Hey folks

I just read in Andrea's embouchure thread about someone doing bunnyrabbit faces to strengthen their embouchure (which is mentioned though more as prep in the Fife Book) and it occurred to me to ask, does anyone know any exercises that can be done to improve one's embouchure away from the instrument, either strength agility or simply technique-wise? For any wind instrument! I thought it would be interesting to see, and can't help thinking that if, for example, rabbit faces could help with the flute, we could all make better use of the time we spend reading the forum even if our respective families will think we're most odd pulling strange expressions at the computer screen!

As well as the aforementioned rabbit faces, the only thing I can think of that I have done for flute besides determined screwing-up-of-face is to make a flutey embouchure and move the airstream around as accurately as I can. Don't know if it helps but have been known to do it just in hopes..............

Anyone else know of any - tried and tested are good, random and unscientific would also be interesting though!!

There are at least two oboe embouchure-strengthening activity which are compatible with reading the forums:
1st exercise
- Role your lips in as if you were going to play.
- Rest a pencil on your bottom lip.
- Raise the pencil as high as possible by tightening your lips.
- Hold in the high position for a few seconds and then relax.
- Repeat as many times as possible.

2nd exercise
- Blow as hard as you can through a straw (or a ball point pen from which you have removed the bit you write with).
You should of course be holding the straw/remains of the pen in your lips as if it were an oboe reed.

You can also do breathing exercices.
- Breathe in for a count of eight (or while you read x number of posts)
- Hold for eight (while you read x number of posts)
- Breathe out for eight (while you read x number of posts)
Gradually increase the times.

This exercise has an advantage over the other two in that no one can really see you are doing it.

For sax, moving from an "eee" shape, kind of a smile, corners of mouth pulled as far back as possible, to an "ooo" shape, pursed lips in a circle.

Something like
4 beats eee, 4 beats ooo - repeat 8 times
2 beats eee, 2 beats ooo - repeat 8 times
1 beat eee, 1 beat ooo - repeat 8 times

You can really feel the muscles at the side of your mouth working