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Offering yet another approach to the setup of the embouchure is Farquharson Cousins in On Playing the Horn, which was published in 1983 with a second edition in 1992. Stepping back for a minute, his description is fascinating, reading it you realize that we are very used to an embouchure description using the type of terminology of Farkas but really the embouchure is something that defies clear description in words. Cousins, who served as Principal Horn of a number of orchestras in England and Scotland, begins,
A mirror is invaluable. Only then can we see what we are trying to make our facial muscles do. These muscles should be firmly knit and clinging to the bone structure from ear to ear as closely as possible. The corners of the mouth then become hard whorls of muscular contraction. These are the pivots. The directional force of these pivots is upwards, which we shall call the ‘Cheshire Cat’ direction, as opposed to the downward or ‘Mandarin Moustache’ direction. Preference goes to the Cheshire Cat because it is less variable and has an added power of support. The distance apart of the pivots can be satisfactorily determined only by experiment. (A ‘slight smile’ rather than a ‘grin’ could act as an interim guide.) The main aim is to keep the pivots above the line of the mouth and thereby provide them with a consistent position which can be repeated with a minimum of variance.
Translating a bit, the pivots are essentially what Farkas would call the corners and Cousins wants to see a certain upward directional feel to the embouchure. He explains further that
There is, I believe, a rare secret to be found in every first class embouchure. It has no accepted name, so I shall invent one which is also a literal description: ‘the Upward-Resisted-Push’. When the mouthpiece is in position the player pushes it upwards towards the nose, where, provided that the pivots are firm, the muscles between the top of the mouthpiece and the nose will RESIST. Apart for from the advantage of making it difficult to press in excess of muscle support, the Upward-Resisted-Push assists the red (vibrating) part of the top lip inside the mouthpiece to be revealed. Also it helps the tightening of the lip membrane for higher vibrations. When the knack of the Upward-Resisted-Push is acquired a note seems almost to sustain itself and there is a sensation of effortless ‘poise’, perhaps the most satisfying experience in the whole game of horn playing. What has been described is the basis of what I call the ‘Embouchure-Seal’.
Cousins explains that the “Embouchure-Seal” is the “temporary welding” of the mouthpiece to the lips, as “The instrument is, in a sense, an extension of the player.” Continuing this thought,
Lips are tough, and with training can support almost effortlessly whatever pressures are consistent with their development. There must be no confusion about this. Imagine a wheelbarrow being edged by a mini-car, then the mini-car by a lorry, and the lorry by a locomotive. In each case pressures are brought to bear without much effort on the part of the stronger party. A mouthpiece made of metal could crush any human tissue if allowed to do so, but if the player develops the muscles in his lips, reasonable pressure can not only be harmless but can improve the efficiency of the ‘Embouchure-Seal’, the only condition being, as already emphasized, that pressure is relative to muscle support. The stronger the lip muscles, the greater the pressure that can be exerted, and the firmer the contact between mouthpiece and lip.
“Lips are tough” indeed! Basically what he is saying is that if the muscles are strong you can counter whatever mouthpiece pressure is needed to get the best result. Not the “puckered smile” of Farkas at all. I don’t think he would have much use for that anti-pressure device of a few posts ago.
