Klarinet Archive - Posting 000435.txt from 1997/02

From: Adam Michlin <amichlin@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Sax/Clar Doubling
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 11:12:11 -0500

At 09:04 AM 2/13/97 -0600, you wrote:
>On Wed, 12 Feb 1997, Adam Michlin wrote:
>
>> It's an (unfortunately) widely held belief that saxophone and clarinet
>> require a different embouchure. People often talk about a "tighter"
>> clarinet embouchure and a "looser" saxophone embouchure. While this may
>> work for some people, it's simply incorrect that this method is *required*.
>
>We've been down this road before. I must again most respectfully
>disagree with this assessment. I have been playing both clarinet and

I'd point out this was on the flute list. Since we're currently on the
klarinet list (and the discussion is much more relevant to the clarinet) I
dont think we're really rehasing anything (expect with each other @-----.

>saxophone, plus flute, oboe and bassoon, for 47 years. During that time,
>I have known hundreds of other doublers. A few of them have used the
>same embouchure, without modification, for both clarinet and saxophone.
>These players invariably sound like either clarinet players trying to
>play the saxophone, or saxophone players playing the clarinet.

And, most likely, these players didnt use a good embouchure for either
instrument. I can only tell you that I've witnessed first hand my teacher
playing saxophone and clarinet with the same embouchure and sacrificing no
quality on either. World class playing on both.

You might argue that this is a fluke, the exception that proves the rule.
But I can tell that studying both instruments and learning the principles
of what he does with the embouchure and why he does it, the same embouchure
works for me on both clarinet and saxophone.

>As mentioned in a previous post in response to the question which started
>this thread, the basic formation of the embouchure is similar, but there
>is a distinct difference in the way that the lip contacts the reed. The
>saxophone embouchure will have more of a "cushioning" effect.

I'm afraid I'm the one who has to disagree here. "Cushioning" to me
implies more lip pressure than jaw pressure. This is a bad idea for *any*
single reed instrument, and is directly against the principles taught by
people like Joesph Allard. Lip pressure rather than jaw pressure causes a
fuzzy out tune sound. This is most often exhibited in the low register
(both clarinet players and saxophone players tend to drop the jaw and use
lip pressure over jaw pressure for the lower notes). This is one of the
most common reasons why low E on the clarinet sounds so out of tune when
played by so many players.

Now, if you mean something else, I'm afraid you lost me.

-Adam
amichlin@-----.edu
amichlin@-----.com