Chops Originally, used by Black Hornplayers to
describe the state of their false teeth or
Lips. Generally speaking, it refers to the
musician's technical skill.
Ex: Wow. That Ziggy Elman has great "chops".
Ex: My Chops is "beat" from all those high
C's tonight.
False teeth?
Don't know how THAT got in there.
"Chops" = "Embouchure"
As used in the jazz slang, a person with "chops" is someone who can play all night long without showing signs of their lips tiring.
--Mac
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"Keep listening. Never become so self-important that you can't listen to other players. Live cleanly....Do right....You can improve as a player by improving as a person. It's a duty we owe to ourselves." --John Coltrane
"You don't know what you like, you like what you know. In order to know what you like, you have to know everything." --Branford Marsalis