Question:

"I play large bore horns because I can't seem to be able to stand the resistance of ML trumpets, if that makes any sense to you."

Answer:

Let me pass this concept by you and you can turn it around in your head for awhile.

Pressure causes swelling. Everyone presses to some degree. Pressure is used most when the player is blowing hardest, i.e., when playing in the upper range or just plain playing loud. Why is pressure used most in these instances? Because pressure aids in helping to keep the lips from being blown out into the mouthpiece. If the lips become blown apart, the aperture becomes distorted and the sound is less pure. If the lips get blown apart by a lot, no vibration occurs and no sound comes out. Or, the lips hit against the cup producing a "ripping" sound.

The alternative to pressure is to use the musculature of the lips to compress them, withstanding the force of the air with the strength of the embouchure. However, using excessive tension will cause the sound to become less vibrant. Indeed, many players, depending on their natural endowment (muscle/fleshiness-wise) prefer to use controlled pressure over muscle tension or a wise combination of the two as the pressure can help to extend the muscles load bearing ability (extra endurance/purer sound).

Other factors that enter into the use of pressure is the size of the inner diameter being used. The larger the surface area of the lip to be exposed, the greater the musculature (or pressure!) needed to keep the lips from being blown apart. *ALSO* the larger the internal dimensions (overall volume) of the equipment being used ***large bore Bb with a 1-1/2C with a 23 bore!!!!*** the harder the player is going to need to blow (all the time!!!) in order to fill the horn enough to achieve resonance, good intonation and pitch.

Any alarms sounding here?