Klarinet Archive - Posting 000856.txt from 1995/05

From: David Gilman <dagilman@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Crystal clear
Date: Tue, 30 May 1995 19:32:01 -0400

>Dan Leeson is obviously pleased about learning of the effects of bone
>conduction. I was also and it took me over forty years to get the message.
> As a clarinet student in junior high school, I ended up using double lip
>embouchure. I never questioned why, and my teacher (a Simeon Bellison
>student) never questioned it either and never discussed the matter. I
>discovered years later that there were two different embouchures and I was
>using the distinctly less common one. Many more years later, in retirement,
>I took lessons from a clarinetist in our orchestra (the Rochester
>Philharmonic). One of the first things he asked was, "Why do you use double
>lip"? Obviously, I didn't know!
>
>Since I was interested in learning to teach clarinet, he suggested I should
>try single lip for a while to understand the difference, and stick with
>whichever I prefered. I tried single, and told him I couldn't stand the tone
>I produced. He said it sounded the same to him with either embouchure and
>stuck a rubber patch on my mouthpiece with double-sided tape. The patch
>damped out the internal conduction and I was able to play either way! I am
>tending to stick with single now, but occasionally switch.
>
>
> Don Yungkurth
>
>
Don,

This exact same thing happened to me. I played double lip my first seven
years on clarinet. Not because anyone had taught me that embouchure, but
because I had tried both single and double and I could not stand listening
to myself playing single lip. I continued this way for through marching
seasons and various reeds through strength #5. Needless to say, I suffered
a lot of pain but developed an embouchure like a vise. [Whenever I bite my
tongue, I check to make sure it's still there.] In college I could not bear
the thought of one more marching season with cut up lips; so, I made the
change to single lip. After I got used to it, I noticed no more difference
in my sound between the two embouchures.

Years later, I began studying formally, and I discovered that my teacher,
who was also a student of Simeon Bellison, made the change from double to
single on his own as well. Plus, he did it for a similar reason: to prevent
unnecessary fatigue.

Some years ago, I also started using a rubber pad on top of the mouthpiece.
Not only does it lessen bone conduction, but it also makes the mouthpiece
more comfortable under the upper teeth, especially if you have one central
incisor slightly longer than the other, like I do. In any event, I decided
to stay with a single lip embouchure.

Glad to know I'm not the only one who went through this.

David Gilman