Misconceptions about BE

In an email she mentioned some misconceptions and in my years with BE I have encountered many of them, too. I thought it a good idea to put them on my pages and add a few myself. The first five are written by Valerie (I adapted the one about RO to the trumpet world, because the relaxation myth is very stubborn amongst trumpet players), the rest is from my own experience.

I hope this will contribute to a better understanding of the method for both students and teachers.Some misconceptions are very stubborn and can even undermine the process, or it can make people decide to not use BE because they are afraid of what could happen.

Misconception #1:  BE is all about rolling the lips in and out
 

 
Misconception #2:  Roll-Out (RO) exercises are relaxation exercises.
 
RO is one of the two extremes. You can roll out your lips completely, or you can roll them in completely. The idea behind BE is that through these exaggerated motions you learn to move your lips in more or less the right direction. Nothing more, nothing less.

From Valerie I heard that with horn students there is a specific misunderstanding that RO is meant to develop the low register. So, people think wrongly, if you already have a good low register, RO isn't necessary. In BE you need both extremes to develop a better working embouchure, so you certainly need RO as one of the two extremes.

Misconception #3:  Roll-In (RI) is meant to play the high register.

 
RI is (just like RO)  meant to teach the lips to move in more or less the right direction. The goal is of course a better tone, endurance, range (yes!) and flexibility over the whole range and do this as efficiently as possible.

 
Misconception #5:  A correct BE embouchure is rolled out on low notes and rolled in on high notes.

 
There simply is no BE embouchure. If you do the exercises outlined in the book, you develop your own unique embouchure. In every register elements of RI and RO appear. One cannot predict how the embouchure will look after some time. When you start doing the exercises, try to do them with an open mind, not with preconceived ideas. That si the reason why Jeff Smiley didn't want to include video, because that way people would think that it 'has to look this or that way', thus missing the chance to let it grow and develop on its own.

Misconception #6: BE is a quick fix. That is suspicious, because you can only develop a good embouchure through working very hard.

Nowhere in the book does it say that it is a quick fix. You are invited to do the exercises and sooner or later  you'll notice improvement. Nobody can predict how long it will take. Some people notice the first changes pretty quick, for others it will take years. And believe me, BE is hard work!

 Misconception #7: Your tone gets thinner when you do BE.

During the RI exercises your tone doesn't necessarily gets to be very fat. By the way, that is only one of the things that happen if you are dong RI . Initially your tone will jump in every direction, expected and unexpected. Certainly something you wouldn't want in your normal playing. It's part of the process. It isn't the way you are supposed to play, it's just an exercise. 

Misconception #8: BE is just for jazz trumpeters. It's only meant to play high and your tone gets much too bright and brassy.

Not only is this  an insulting preconception about the goals of the jazz trumpeter , it is also false. With BE you develop a more efficient embouchure. Tone, endurance, flexibility improve, so that you will have the tone you need for the job. Besides that, there isn't one note of jazz in the whole book.

Misconception #9: I can find the lipslurs in the BE in every other book. I don't have to buy the BE book to have yet another book with lipslurs.

Well, if BE was only a book with lipslurs, then this statement would be true. BE is much more than only the lipslurs (although a lot of people I met, seem to think it isn't) and besides that there is much more to the lipslurs than mentioned in any other book. If you are looking for a book with lipflexibilities BE is not the book you'll need.

Misconception #10: In the book there is no attention for breathing, breath support , pivot, syllables or tongue arch. That can never be a good method. 

So a good method is a method that confirms the traditional methods, even if they don't give the results you want?

There are some very useful breathing exercises in the book. You don't need much more than these. When doing RI, you cannot do these without the right breath support, so you are actually training this the best way possible. Things like syllables, tongue arch and pivot are not relevant.  If there is an issue with these things,things tend to solve themselves during the process. very direct analysis and intervention with these parameters can lead to new problems and frustration.That is why these are not mentioned.

Misconception #11: If I only do the BE exercises, I will develop faster than when I do my rehearsals, gigs and occasional Arban and other fun things.

One of the very important things about doing BE, is not doing it. You do a BE session, and after that there is nothing in the world less important than BE. You just play the way it feels best at that moment. This way the lips will find a way to incorporate the goodies of BE.