Mello player: Puffing cheeks a trap?
Hey, I’m mainly posting over here in r/trumpet because the mellophone subreddit is dead, and our air support/embouchure concepts cross over pretty good anyway. I’m trying to organize my thoughts and maybe see how I would go about changing some mechanical habits I've developed, and I'd love some brutally honest feedback on whether I'm setting myself up for long-term failure. Or, if I’m actually okay and doing shit right and my volume will forever just be good. For reference, I’m pretty loud, but not as loud as our eupho, for example.
The whole time playing, I have known about Glassblower’s Disease (the permanent cheek ballooning from the stretching of the buccinator muscles). Most teachers say cheek puffing is a cardinal sin because it’s a sign you're playing lazy, but for me, it feels a lil different.
When I play, I feel like puffing my cheeks creates a "resonance chamber" type of thing that helps shape my sound. My cheeks stay firm while doing it. To clarify, I don't feel like the air is just swirling around my mouth. When I'm playing lower or softer in the staff, I don't feel the need to puff my cheeks at all. It's only when I start pushing high-intensity air for higher notes or louder phrases that my cheeks start to puff. Maybe I’m delusional, but I feel like the air would be leaving my mouth so fast that it wouldn't even have time to swirl around.
But the main things would be:
Does adding the resonance chamber actually matter, or is it completely sabotaging my projection? I feel like I’m not able to vibrate my vocal cords the way I like to add my vibrato.
Is puffing my cheeks for the "cheek chamber" when I start playing high intensity the problem and causing my volume to start lacking? Should I be totally sure to not puff my cheeks and let my diaphragm handle 100% of that back pressure?
2. Deep Breaths and "Stomach Gurgling"
Speaking of the diaphragm, sometimes when I take a big, massive deep breath to fully expand my diaphragm, I hear and feel a loud gurgling noise in my stomach. Does that mean I’m focusing too much on stomach expanding and not the diaphragm expanding equally in all directions? Have I not been fully breathing this whole time?
Basically, is this a sign of bad diaphragm breathing or localized tension in my gut? Could this weird thing I noticed—the pressure/tension—be the reason behind why I can't get my volume up, even though my articulation sounds crisp and nice on video?
3. Creating Vibrato with Vocal/Throat Muscles
Lastly, earlier I mentioned how I add vibrato from my throat. I've noticed how I manipulate my vocal cords in a way to create vibrato. Instead of shaking the horn or pulsing my jaw, I do it by moving my vocal muscles and slightly altering my vocal tract to “wave” the pitch.
Is using this technique I discovered to add vibrato a viable technique, or does it restrict the air column too much? (I don’t feel a ton of restriction, but how would I know better?)
Could this habit be yet another reason why my sound feels not as loud and lacks the projection/volume I want?
Any help is greatly appreciated, especially if any of you have gone through similar transitions away from throat vibrato or cheek puffing to get more volume!