I`ve been playing for over a month, but I just started having issues with my embouchure. Can someone please tell me a technique to avoid biting your bottom lip while playing? Thanks.

Meep,

With a reed that is too hard (or a reed with a large opening), biting down will be a serious problem. To solve this, try playing on a softer reed and see if the problem is still there. If you find that you are biting down mainly when playing the notes above "middle" C, it may just be the reed is too hard for you to play. Find a softer reed and see how that works. Also, after a long practice session, you may be playing so much that your lips become fatigued and cannot hold the embouchure around the reed, instinctively forcing you to bite down to hold onto the grip. Take a break and play some more! Remember to practice often and regularly to keep your embouchure in good shape (and to strengthen it). Hope this helps.

Thanks! That helped. I found out that I only bit down if I wasn't totally focused on my music, and my embouchure has definately strengthened some.

Check out the oboe instructions guides at the fox parent section to see if they help you at all:

http://www.foxproducts.com/pages/ptr_main.asp

Meep,

I have been playing oboe for almost 4 months now. I am still having troubles with embouchure. It is a natural thing for beginniners. My oboe teacher told me that to bite down is just natural as it is something that is taught from birth, to eat, etc. And to add to it, when we get tired and our embouchure fails, we bite to retain the grip and to keep on playing. What my teacher told me to do is think how you drink something with a straw. Your mouth is supposed to look like that, and if you do this, it strengthens the corners of your lips, which helps create a beautiful, unrestrained sound. by biting, you are also cutting off hair and not letting air get through the opening. I continue to check myself to see if I continue to have the correct embouchure. I find that that helps ALOT.