UPER
The VIRTUOSO EMBOCHURE METHOD FOR TRUMPET AND BRASS
About the Author
Jerome Callet, for the first twenty five years of his life, was a frustrated embouchure failure. The more avidly he sought to develop his embouchure, using the best teachers and most accepted methods of the time, the worse he performed. In utter frustration, he decided to devote his life to finding out why no one could teach him how to develop a good embouchure, and indeed, whether it is even possible to develop a good embouchure. Perhaps he thought one has a good embouchure as a result of natural capability, body development etc. His first assault on the problem was to study the chops of great players in photos of these artists while they were performing. He noticed that most of the great players were positioning their chops on the mouthpiece in direct contradiction to all the accepted embouchure methods! More amazing, he found out that none of the world's greatest trumpet players could teach their children to play!! The reason for this is that while they believed what was being taught to beginners was correct, they themselves played differently. As a result, none of these artists, probably because they could not describe the "feel" that a proper embou<;hure gives, ever had a child who amounted to anything as a performer! From this beginning and after 30 years of research, Jerome in Superchops, shares his findings with his fellow trumpet players in a wonderful combination of book and video.
@Copyright 1992 by Jerome Callet 125 Lake Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10303 All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured Printed in U.S.A.
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Super Chops A Modem Approach to Total Improvement of Brass Embouchure Performance
I
would like to introduce my new method which I call Super Chops. This method is the culmination of more than thirty years of studying and teaching brass embouchure. I know from my own results and from the results of hundreds of my students that it works for all. Forget your old beliefs that great players are freaks or supernatural strongmen! Thinking that way will make you feel that it is useless to try to be another Maurice Andre or a Harry James. All you need to become a great player are average intelligence, hard work and Super Chops. After years of hard work. I have the confidence in both my playing and teaching to improve anyone's chops. None of the world's greatest players could teach their own children how to play well because they play by feel, and cannot show others what and how they do it. They also are unable to look at a student and evaluate and change the student's incorrect chop setting to match their own. To change over to the Super Chops method demands of teacher and student the greatest patience and perserverence. One must learnto concentrate on the most important parts of trumpet playing which are lip strength, and correct tonal quality. Perfect intonation in your scales will result in correct chops. Many players, some good, some mediocre, say "I just blo\v, I do not think of my chops. This is fine if you are satisfied with average results. However,if you enjoy the challenge of being able to play the world's most difficult brass music and want to become a great player, you must correct how your lip and facial muscles are used. This will take time, patience and hard work. Notice that I say nothing of musical ability,. and superior intel-
Iigence, because all I ever ask of a student is hard work. and the ability to follow directions. In developing Super Chops you must not think first of high note playing! You can only develop new muscular chops by concentrating first in the lowest register of your instrument. Forget that you have played for years, or that you can play high notes. Can you play every note with centered tone and perfect pitch? Can you play stronger at the end of a three hour rehearsal than at the beginning? Can you play all the tones from the lowest to the highest with the same quality of tone? An added bonus of the Super Chops method, will be the end of sore lips from mouthpiece pressure. My method of practice demands strict attention to how you play each tone. You must blow each note with a full brilliant sound. Your tongue rests behind the lower teeth, and for all attacks it st. rikes the lips between the teeth. (Spitting action) You should never use the arched tongue for range or for lip slurs. No syllable playing aah -eeh because this will cause more strain and make higher tones too thin. Both lips must be fully energized by use of a full air stream striking your lips at the point of vibration. There should never be any obstruction or forcing of your throat in blowing the trumpet. I have noticed that the greatest and strongest players all play with an expanded neck. My own neck increases from two to four inches as I blow harder and higher. This shows an open throat without obstruction and without the use of incorrect arching of the tongue.
Dow to Practice Super Chops Exercises
I
tell all my students to play me one bar with a rich, brilliant centered tone that is perfectly in tune. From this one bar start, we can and will play the world's most difficult music. When I was a young student we were taught to learn to read much music and to learn speed playing. Go from the front of the book to the back. as quickly as possible. I have the greatest collection of trumpet study books in the world (I love books). I also have embouchure study books going back
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more than sixty five years. I study and play from violin, sax, clarinet flute and oboe books. However, none of this will help in blowing the trumpet correctly as much as my Super Chops method. Go very slowly, try to develop this new feel in your lips and facial muscles. The lower range must be developed first. Attempt no high notes until all your lower and middle register tones are solid and your lips feel great! Lips and facial muscles tire very quickly at first. Your lips must
(wind) power than ever before. The faster you run out of air, the more correctly you are doing the Super Chops method. The biggest and strongest men who have become my students: all say they never could use their full body strength in playing before doing Super Chops. Almost all the strain of blowing the trumpet goes to the body; not the lips. Anyone can successfully perform Super Chops from age eight to age eighty.
always be thick and pliable (flexible). You now will be able to practice for longer periods without suffering sore and bruised lips. The time element and your progress is determined by your correct use of the Super Chops method on your lips over a period of weeks and months. You must be very critical of yourself, constantly checking your chops against the sketches in this book. You will find yourself
using much more air
Setting the Lips and Facial Muscles for Super Chops
III.
