Corners or "OH"? Thoughts on Two Breathing Approaches

[Tomnormann]

I've seen two different films on YouTube in which Michael Mulcahy and Charles Vernon explain two different approaches to inhalation and embouchure formation.

Michael Mulcahy recommends avoiding a pronounced "OH" shape when inhaling (an OH-sound though). Instead, he advocates inhaling through the corners of the mouth ("Julia Roberts" mouth), so that the embouchure is largely already in place when exhalation and articulation begin.

Charles Vernon, on the other hand, recommends an "OH" shape when inhaling, arguing that a Julia Roberts-mouth does not provide the open oral cavity and throat needed for a free and efficient breath.

I see strengths and weaknesses in both approaches. Vernon's method gives me the openness in the airways that I'm looking for. At the same time, I experience two drawbacks. First, the embouchure must necessarily be set at the moment of articulation, which can interfere with the attack. Second, the embouchure does not feel sufficiently firm, resulting in a less clear and focused sound, particularly in the upper register and/or soft dynamics.

What have your experiences been? Have you found a way to combine the advantages of the two approaches?

[AndrewMeronek]

I think that these are two different approaches for two different purposes.

Michael Mulcahy is playing Principal and has to consider high-range endurance and subtle details of phrasing in a different way from Charlie Vernon, who more often has to know how to really tank up as efficiently as possible so as to have enough air to sustain his incredible low range.

[Doug Elliott]

Once you learn how to open your corners enough, and get your tongue out of the way, the inhalation can be just as "free and efficient" that way. And you're not having to put your chops back together after every breath.

You can learn to open your corners without also opening the middle the way the second picture shows. Keep the middle together in playing position. It takes a little work to learn how to do that but it's worth it.

Watch how I do it:

[Tomnormann]

Once you learn how to open your corners enough, and get your tongue out of the way, the inhalation can be just as "free and efficient" that way. And you're not having to put your chops back together after every breath.

You can learn to open your corners without also opening the middle the way the second picture shows. Keep the middle together in playing position. It takes a little work to learn how to do that but it's worth it.

Watch how I do it:

Thanks, Dough. I understand your point, and I also appreciate the advantage of keeping the embouchure set between breaths. That's exactly why I've spent quite a bit of time working on Michael Mulcahy's approach.

My experience, however, is that something else happens. Even when I open the corners sufficiently and keep the tongue low, retracting the corners seems to trigger an involuntary tightening somewhere in the throat. I've experimented with this extensively, and it doesn't feel like a technical issue anymore—it feels more like a neuromuscular reflex.

With an "aw" inhalation, as Charles Vernon advocates, that tightening simply isn't there. The airway feels noticeably more open and natural. The downside, of course, is that I lose the advantage of having the embouchure fully established before the attack.

I wonder if what Charles Vernon describes is simply recognizing a reflex that some of us experience more strongly than others.

[AtomicClock]

"Oh" is probably healthier, as it gives you a taste of the air inside the horn. With "corners", I never smell that air, so it can get pretty ripe. I'd know to clean the horn more often if I switched.

[Doug Elliott]

Practice corner inhalations without the horn. I understand the involuntary throat tightening, probably the muscles in your neck that are involved in pulling your corners back, but with practice it gets better and easier.

Charlie and Michael are demonstrating.
I'm showing what I actually do in performance, that I specifically learned and practiced and it became the way I play all the time.