Author: belle
Date: 2021-06-01 06:00
I have an observation leading to my question.... all top oboe players seem to have thin lips. I initial thought that playing the oboe might tone the facial muscles differently and cause thinner lips, but I think now after decades of on/off playing but initially intense for 5 years through university, perhaps it's that people with thinner lips have the advantage of not having extra (often substantial) cushioning that the embouchure muscles have to negotiate. They can therefore practise for longer and are therefore the ones that make it professionally.
I've come to this theory through observation, but also from wondering why I myself have very poor (15-30mins) endurance after YEARS of practise under a teacher and then professor teacher (who also had thin lips).
I don't play on reeds that are too hard... just Soft-Medium soft European or Medium Soft-Medium American. But I wish I could play on a harder reed to get a bigger sound. I train my embouchure with an old reed when I don't practise on the instrument. When I tire, I feel my bottom teeth dig into the inside area of under my lower lip line. There is a substantial chunk of flesh there too as I have a thicker skin type in general. (Meaning I can't pinch my skin less than half and inch thick except at my elbow, top of hands and feet.) Any thoughts?
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