Students must connect the formation of a fundamental embouchure with the air stream. The use of free buzzing introduces students to the concept without interference from a mouthpiece or instrument. In initial attempts, the most important aspect to free buzzing is the production of any sound from lip vibrations rather than any specific sound. Teachers should use this step to assess air stream and embouchure formation as well as their coordination.
For fundamental sound production, teachers should instruct students to:
- Raise a hand in front of your mouth. The main purpose for this is to shield other students from saliva that may spray as air is expelled through the embouchure. A hand can also serve as a focal point for air. It acts as both a “spit shield” and a target for the air stream.
- Set the embouchure, breath through the nose, and blow. In this first exercise, students may or may not produce sound. The purpose is to identify the aperture (the oval area in the center of the lips that is the origin of the vibrations to play a brass instrument). The aperture should remain as relaxed as possible to allow for maximum vibration. Although players should not typically breath through the nose, this allows students to maintain embouchure position in their initial attempts.
- Repeat the embouchure set and blowing with a focus on creating vibrations. Students should firm corners and press their lips together if necessary. Producing sound with as little effort as possible represents the ideal. A variation on the exercise is to start with lips slightly apart and slowly press them together while exhaling to find the exact position where vibrations begin.
- If a buzz does not result, repeat the steps for embouchure formation. When students do produce vibrations, continue the exercise until the teacher assesses that students can consistently and properly produce sound through their embouchures.
Opinions vary on extensive use of free buzzing [cite]. While it can offer students and teachers opportunities to focus on the mechanics of embouchure and air, those skills do not necessarily directly transfer to mouthpieces and instruments since a mouthpiece provides a physical surface and resistance that help to center and focus sound. Regardless, free buzzing is a useful starting concept and offers quick assessment opportunities at the very least and is an activity in which all students can participate simultaneously—an important consideration in typically large beginning classes with, often, heterogeneous instrumentation.