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Embouchure

Embouchure
The best embouchures are often described as two-thirds top lip, one-third bottom. This comes from the way that we aim our airstream down into our lead pipe. Having more top lip gives us better control with aiming our air and makes shifting between ranges easier. Lips comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and appropriate mouthpieces can aid in finding this balance. Your teeth can also play a role in helping find the proper placement as well.
An easy way to find a setting is to place the mouthpiece almost to the lips and then begin a free buzz and slowly place the mouthpiece on your face and allow the muscles to relax around the mouthpiece to keep the buzz going once it is in place. Aperture, the hole your lips make to allow air through, plays a huge part in this setup as well. Aperture should naturally find its way through simple exercises and can also help guide the mouthpiece to proper placement. Check that the corners of your mouth are firm so that air is not slipping out anywhere and your cheeks are not puffing out.

With beginners, I often try an exercise that involves blowing air through the aperture to find proper mouthpiece placement. While keeping your face pointed straight ahead, place your hand against your sternum and try blowing air downwards at it. Next, slowly move your hand up to be right in front of your face while keeping your air stream hitting your hand. Slowly move your hand up and down following this path and letting your mouth learn to shift easily around your aperture as your air stream changes direction. Somewhere around the middle of that path is a natural spot for your mouthpiece to rest on your face.

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