Klarinet Archive - Posting 001312.txt from 1998/10

From: CmdrHerel@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] double lip embouchure
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 03:23:44 -0500

In a message dated 10/29/98 4:37:41 PM Eastern Standard Time,
notestaff@-----.ch writes:

<< > Patticlar@-----.com wrote:
>
> >Don Carroll and I both use double lip on bass. That makes it impossible
to
> >pinch. If one uses double lip, however, one must also use both a peg and
a
> >bass clarinet neck strap for stability.
>
> I'm so glad to see someone else on this list extole the benefits of
> double-lip. I've been told all my life (well, at least the portion devoted
> to clarinet) that "real" clarinetists "outgrow" a double-lip embouchere. I
> use double-lip on soprano and bass and have since day one. Single-lip just
> never felt comfortable and just didn't give me the results I was looking
> for. >>

Oh my GOD that's funny!! Outgrow?? Wow.

I've been playing double lip for about eight years now, and indeed going back
to teeth is like David Glenn said, "Scraping your fingernail along a
blackboard."

I also use double lip on bass and only use a peg, not a peg and a neckstrap
together like someone suggested. I *do* however anchor the peg between my
feet for more stability, and for really long thumb F's or high C's I sometimes
throw my free hand on the neck for a little extra stability.

And... I use double lip on Eb! Now *that* can hurt. :) I do it for two
reasons. The main reason is that playing Eb double lip really strengthens the
center of my upper lip and improves my Bb embouchure. The second reason is
that it opens up the sound on the Eb the same way it opens up the sound on a
Bb. And I take pride in playing Eb with a beautiful tone.

I do not understand the comment that single lip players have problems with
stability. What do you mean by stability?

I've encountered two problems with double lip embouchure. The first is
endurance. I find that the embouchure must be "managed" in that it is easy to
blow it out quickly if you practice for too long without breaks, or if you
just practice too much in general on a particular day. The second problem is
standing. Unfortunately it takes years for the upper lip to strengthen enough
to stand and play. I still can not. (I'm also a wimp though and don't
believe in pain.) As we know, Richard Stoltzman can stand with no problem.
Lips of steel, that man has. I've found a neck strap doesn't help much.

The advantage? Tone. I know tone is a matter of taste and I've heard some
beautiful single lip tones, but the clarinetists I love most to listen to have
all been double lip players, so that's enough for me.

I start all of my students double lip. With a number two reed and absolutely
nothing developed in the bottom lip, I've found that starting double lip is
just as easy as starting single lip. I believe the reason it has a reputation
of being harder, is that most students trying it are *switching* to it... So
they have well-developed lower lips and are used to just putting a reed on and
getting a nice sound. In comparison, using the weak upper lip feels like
being handicapped. It takes time for it to "catch up" to the strength of the
lower lip.

For my students switching, I have them practice only five minutes a day with
the upper lip. After one or two weeks, we increase that to ten - just as long
as it feels comfortable. Then after a couple of weeks of that, they usually
just switch over without even waiting for me to ask them.

Oh, and little by little all of the local band directors have learned that my
students hold the bell in their knees. :)

A note to persons interested in trying this embouchure: There's a bit more to
it than just curling your upper lip over your teeth, so it would be best to
work with an established double lip player. You'll use your muscles
differently, and the inside shape of your mouth will be different. The basic
concept I have been taught is to take a LOT of mouthpiece into your mouth and
use pressure top to bottom for control. No pulling, or anything like that, on
the sides. Keep your head up and the clarinet in.

Anyway... As a good friend of mine likes to say, "Absolutely, positively, no
teeth!" :)

Teri Herel

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