29/11/2025
Most musicians expect tension to show up in their shoulders, arms, or back…
but some of the most performance-limiting patterns live in the smallest, most overlooked places.
A client recently shared a story that captures this perfectly.
She’d been dealing with jaw tightness, neck stiffness, inconsistent tone, and an embouchure that never felt like it “stuck.”
She assumed it was fatigue… or that she simply needed more practice.
But the real issue wasn’t just her jaw.
It was a full-body pattern quietly twisting her neck, cranium, and jaw out of position.
She had exercises for everything: shoulders, arms, and back, all of which were helpful!
but nothing that reached the deeper structures that were actually driving her symptoms.
Once we targeted those areas directly?
Her warm-ups got shorter.
Her tone opened up.
Her embouchure stabilized.
Her endurance improved on both oboe and flute.
Her words stopped me in my tracks:
“I didn’t realize how much internal jaw tension was affecting the embouchure I wanted.”
This is the part musicians rarely get taught:
The upper neck, cranium, and jaw quietly shape your sound, stability, and endurance, long before technique even enters the equation. This is the importance of body work away from your instrument.
If her story feels familiar…and you want to learn what your neck and jaw are actually doing behind the scenes,
I’m opening a few jaw beta sessions for December.
Send me a DM and I’ll share the details.
PS - if you made it this far - stranger things season five is out! Let’s gooooooo!
