It’s one of the most uncomfortable realities that we have to live with: for whatever reason, be it overplaying the day before, dehydration, sunburn, swelling, or any other cause, our chops, the lips that vibrate, don’t feel right. What can be done (that doesn’t involve an anti-inflammatory medication)? Well, sometimes, but I’ve found very rarely, only time is the answer. But most times, this works well enough to get us through the challenge: see the aperture clearly in combination with a very strong visualization of the supporting muscles of the embouchure system (the orbicularis and its companions). I sometimes see clearly 4 “dots” of focused compression, lines of force moving to the center of the aperture, one over and one under each of the corners of the mouth. Remember, usually we don’t have to execute perfect embouchure support to sound good. But when we are compromised and swollen, real awareness of the function of each of the component parts of the embouchure’s vibration system can be a big help!