for the past few weeks, I've been practising everyday (quite unlike me, lol) and I seem to be getting worse instead of better..

my embouchure feels like its getting really strong, and I can feel my corners burn and the muscles working instead of smashing my chops, but it has gotten to the point where it's so tight my buzz stops anything past middle c.

why is this happening? And what can I do to fix it??

sounds like you'er just having embouchure issues. losen up when you play...relax. find a spot on your lips where the mouthpiece is comftorable and effective for playing. also, don't use tons of pressure on your face when you play. also, give it a break for a day or so then get back to it and take my advice.

I agree with trumpetkid89. You need to keep your chops relaxed when you are playing...dont get too tense. Also, when you go from not playing on a regular basis to playing frequently, it's important to incorporate a regular warm-up scheme into your practicing. This will help regulate your chops and make you a more consistent player..hopefully weeding out strange chop problems. Good luck

but how do I losen up, or relax? My corners seem to tighten automatically no matter how hard I try to relax them

Thats what going to take practice. Concentrate on loosening them while playing. It would probably help to if you dont play through your entire practice. You can use the sing, buzz, play method, it gives your lips a little down time. I agree with trumpetkid also, take a break. Dont play for 1 day or play for only 10 or 15 minutes. Its just like an athlete building muscles, you can't pound your muscles everyday, you have to let them recooperate. Good luck.

well, I did what you all suggested, haven't played for two days. I've been buzzing, but that seems to make everything even tighter and my arpeture(? the hole) even smaller..

Rrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

I'm so frustrated!

..And almost always (95%) warm up before I play with long tones, and then do slurs, tonguing, and then rest a bit and move on to pieces.

Are pedal tones(whatever they are) supposed to loosen up?

I tried flapping my lips as you do to get the blood circulating, and my lips went stiff after about 8-10 flaps.

You're probably not playing in the lower register enough. Get down in the pedal tones - down below low C. You have to get those muscles working both ways, otherwise you end up like some body builders who get muscle-bound. They can lift a car, but they can't touch their hands together above their heads.

A little trick to use, also, is to flutter your lips and try to sound like a horse whickering. That gives you a really quick muscle relaxation.

The other advice you got on this post is very sound, too. Warm up is essential to good muscle tone and endurance. One of the best warm-up drills is to play long, slow scales, starting with low C. Play each note for about twenty beats or so. A lot of times, I'll just play up to G and back down. If you run through the whole chromatic scale that way, your chops are completely warm and your digits remember their fingering patterns - the best of both worlds.

Hope even a little of this helps.