Klarinet Archive - Posting 000688.txt from 1997/07

From: benevolent1@-----. Horney)
Subj: Re: Embouchure
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 22:34:07 -0400

I am also a high school student, and when my teacher used to say "point
your chin more," I had no idea what she was talking about. That is the
one negative experience I have had in my life as an aspiring clarinetist.
She assumed from then on I was stupid (and she told me almost every
day), so when I quit, it made me practice on my own. One of the things
that my new teacher (whom I adore) did that fixed my problem was that she
took a picture of herself from many angles, and told me to look in the
mirror and see if I saw any difference. It was evident when I took the
picture home the first day and looked in the mirror. The problem was
solved. Sometimes, the best way to show someone something is to merely
hint at it. The picture was something that let me learn a lot more than
spoon-feeding it to me. This doesn't help everyone, but perhaps it will
do a little. I hope that I helped.

Have fun!

Sarah
benevolent1@-----.com

On Mon, 21 Jul 1997 17:34:34 -0500 Robert and Deborah Shaw
<theshaws@-----.net> writes:
>One of my students is having trouble keeping her chin flat when she
>plays. I have tried everything from more lip, less lip, etc. She is
>an
>excellent player, but is being held back by this problem.
> Suggestions?
>
>Deborah
>