The button exercise

I am always in for new ways of making improvement to my practice, make it more efficient and improve my playing. Since I do BE, I am pretty experiment proof, which means that in the rare case that my embouchure really starts to falter, I can always find my way back again. There were times that this was really not the case at all!

Anyway, triggered by the Ads on my page, I want to share my experience with something quite like the P.E.T.E, a little device from the Warburton company. Years ago, when I was struggling with my embouchure and looking for new ways to improve my playing, I got an idea. Later it appeared to be an already existing idea, but I got it all by myself (proud!). I took a small button and a piece of string. I put the button in my mouth between my lips and teeth and pulled the string and tried to hold the button in place with my lips. This is exactly what the P.E.T.E does. A good exercise, I still think. But, at that time I wasn't aware of the risk involved in this. I did this for half an hour or even more, and eventually I couldn't play a single note anymore, so, I stopped doing this altogether. Now that I know a bit better how to pace myself and read more about how muscles work, I figured, why not experiment with it again? I now experiment with 3x10 seconds, 3x a day and try to build it up a bit.
So, anyone who wants to try, be careful, do not overdo, and stick to small amounts of time. If you feel a burn in your muscles, you've already done enough.
Oh, and never do it close to practice or as a warm up before a concert. It's like weight lifting, make sure you have enough time to relax again!