Klarinet Archive - Posting 000520.txt from 1996/07

From: Everett Austin <austine@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Embouchre
Date: Sat, 27 Jul 1996 01:46:48 -0400

On Fri, 26 Jul 1996, Fogle, Bill wrote:
>
> My Musical Though For The Weekend: a too soft reed hurts more
> to play than a too strong one. (Pardon my pre-weekend somewhat
> playful mood). ---Bill Fogle.
>
A too soft reed does tend to encourage biting because the pitch gets flat
in the upper registers and high notes may not speak well. A too hard reed
may induce fatigue for slightly different reasons. In general, there
tends to be a reciprocal relation between air support and embouchure
pressure such that when the player is tired or inattentive, airsupport
diminishes and biting and excessive reed pressure creeps in to compensate,
resulting in more fatigue and failing tone quality. The tone is generally
better when the reed is free to vibrate, not crushed by the jaw. As
Marcel Mule said: "je leur rappelais qu'il faut avoir l'anche libre,
parce qu'il semblait que beaucoup se crispaient sur l'anche et pincaient
la sonorite" ("I reminded them [my students] that the reed must be free,
because it seemed that many of them squeezed the reed and pinched the tone
quality") Although he was speaking of the saxophone in particular, the
comments are relevant to single reed playing in general.

Everett Austin
Fairfax, California

   
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