Klarinet Archive - Posting 000394.txt from 1998/10

From: "Diane Karius, Ph.D." <dikarius@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] air leaks (was Meyer)
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 01:07:46 -0400

Peter Stoll wrote:
>
> This quote reminded me to repost something I'd asked the list (about a
> student with an air leak) a couple of months ago; how common are air leaks
> and what do teachers and performers do to overcome them, or are they not
> generally considered a serious flaw in playing?
>

I had a tendency to leak air and had never been able to seal it
without sacrificing some aspect of my sound (in fact, I had given up
on being able to seal it because of the bad things that happened when
I tried). My previous clarinet teachers never said a word about it
(it's major effect was probably on my ability to do long phrases -
unless I was really tired it wasn't a major distractor overall). I
was recently traded to a new teacher who pointed out the I was trying
to seal the leak with my lower lip and it wasn't going to seal unless
I changed my upper lip (more tension needed). Took only two weeks
(although it seemed longer), but the leak is gone, tonguing and
phrasing are easier, and there was no degradation in my tone.
diane k.
Diane R. Karius, Ph.D.
Department of Physiology
University of Health Sciences
1750 Independence Ave.
Kansas City, MO 641o6-1453
email: dikarius@-----.EDU

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