What's a good way to build the muscle of your embouchure for a French Horn player?

Question

I've been playing for a year in August. And I'll be playing horn, as well as Mellophone for marching band.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Get a BERP www.berp.com/ and constantly use it. It's great, you can change the resistence you feel on the mouthpiece and everything.

Also, keep your mouthpiece with you at all times! It might annoying people around you, but every minute helps.

Look at yourself buzzing your mouthpiece in a mirror. Make sure you have a firm chin as well as firm corners of your mouth. I had for the longest time an air pocket in my chin that was holding me back...

Long tones and good exercise books as well. I like Kopprasch's Sixty Selected Studies for Horn as well as Farkas' The Art of French Horn Playing

Remember that a true Mellophone has a different mouthpiece that may change your embouchure if you don't keep up on the french horn! (although I do like mellophone since you also learn trumpet fingerings and it's easier to hit high notes!)

Happy playing!

Answer 2

you know that! silly silly if you cant practice on your horn just use the mouthpeice. p.s. the french horn mouthpeices look so small and silly compared to a tuba or a trombone. I play those.

Answer 3

Long tones...starting low and working your way up the register of the horn. take breaks to relax your lips and then start up again. be aware of the muscles around the mouth and how they support the lips....those are the muscles that "get tired". Good Luck!

Answer 4

I play the trumpet and a good exercise that i do is get my mouthpiece, dry out the inside of the lips, my gums, and my teeth, and try to hold the mouthpiece with just my lips for about a minute everyday

here's a link showing how to do it

i do the same thing he does in the link except with a mouthpc