle worth beans! The whistling embouchure set up may work for a few, but is certainly not working for you. I think you need to tell your teacher to back off your chops or find another teacher.
Valerie Wells
"The Balanced Embouchure" for French Horn
Wells123456@juno.com
<Added>
Also, see what I wrote under the topic, "need embouchure help."
I am a great whistler. I can whistle blowing out and sucking air in so you never know which I am doing. I can whistle loud and I can whistle soft. I can whistle high and I can whistle low. However, I cannot play my French horn with a whistle-ing embouchre. It doesn't work.
I like Valeries exercise of mmmmmmmmmmmmmm and ooooooooooooo. Follow that and see what notes you can get. Make note of it somewhere so you can see if this is improving and helping you or not.
Andy, Please keep in touch. I don't want to see you quit. I want you to succeed. Helping people with chops problems is my speciality. Feel free to contact me personally with the email address below my signature.
lol. it's cool.
I just thought it was funny the way my name went from:
flute_n_bassoon to
flutey bassooney friend to,
flute player to,
flute.
I dunno, made me chuckle the way it deteriorated in 4 posts.
searching...
)
