Klarinet Archive - Posting 000383.txt from 1999/06

From: CmdrHerel@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Double lip embouchure is bad?
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 11:34:56 -0400

In a message dated 6/11/99 10:48:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
gaque@-----.jp writes:

<< I didn't know the double lip embouchure is harmful
for one's sound. Is it correct? I heard Richard
Stolzman sometimes plays in a double lips. But his
sound is so nice and lovely, so I like his sound very much. >>

Richard Stoltzman ALWAYS plays double lip and his sound is indeed nice and
lovely. :) Harold Wright was also a double lip player as are a lot of
players with beautiful tones.

Double lip embouchure is not harmful to one's sound, but it will indeed
change one's sound. The question is whether or not you prefer the change.
What I tell my students is to listen to recordings and decide for themselves
which kind of sound they prefer. (They usually choose double lip without any
more input from me, and I honestly do not push them to it.)

The local high school band director is upset this year, because another local
band teacher who is a reasonably good clarinet player told him that double
lip embouchure is not preferable, or some such thing. He's been approaching
my students and telling them that they should reconsider this. (Why, I don't
know, for my students are his finest players, and have been for the past ten
years.) But each one, independent of each other, and independent of me, told
him that they had no trouble with it and that they in fact found it easier
and liked the sound more. Way to go! hee hee.

The only other times I've encountered resistance (ignorance) is when the
issue of marching comes up. No, you can't march double lip. So what do you
do? Well, for the couple of parades my students have to play, they plop
their teeth on the mouthpiece and march away. Another student is a jazz
player and found that a skinny neckstrap is all he needed to stand and wail
away on his solos. In the case of marching, I do encourage my students to
not march if they are at all serious about having a good tone. If their
hearts are set on marching, I ask them if they'd consider waving a flag or
even trying out for drum major instead. (I've had three drum majors and a
lot of flag-wavers so far!) For this, I do not blame the local directors for
being annoyed at me.

As I've said before on the list, the only disadvantage I see for double lip
is that it takes some time to switch and build up the upper lip to match the
lower lip (which has often been used for years before the switch). Other
than that, it is a matter of taste. No pun intended. :)

Teri Herel

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