In the beginning there was the smile. I was first introduced to the smile embouchure by my first cornet teacher, Mr.Earl E. Youngdahl in Moline, Illinois when I was in fourth grade. The lesson went something like this- “Mr. Youngdahl, how can I play the high notes”? His response went somewhat like this- “When you play the high notes, you need to stretch the corners of your lips outward as if you are stretching a rubber band by pulling on both ends at the same time”. And now you know why I have never been able to play with ease…