Klarinet Archive - Posting 000784.txt from 1999/02

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] re: Bay cost
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 20:35:28 -0500

On Fri, 19 Feb 1999 HatNYC62@-----.com wrote:

> On the other hand, some of us prefer the opposite angle. Mike Lowenstern
> and I both sit back in our chairs and lean the bass clarinet INTO us
> somewhat. The new Buffet necks make this impossible. My bass clarinet
> embochure has no relation to my clarinet embochure, and I like it
> that way.

Very interesting. I started playing like that -- sitting back and
leaning the instrument toward myself -- early in college. I really
blossomed on bass clarinet back then, and my teacher (Don Carroll of
the San Francisco Symphony) once remarked during a lesson that he
could never play the instrument the way I held it. But he didn't
discourage me from using that technique, because it didn't have an
adverse effect on my growth, and I was progressing so nicely. What
is even more interesting to me about David's comments above is that
his bass and soprano embouchures are completely different. My em-
bouchure for both instruments is nearly identical. I refer not to
the angle at which the mouthpiece sits in my mouth. It's more an
issue of how much mouthpiece I take in, and how broadly I expand
my oral cavity. I drop my jaw a LOT when I play -- on either in-
strument -- and use the muscles of the lips and surrounding areas
to support and control the reed and air stream. I also take in
a large amount of mouthpiece. As I developed great facility on both
instruments, I discovered the benefits of exchanging techniques and
approaches from one instrument to the other. Ultimately, I developed
a flexbility of approach which enabled me to use the same embouchure
on both instruments. My embouchure muscles were rock solid, and the
main issue became one of air support. The more facile I became at
switching between the instruments, the more apparent it became to me
that the embouchure should be as relaxed and out of the way as pos-
sible. If the muscles are strong enough, it is possible to "float"
around the outside of the mouthpiece, where there is precious little
jaw pressure, and only minute changes of pressure from the lips in
order to regulate intonation and response. The tongue plays a large
part in this as well, but it would not function as well if my embou-
chure were not so strong and flexible, regardless of whether I play
bass or soprano.

'Just some thoughts in reaction to Dave Hattner's post.

Neil

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