Klarinet Archive - Posting 000289.txt from 1996/10

From: Gary Van Cott <Gary_VanCott@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Embouchure position in clarinet playing
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 1996 16:46:15 -0400

I hope what has been an interesting discussion will not turn into an
acrimonious debate.

I tried a little experiment the other evening. I played a clarion G and
then without moving any fingers played an altissimo note (which ends up
being a slightly out of tune E). I wanted to analyze the physical changes
necessary to make the jump.

The movements, I believe I detected were very slight. One was a very small
shift in the place my lower lip was pressing on the reed toward the tip of
the reed. I would guess that this shift was no more than 1-2 mm. I believe
that this movement was made entirely with my lip muscles without moving my
jaw or sliding the mouthpiece.

The second change was the airstream. This is harder to describe with
certainty since I can't really see what is going on, but I believe the air
stream was being aimed somewhat higher then for the clarion note.

This whole subject of embouchure and oral cavity is of interest since they
are major components of ones overall sound. (This despite my comments of a
few months ago about looking for a clarinet with a good sound, that still
counts, too.) In the mouthpiece tip opening discussion that appeared
recently, I wondered if there are some mouthpieces more suited for players
with specific embouchure/oral cavities than others.

Gary Van Cott
Las Vegas, NV
Gary_VanCott@-----.com