Comfort Zone Chops Junior Lip Saver and Artificial Embouchure
Chops Junior is an embouchure training aid (an artificial embouchure) sized to fit teen or petite females and beginning children (boys and girls). The Chops Junior embouchure training aid adds strength to the player’s weak embouchure by acting as a fulcrum the way a natural strong one does, giving full control of the reed and eliminating discouraging squeaks. At the same time, Chops Junior protects the inner bottom lip from sharp front teeth, thus allowing the performer to play effortlessly, pain-free, and squeak-free. Made of thermoplastic, and by way of boil and bite, insures a custom fit guaranteed to have the beginner sounding like a seasoned performer from the very start.

Chops Junior works by stretching the soft, vibration-absorbing skin in the natural embouchure of the bottom lip over an artificial one, causing this same soft skin to become extra hard. This allows little absorption of the vibration. The sound emitted from the clarinet or saxophone will then be produced by the clear vibration of the reed, and not absorbed or disrupted by the skin—less vibration absorbed = better tone. It also assists the existing embouchure by acting as a fulcrum.

The secondary function of Chops Junior is to stop the cause of pain dead in its tracks. How can one play full force and concentrate 100% on their music if their inner bottom lip has to be babied due to soreness? When beginners first learn to play, their inner bottom lip is very tender and their teeth can be very sharp, causing pain which inhibits their time practicing. Couple this pain with discouraging squeaks due to a weak embouchure, practice time will diminish and playing can become a chore instead of a joy. With no real practice time, the embouchure will never develop properly and the inner bottom lip will not strengthen. With Chops Junior, the embouchure can develop and the inner bottom lip will strengthen better against the smooth surface, rather than sharp teeth and lessen the chance at squeaking. Students can now gain practice time as their embouchure develops making the music teacher, parents and the student happy. The advancing player will practice and perform longer with less pain and discomfort, allowing them to continue to improve.

Please see the first segment of the product video demonstration as the saxophone player performs by himself and then samples the Chops product, providing a marked improvement to his tone (No, this was not staged). Later in the same video, a saxophone player with the world-famous Mummers samples the product. This video was shot in haste and he was not given the complete instructions on the Chops use (he had it on his top teeth, and not on the bottom). Our apologies to him, since the Mummers accept only the best players and we do not want to portray his performance incorrectly. The clarinetist in the same segment also demonstrates the Chops product, and you can hear the sweetness of his tone during his performance when using the Chops product (again, this was not staged).