Band directors and private instructors have reported using BE successfully with students who were not progressing with conventional methods. One high school band director wrote, "I am now much more successful with helping students improve their tone and range with this knowledge. One story is of a girl with braces". Another teacher said, "I have been using your book with many of my students for about a year now (I also use it!) and I am having INCREDIBLE SUCCESS".
Marcel went on to explain that the key to achieving a balanced embouchure was not to try to force the lips and facial muscles into a specific formation, but rather to allow them to find a natural balance through relaxation and flexibility.
Once both movements are understood as isolated reference points, the final stage is to weave them together into a continuous flex. Through a series of specialized lip slurs, the embouchure dynamically transitions from a rolled-out stance at the bottom of the horn to a rolled-in stance at the very top. The result is a smooth, unbroken mechanism that glides across registers effortlessly. Structure of the Book and Companion Materials
In the mid-1990s, Smiley reportedly arrived at a "startling new approach" to brass development that, he felt, offered a comprehensive solution. This method focuses on a series of designed to change the fundamental relationship between the lips and the mouthpiece. Core Principles of the BE Method the balanced embouchure jeff smileypdf
What is your (beginner, comeback player, professional)?
Smiley places significant emphasis on mouthpiece placement. While some schools of thought advocate for a set placement (e.g., always 50/50), BE encourages players to find the placement that allows for the most natural vibration and muscle engagement, which may vary slightly from player to player.
The book is 149 pages long and focuses heavily on the mechanics of the mouth, tongue, and air. The system relies on two main types of physical exercises: 1. The Roll-In Technique : Rolling the lips inward over the teeth. Band directors and private instructors have reported using
This 149-page self-help book is designed for all brass instruments and levels of play, claiming to help musicians achieve greater range, endurance, and tone quality through a series of dynamic range-of-motion exercises. Core Philosophy: Mechanics Over Mystery
To understand TBE, players must grasp several unconventional concepts introduced in the book: 1. The "Roll-In" and "Roll-Out"
: Praised for its effectiveness in solving "embouchure dystonia" and helping struggling students reach "high G" with ease. Another teacher said, "I have been using your
Beyond the core range-of-motion work, the book includes double tonguing exercises, lesson plans, and an exceptionally detailed troubleshooting section. Topics addressed include "focusing the double pedal sound, keeping the rolled-in lip position from collapsing, the broken embouchure, protruding top lips, big lips, braces, throat tension, excess mouthpiece pressure, double buzzing, and so on". For many players, this troubleshooting section is alone worth the price of the book.
The charts. The specific harmonic sequences. The daily warm-up routine. What the PDF is bad for: Diagnosing why your lip is turning blue.