EMBOUCHURE HOW-TOS
The following is an excerpt from "The Bassoon Embouchure, Air, and the Importance of Voicing" by Darryl Durran
"The bassoon embouchure is beautiful in its simplicity. Unfortunately, many bassoon players bring embouchure traits from their previous instruments (clarinet, saxophone) to the bassoon. The result...is that far too much jaw pressure is exerted on the reed, with the result being an overall sharpeness of pitch, poor response and embouchure fatigue. Therefore, the basic goal is to minimize top-to-bottom pressure on the reed, to allow the reed to sit on a fairly soft lip cushion and to utilize only those muscles required."
The bassoon embouchure is an overbite wher the lower jaw is slightly behind the upper jaw. There is a little pressure from the bottom lip and none on top.
It is almost identical to saying the words "ew" or "dew"
The center of the lips should be relaxed while the corners of the mouth are somewhat pursed, focusing toward the center of the mouth.
FORMING THE EMBOUCHURE
To form the basic bassoon embouchure do the following steps:
1. Place the tip of the little finger on your lower lip
2. Draw the finger into your mouth and take the lower lip with it. The lip should form a cushion for the reed to sit on.
3. Bring the top lip down slightly over your teeth.
This is the basic bassoon embouchure. It is a soft type embouchure with little pressure from the bottom. It is not a hard type embouchure
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Now repeat the same exercise, but this time with the reed instead of the little finger:
1. Place the tip of the reed on your lower lip
2. Draw the reed into your mouth taking the lower lip with it. The lip should form a cushion for the reed to sit on.
3. Bring the top lip down slightly over the top teeth.
*****When the reed is in the mouth, the top lip should be almost up to the first wire with the bottom lip slightly behind it.
*****Everyone has a different lip structure, so each person may look slightly different. Let the lip, jaw and teeth form the way that they will when your finger in drawn into your mouth
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Think your getting good? Using only the reed and bocal, try the following exercises:
1. Sustain a sound on the reed and bocal. While the pitch is sounding, quickly draw the reed out of your mouth. The objective is to not have the lips close as the reed is removed, and for the air to continue uninterrupted as the tone stops and the reed leaves your mouth.
2. Again with just the reed and bocal, sustain a sound (try saying "dew" in your mouth) while touching the front of your chin. The objective here is to maintain the same smoothness of tissue as when saying "ew". A mirror will help here too. You want to avoid "bunching" your chin.
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EMBOUCHURES
THE GOOD
(notice the top lip coming to the first wire and the slight underbite)
THE BAD
(notice the lips coming forward showing too much pink of the lips and the lack of an underbite)
AND THE UGLY...
(notice the puffed cheeks and the reed placement being off center)