JonnyB wrote:
Eric I guess you haven't met any hornplayers using an inset embouchure then.
Not if an "inset embouchure" means not using your lower lip for support. Who can possibly get a buzz at all without using both lips???
I am aware of a technique trumpeters use for extreme high notes where the lower lip is pulled way inside the mouth so far that the pink part of the lip is not visible. The sheer amount of flesh stuffed inside the cup combined with immense breath pressure results in very high harmonics. I actually purchased a small book on the system a few years back when I played trumpet. Having given myself an inguinal hernia as a teenager by blowing too hard on a trumpet during a parade, I chose not to repeat the mistake after reading the booklet. The publication came with a demo CD. Horrible sound, my dogs howled.
Seriously though, while playing I actually think more about my lower lip than the upper. Perhaps it is because I have an overbite, so my upper lip is pretty well pinned (by no means tightly, as I use low pressure) against my teeth, wheras the lower lip is more free to move around. Plus, of course, the jaw is free to move about as well. Sometimes I change the shape of my oral cavity to improve intonation, so the lower lip must move relative to the jaw when such is taking place.