Klarinet Archive - Posting 000417.txt from 1997/02

From: Everett Austin <austine@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: clar/sax doubling
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 01:14:41 -0500

A couple of points may be helpful. The airflow and the embouchure air
different for sax vs clarinet. The similarities are greater between sax
and bass clarinet. The air flow is slower and more controlled for
saxophone, the embouchure round/circular and less firm/more cushioned
for sax, the vowel formation more ahh than ee for the sax for most
people over most of the range, the tongue low and forward, the lower
notes with slower air than the higher ones, etc. For accurate
embouchure and air pressure to get the right response and tuning, the
following rules apply:
Play the mouthpiece alone, ff:

the concert pitch should be:
A for alto
G for tenor
D for baritone
C for soprano

Keep this formation in mind, tune and play the instrument and the
intonation and response will be close to what is possible for that horn.
Matching the pitches of middle c played with the normal and overtone
fingerings also helps find the ideal mouthpiece position on the neck.

If the low notes do not speak, this can also be due to leaks, a too-hard
reed or an unsuitable mouthpiece, as well as incorrect embouchure and
airflow.

Everett Austin

On Wed, 12 Feb
1997, Lisa Clayton wrote:

> I'm dropping the .sig quote, and my apologies for all the
> commotion it's caused. My intent was in the name of
> netiquette; but it seems to have backfired. Mea maxima
> culpa.
>
> On the clarinet front, I do have a clarinet-related question--
> actually it also involves saxes. After about two-three years
> of relearning the clarinet, re-establishing an embochure, etc.
> I've been noodling around with a tenor saxophone, with mixed
> results. I've noticed that my clarinet embouchure doesn't work
> very well for the sax-- tends to make some notes very sharp and
> makes it difficult to pump out the lower notes.
>
> Is it common to have one kind of embochure for the clarinet vs.
> sax? I haven't had much of a problem switching from clarinet to
> bass clarinet despite the change in the angle of the mouthpiece,
> but sax seems to be a whole different animal.
>
> All you clarinet/sax doublers out there, any advice would be
> *highly* welcomed.
>
>
> ____ Lisa K. Canjura-Clayton The obligatory homepage:
> / clayton@-----.edu/~clayton
> / Band=Life Virtual Barstow IS NOW ONLINE!
>