Klarinet Archive - Posting 000107.txt from 1995/03

From: Neil Leupold <Neil_Leupold@-----.COM>
Subj: Lip protection
Date: Fri, 3 Mar 1995 20:53:50 -0500

Lip protection
I'm not sure if this has been addressed on Klarinet recently, but I haven't
seen the subject discussed since I joined several months ago (not that it's
earth-shattering material or anything).

Some people use a physical buffer on their lower teeth to prevent their lower
lip from being cut or bruised, especially if they have inordinantly sharp lower
teeth. I've seen players use paper from the florist, although I use a piece of
simple 3 X 5 index card, torn approximately into a rectangle of the right
dimensions. What are your opinions on this practice? My lower teeth aren't
even really that sharp, but with the the "tooth patch" that I use, I never feel
discomfort from my lower teeth digging into my lip. I picked up this idea from
a grad student while at Eastman years ago, and found it interesting afterwards
to discover how many others were also employing such a method to stem the
effects of the lower teeth upon the lip.

I'm currently in the process of regaining my skills as a clarinetist and have
discovered that the endurance factor is greatly helped by not having to rest
from lip pain. My only constraint at this point is the strength of the muscles
in my embouchure, which are still in the process of reconditioning and do tire
out after a couple of hours of sustained practice. I know that some teachers
frown stringently upon the notion of placing something on the lower teeth,
contending that it diminishes one's sensitivity to vibrations of the reed and
affords less control over the tone and response. It was also suggested to me
that putting something on the lower teeth might also encourage pinching of the
embouchure - that the pain does initially serve a purpose. My current teacher
(Don Carroll, Dan - great guy, isn't he?) is relaxed and open-minded enough to
not bother fretting over it, because I'm making tremendous progress - and I
think this little "crutch" is enabling me to progress much more quickly. I
acknowledge that, ultimately, I may no longer need to use anything on my lower
teeth, but I've used it for 5 years or so and have never experienced a
diminution or hindrance of my playing ability or progress...

Neil