Welcome

The TCE (Tongue-Controlled Embouchure) is the most successful brass embouchure method in the world, and is endorsed by some of the world’s most famous brass players. I have mastered the TCE method. This is evident in my playing and demonstrated by the many successful students I have all over the world. The purpose of this website is to introduce the technique of the TCE to as many people as possible and to help them understand what it sounds like to have a centered sound, perfect intonation and a high playing range.

Jerome Callet developed the Super Chops method after many years of research into the problems of brass playing. After more than 12 years of study with Jerome and co-authoring the book “Trumpet Secrets”, I have named the method The Tongue-Controlled Embouchure or TCE.

tce-studio

Tongue-Controlled Embouchure?

There are many reasons to have an embouchure that is strong and dependable. The most obvious one is to be able to play in the extreme high register of the instrument. The TCE will not only develop this aspect of playing, but will also help make you the virtuoso you want to be.

It has always been said that practice makes perfect, and of course we know this to be true. The only trouble with long hours of practice (and you must put in long hours no matter what method you play) is embouchure fatigue. Just when you seem to be making progress, your embouchure caves in. The whole idea behind the TCE is to build a “Virtuoso Embouchure” that will enable you to practice those difficult passages over and over again.

In my trumpet-playing career, I had always sought out the most difficult concerti and sonatas. If I heard a great virtuoso play them, then I had to play them also. The trouble was that my embouchure was not strong enough to work the endless hours needed to master these difficulties. I used to think that maybe I lacked the talent to play these works. When I returned to playing and learned the TCE my embouchure became powerful and secure.

I now play the Natural Trumpet (also referred to as the Baroque Trumpet). This instrument without valves is the perfect instrument to prove that the embouchure is paramount. I am able to play the most beautiful and difficult music from the 17th and 18th centuries with no difficulty. In the past these works were only playable on the piccolo trumpet (a bastard instrument). I truly believe that the Secrets of the Clarinblasen players have been discovered. To my knowledge, currently, I am the only Baroque Trumpeter in the world today who can play the 2 Reutter concerti, the Riepel concerto in D major, Leopold Mozart concerto in D major and the Michael Haydn concerto in D major back to back. With practice, dedication and an open mind you too can reach these heights. The drawing you see above is the basic principle behind the TCE.