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Control points. Every trumpet player has them, but few consciously use them. That’s unfortunate, because proper use of your control points can transform your playing. Does this seem a little bit too much like those infomercials for the “Perfect Club”? Have no fear; I will not infomercialize trumpet technique. I will, however, do my best to give you some idea what control points are, and why you should care.
We are all keenly aware of our embouchure corners. Likely, we know what things we can do (or not do) with our corners to facilitate our playing. Really though, the corners are just half of the picture. The job of the corners is to stretch the lips out, like a smile, and if there is nothing on the other end to counteract them, then we do indeed form a smile. This may look good for the school picture, but it is no way to play the trumpet. What we need is something to balance the stretching muscles in the corners, so that we can form a vibrating surface with the lips. The muscle that provides that balancing force is the “puckering” muscle (yes, that is the scientific name, unless of course you count orbicularis oris, but you likely won’t remember that, so I’ll stick with puckering).
It is this balance between smiling and puckering that creates a usable vibrating surface for playing the trumpet. This vibrating surface is crucial. Obviously, the entire lip doesn’t vibrate; only the middle portion does. Outside the mouthpiece, the lips are anchored together tightly; no vibration is allowed. Inside the mouthpiece there is at least a portion of lip that vibrates, thus creating sound. It would follow, then, that there are two points where the lip transitions from a vibrating surface to a non-vibrating surface, one on each side of the vibrating surface itself. These points are what I call “control points”. You could also call them “anchor points”, or “points of the holy transition”, or really just about anything. Whatever you call them, though, they are an extremely important key to an efficient and effective embouchure.
Many players will talk about keeping the corners still while playing, but it is my firm belief that it is keeping the control points still that creates the best results. While we are playing there is a great deal of tightening and loosening of the embouchure. This tightening and loosening is essential to changing the frequency of vibration, and, as a direct result, the pitch that is created. But when there is so much tightening and loosening of the embouchure muscles, there is potential for the vibrating surface to be disrupted by motion. It is this motion that becomes public enemy number one for trumpet players, and it is this motion that can be curtailed by the control points. Ideally, the muscles would tighten and loosen with no movement in or out (or left and right if you prefer). This would allow the tension of the vibrating tissue to change without any alterations to the size, which means that the change in frequency could be readily controlled. In contrast, if the size of the vibrating surface is altered along with the changes in tension, then it is very difficult to control, and the result is reduced accuracy, control, and quality of sound.
It follows then, that if we keep the control points fixed in place, the physical size of the vibrating surface remains largely unchanged. Only the tension of the tissue is changed, allowing it to vibrate at various frequencies, and allowing us to play different notes on the trumpet. With the control points stabilized, the result will be improved control and accuracy over what pitches are produced.
If you made it through all of that technical mish-mash, then you will rejoice in the fact that what you actually do with that information is quite simple. First, do exercises that will develop the muscles that control the control points. The best strength exercise I know for this is discussed in my earlier article, One Long G. Second, simply concentrate on holding the control points in place. Don’t allow them to collapse inward while playing in the lower register, and don’t allow them to extend outward while playing in the upper register. Concentrate on the stability of the control points instead of the stability of the corners. The corners are important, but in my experience, if the control points are stabilized then it doesn’t seem to matter what the corners are doing. If you think about the fact that the control points are holding the size of the vibrating surface in check, then it becomes obvious that the corners have a secondary, rather than primary, function in the embouchure.
This article is short, and that is on purpose. Take the time to let what you’ve read seep in a bit, and then reread it. Try applying some of the concepts I’ve mentioned, and then read it again. Over time, you will be able to actually feel the presence of the control points in your embouchure, but this may well take time. When you are doing your daily foundation routine, concentrate on stabilizing your control points. This concept will help you make substantial improvements in your playing, especially in the areas of accuracy, flexibility, and sound. Have patience, though — like all great concepts, it takes a lot of work to get anything out of it. Remember, true improvement is a matter of acquiring skill, not knowledge.
Very interesting this your article, many thanks.
Leonardo Maniscalco