- Embouchure collapse
Embouchure collapse is a generic term used by
woodwind andbrass players to describe a variety of conditions which result in the inability of theembouchure to function. The Embouchure is the purposeful arrangement of the facial muscles and lips to produce a sound on a wind or brass instrument. Inbrass playing theembouchure also involves vibration of themembrane area of the lips(for a full explanation of embouchure click onEmbouchure ).Embouchure collapse in its various forms and extremities generally results in the following one of the following:
Difficulty in playing for extended periods (especially if playing loudly and/or in the high regiser) or in a complete inability to play altogether. The former applies mainly in less severe cases, the latter in the most severe cases.
This article will focus entirely on
Embouchure Collapse inbrass players.Causes
There are a variety of causes for
Embouchure Collapse, mainly Focal dystonia orEmbouchure Overuse Syndrome. The Topic of mouthpiece pressure is also hotly debated amongst brass players as to whether or not excessive pressure is damaging to the embouchure.Focal Dystonia
Dystonia is a neurological disease affeting the
brain's ability to fireneurons (which controlmuscle movement) correctly. "Focal Dystonia " specifically affects one particular area of the body and is usually completely isolated, affecting only one activity. [http://www.embouchures.com/Medical.htm Embouchures.com Service 3 ] ] The disease basically renders the sufferer unable to control themuscles in the affected area. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_dystonia]If this disease is present in a
brass player's facialmuscles this results in an inability to form an embouchure because of the individual's loss of control over the relevant muscles.Due to the neurological nature of the disease there is, in terms of
brass playing at least, no effective cure. Several treatments usingbotox have been pioneered to treatFocal Dystonia in other parts of the body however this is found to be ineffective in treating embouchure collapse.This is possibly becausebotox causes the facial muscles to relax and although this lessens the uncontrolable twitching of the muscles this new relaxed status deprives the player of the lip flexibility needed to play a brass instrument.For
brass players diagnosis withFocal Dystonia it signals the end of their careers in the majority of cases.Embouchure Overuse Syndrome
This is a far more common cause of
Embouchure collapse. As the name suggetsEmbouchure Collapse may be caused by "overuse" or in simple terms, playing "too much".Most
brass players will at some time experience lip swelling or "stiff lips" however when a player is forced to continue playing even whilst experiencing lip swelling due to embouchure overuse this can result in a chain of injuries that lead toEmbouchure Collapse. [http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/embouchure/Broken_Embouchures.html Broken Embouchures ] ]The situations in which
embouchure overuse might occur are:Being in rehearsals with an unsympathetic conductor who is possibly not a brass player(and therefore doesn't fully understand
embouchure overuse) and who "overworks" his/her players.Committing to doing several jobs involving intensive playing in a short period of time.
Generally speaking the best way of overcomming swollen lips is to simply refrain from playing, or practicing for a shorter period of time and with a good warm-up in the days following any period of extensive playing. When a player is deprived of the opportunity to recuperate after a period of extensive playing the simple matter of swollen lips is not allowed to heal and the player is forced to work already tired lips harder and harder to compensate for his/her lip's diminshed strength. Eventually the player's facial muscles will literally collapse under the strain of playing.
Mouthpiece Pressure
The subject of mouthpiece pressure is closely related to the issue of
Embouchure Collapse/Embouchure Overuse.It has long been argued that excessive mouthpiece pressure is a cause of
embouchure problems and can be a factor in causingEmbouchure Collapse.However the pressure of the mouthpiece is not
static during playing, it increases the higher in the register a player plays and the lounder the dynamic(volume level). [http://www.polyphonic.org/article.php?id=9 Mouthpiece Pressure - Fact or Myth - Polyphonic.org ] ] Also, a little mouthpiece pressure is "essential" to provide a seal between the player'sembouchure and the instrument, without this all the air would escape before entering the instrument and no sound would be emitted(brass instruments are dependant on an airflow to produce sound). [ [http://www.jayfriedman.net/reflections/20041108Shifting_gears.php Jay Friedman: Principal Trombonist, Chicago Symphony Orchestra ] ]What is certainly true is that
Embouchure Collapse is far more common amongtrumpet andhorn players. Both of these instruments have mouthpieces with a smallcircumference and therefore the pressure is presumably greater as the force of the mouthpiece on the face is more concentrated.This is in accordance with the principal of physics that pressure is the amount of force divided by the area on which the force is exerted.Sadly, thanks to the lack of scientific evidence(no scientific study into mouthpiece pressure as a cause of
Embouchure Collapse has ever been done) and the equally valid argument that "all" brass players can sufferEmbouchure Collapse, and the subjective(not static) nature of mouthpiece pressure our knowledge of mouthpiece pressure as a cause ofEmbouchure Collapse is limited.Diagnosis
Embouchure Collapse caused byFocal Dystonia is something which can be diagnosedmedically .Embouchure Collapse caused by embouchure overuse however is generally speaking not conisdered to be a specifically medical issue. One of the difficulties in diagnosis is that when a brass player describes their symptoms to theirdoctor ordentist (as is often the case)the physician is unable to fully understand what the patient means. This is because brass players learn their embouchure by "feel" and therefore words have a limited ability to describeembouchure problems, especially if the person listening to the description is not a brass player and has a limited knowledge of theembouchure .Also in the less severe cases the player may only be able to feel what is wrong whilst they are playing. Many players with an embouchure problem will, once they have realisedthat it is more than a simple case of tired lips wish to refrain from playing.The fact that over 300 muscles are employed in forming a brass
embouchure and that each will chage slightly as a player struggles to play when experiencing embouchure problems means that what they describe as being wrong will have not only worsened their condition when they play, but will be different each time they do so.In the most severe cases the pain caused by embouchure overuse can be felt even when not playing and in some cases other symtoms will manifest such as loss of tissue and damaged nerves.
This however only occurs in the rarest and most extreme circumstances and unfortunately signals the almost definite end of the player's career.
Recovery
As already stated in this article, sufferes of
Focal Dystonia have virtually no possibility or recovery fromEmbouchure Collapse.Sufferes of embouchure overuse however have been known the recover. The simplest way of doing so is to simply refrain from playin for an extended period of time, possibly years, before attempting to play again. The exact amount of time needed and whether or not the player will have to completely re-learn the use of their embouchure is a largely subjective issue and depends on the individual.
Additional Information
Several books on the subject are available including "Broken Embouchures" by Lucinda Lewis,a professional
hornist who has been successful in helping other brass players with embouchure problems. [ [http://www.embouchures.com/ Embouchures.com ] ]References
1.http://www.embouchures.com/Medical.htm2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_dystonia3.http://www.embouchures.com/Medical.htm4.http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/embouchure/Broken_Embouchures.html5.http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/embouchure/Broken_Embouchures.html6.http://www.polyphonic.org/article.php?id=97.http://www.jayfriedman.net/reflections/20041108Shifting_gears.php8.www.polyphonic.org/article.php?id=99.http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/embouchure/Broken_Embouchures10.http://www.embouchures.com/
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