The third method is what I call Super Chops. I am not the only one who plays this way; but I am the only one that teaches and can describe how to do it. Going back to Del Staigers and even before him, any player who developed unlimited range, power, flexibility; endurance and brilliant projecting sound was playing the Super Chops way.
First we must understand that there are only three ways to set your lips in blowing the trumpet.
I.
First the traditional "smile" or tightening of the mouth comers. This includes smiling and pulling the mouth comers down in a frown. This makes your lips under the mouthpiece thin and weak. Press your index finger against your lips in the center while using the smile or tight mouth. You will feel your lips getting thin in the center, and you can feel your teeth. What happens to your lips when they are stretched is that they break apart in the center of the mouthpiece cup. Once the lips break apart excess mouthpiece pressure must be used to try to keep vibration (tone) in lips. Remember, that without the lips touching there will be no friction and no sound, only air going into the mouthpiece cup. Your tone gets thin, endurance is limited and your lips become sore.
I will describe Super Chops briefly here, and in greater detail later. Both lips are drawn inward and thickened by the bunching upwards of the chin and relaxing of the mouth comers. Both lips touch each other all across the mouth. Solidness is felt in the center of the lips. The jaw will relax and you will be able to open your teeth more as you begin to gain strength in your embouchure. You should study as I did, every photo of Harry James while he was actually blowing the trumpet. You will see the very bunched up chin as he plays high and loud. Look at the world's greatest players, not the microphone, or Sotto Voce weak players but the ones whose tone rings out in the largest orchestras. If the trumpet player uses only a microphone and the sound is dull and limited in projection, then the player does not have Super Chops. ltain your ears to hear real trumpet tone, not electronic gimmickry.
Please note that in all incorrect lip settings, the chin will be flattened down and to the sides unlike Super Chops, whereby the correct lip set thickens the chin which comes upward as you ascend easily into the upper register.
I I.
The second method is called "lip pucker" or the whistling embouchure. This produces some thickness but the lips are flabby and cannot properly resist the air pressure. The reason for this is that in order to get proper resistance in the lips, we must fight the air by going back towards the onrushing air, not in the same direction as the air which is what the puckerer does. The puckerer when going very high in range has to blow much too hard (Overblowing), and uses excessive mouthpiece pressure. This results in thin tone in the high register, and lack of real carrying power. Note that the chin is pulled downward as it is with the "stretch" player.
There are three ways to tell that you are playing the Super Chops way: First you must have a very brilliant full resonant tone. Second, you must use much less mouthpiece pressure on your lips. Third, you must develop the ability to use much more wind power in playing. From now on, almost all the effort you will use in playing will be felt in the inner body. Your increased energy output will result in great improvement in all levels of your trumpet playing.
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Now to Change Your Present Chops ~ to Super Chops
Look
closely at the drawings, and follow the arrows to properly move your lips in the right direction. You will eventually feel everything happen with an automatic response when you play. At first, you must use all your powers of concentration to ensure correct development of all lip and facial muscles. The proper action of the lips is to resist the air stream. The lips must be brought inward gradually as you go higher and louder in volume. Your teeth must be open to receive and resist the full air column. Never try to guide the air by blowing with an unnatural jaw position. My lips set my jaw position by properly gripping the teeth and each other (top and bottom lip). Bottom lip grips (presses) evenly the bottom of your top lip. This grip or pressure is determined by what range you are playing. Now you must carefully study each of the facial drawings. The most important part of Super Chops is to be sure that your lips move exactly in the directions that are shown. Corners of your mouth should be relaxed. As you ascend in range scales or chords, bring your bottom lip up and over your top teeth. When I reach a double high "C", the top of my bottom lip is up on the upper gum line, above the top teeth. You must feel your lower lip moving up and in. The chin follows and supports the lower lip. When I get to the top notes, I bring the top lip down to grip the bottom lip. This is where the real power to blow powerful trumpet comes from. This inward lip resistance to the air is the Isometric Exercise that builds needed strength in the lip and facial muscles. Lower lip on the inside presses firmer against your top teeth all across the mouth as you go into the very high register. When descending from high to lower range, the lips relax and the lower lip drops lower on the upper teeth. From all notes low C, just below the staff and up, lower lip has an inward curvature. From low Bb downward, lower lip turns outward away from your teeth, as in a pout. Bottom lip loosens its grip on the cutting edge of top teeth. This allows more and slower air to enter the mouthpiece. This will give you great ease of playing, and you will not have to over blow on difficult passages.
