Klarinet Archive - Posting 000189.txt from 1996/03

From: Teri Herel <EnsHerel@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: bass clarinet embouchure
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 22:23:00 -0500

It has been my experience both teaching and playing that during the time you
are switching from a single to a double lip embouchre you reach a half way
point where both embouchres sound like crap. At that point it becomes
necessary to choose one or the other and refine it. I can't imagine going
back and forth while keeping my double lip embouchre in any kind of shape.
But perhaps it is possible to keep up a single lip embouchre in this
fashion. Food for thought.

Teri Herel

In a message dated 96-03-06 01:39:15 EST, KClarinet@-----.COM (Karl Krelove)
writes:

>In a message dated 96-03-04 09:57:30 EST, Judy (Lamm) Figi writes:
>
>>I play bass clarinet and use a double lip embouchure, It gives me alot
more
>>coltrol of tone quality and pitch. However, I find I can only use it
>through
>>about half of a rehearsal, then my upper lip gets too tired. Any
>>suggestions?
>
> At one time during the years when I studied with Gigliotti I was going
>through some really disabling confusion about embouchre (hasn't everyone at
>some time or other?) and, I think out of desperation, he taught me to use a
>double lip embouchre as a temporary solution. He has always played single
>lip, but his basic approach (I doubt if it has changed much since then) was
>to pull the upper lip firmly against the top teeth as though it were part of
>a double lip embouchre, but without actually pulling it under the teeth. He
>had me play double lip part time for several weeks, trying after a few
>minutes of a practice session to continue simulating the double lip without
>actually tucking the upper lip under my teeth. The effect was little short
of
>miraculous at the time on my own embouchre, and I still find this to be one
>of the most useful things, at least for me, that I learned from him.
> The point of this is that you might find this useful to try, when your
>upper lip starts tiring (I assume from the pressure of your teeth digging
>into it). Let your upper lip out in front of (but firmly against), instead
of
>under, your teeth. Work at keeping everything else identical to what you
were
>doing. You may find that you can get the same control (and maybe a tad more
>stability) with this approach to single lip that you feel with the double
>lip. If you can keep your embouchre consistent with both single and double
>but still feel more in control with the double, you can try using the double
>only for exposed passages and play the tuttis single. The idea of this kind
>of embouchre switching may make some players uneasy, but it works very well
>for me and may for you.
>
> Karl Krelove
>
>

   
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