A question most asked of me in teaching is "How does the air get thru when the lower lip is over the top teeth? Won't the aperture to allow air to enter the mouthpiece cup be blocked off by your top teeth? The air is being made to squeeze around the teeth and lips! This is exactly what gives you the greatest resistance to the air column, eventually giving much greater results than any other method of playing, even though your mind says this is not logical. The reason my Super Chops way works is that the air is very powerful, and like flooding water, is most difficult to hold back. Also, very little air enters the trumpet when you play loud double high C's. By relaxing this grip to go lower you gradually allow more air to enter the trumpet. When trying to play Super Chops you must go slowly and be patient. If you are having a problem, check your lip and facial settings, and you will find that your have reverted to old lip setting habits. The stronger your lip resistance is in the center of your lips, the less the mouth corners need to tighten and lips stretch incorrectly. Your use of the chin muscle is most important. The chin bunches and pushes up the area just below and across the entire lower lip. When doing this you will get a more perfect seal across the lips. Note how may players leak too much air from the sides of their lips because the seal is being broken by air pressure. The area just below the lower lip sometimes looks like it is full of air, but it is muscular. Always blow harder the higher you play. and resist the air. Do not allow it to enter the mouthpiece cup. Before placing the mouthpiece on your lips, set up your Super Chops. Then put the mouthpiece on lips. Do not put your mouthpiece on normal nonplaying lips. The reason we bring our lips together and inward on all notes above low C (below the staff) is to get and keep more lip in the mouthpiece cup. If we place the mouthpiece on lips, which are not cushioned, too much pressure will be used and results will be limited. You must only use the needed amount of lip set tension. Once you get the proper knack, you can start on a middle C or Double High "C", cold, just by using a proper lip set and correct air pressure. I like to think of doubling air pressure for each octave I ascend.
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SUPEKCUOPS
low register
middle register
high register
Lip setting and Position of 1eeth in Upper Registration
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Correct Resistance Now to answer the obvious question! If we do not use the tongue arch, where to we get the resistance to slur higher in range? We get all the correct resistance from the lips properly contracting towards the center of the mouthpiece. The lips act as a valve, controlling the air stream and vibration, with regards to range and power (volume). What is not well known is that when you blow a very loud double high "C", almost no air enters your trumpet. The lips held in the Super Chops system have almost completely closed the valve
(lips are compressed). Yet the feeling is -one of very free blowing with a big fat vibrating sound. Many teachers incorrectly advocate filling up the horn. You must blow very hard up to the lips. The lips then act as a closing valve, very gradually from the lowest to the highest range. Players often ask me "Do you get back pressure in your head, blowing so hard with closing lips? The answer is never; because the lips are in perfect control of my air power. This proper compression of the lips produces a maximum volume of tone in any range even above double high "C".
Tongue Placement The tip of your tongue must strike the inner part of your lips through your open teeth. This action is exactly like spitting. I usually make my students practice what I call a spit buzz. This is done without the mouthpiece, it combines the tongue striking the compressed lips, with full air; creating an attack and a buzzing sound.
use the "behind the top teeth" attack, tend to go flat on each pitch after the attack sounds. When I make a player who does this strike the lips with the tip of the tongue, his intonation improves instantly. Most of the world's greatest trumpet soloists both Classical and Jazz tongue through their teeth striking their lips.
Never tongue behind your top teeth or higher on your inside palate above the top of your teeth. Tongueing behind your top teeth builds resistance, and strains your throat area. Players who
After using the tongue to make an articulation it must lie flat in the mouth to allow your full air to reach your lips. (Never arch your tongue)
Breathing for Super Chops slightly built person will never have the lung capacity of the larger individual. This makes the player of small build, feel inferior. It is how you use your wind power, not how much air capacity you have. In Super Chops you build tremendous wind power by blowing properly against the resistance of compressed lips. Blowing up lung bags or balloons, will not help you. Only playing against proper lip resistance with continually increasing volume of sound, will give you the breath support you need to play well on a brass instrument. To prove my point listen to Charlie Shavers and Louis Armstrong blow the trumpet. Both are very small men, smaller than many big men using these lung increasing devices. Some of these young men have lungs with double the amount of litres of air of a Shavers or Armstrong; why can't they blow their horns with the same power; range and sound as Louis and Charlie?
When inhaling air to play a brass instrument, ,!o not raise your chest, shoulder or arms. Do not overbreathe because you want to playa high note. Most players inhale too much air to properly play the trumpet. You must inhale the breath allowing the air to expand the upper stomach area which is from your belly button up to the rib cage. The more relaxed you are, the easier it is to get the air into the right place. When exhaling to blow your horn, simply draw your upper stomach (solar plexis area) up and slightly under your frontal rib cage. I like to always set my upper stomach muscles inward and firm as I play all of my tones (high, lo\v, loud or soft). This gives me the advantage of more resonance in my sound. There is a large movement to increase lung capacity and measure each player. This concept I feel, is completely wrong. First the smaller more
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