Klarinet Archive - Posting 000063.txt from 1999/07
From: "Karl Krelove" <kkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Uneven Teeth
Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 00:41:19 -0400
I spent several months as a college student struggling with chirpy chalumeau
notes and difficulty in maintaining an embouchure. My bottom front teeth are
uneven to the extent that the exposed corner of the higher tooth causes
constant irritation in my lip if I don't cover it with something (I use
pieces of an EZO pad, but we've had several other suggestions posted here in
the past). I doubt, from my own experience, if the unevenness itself is
causing the problems you're describing, but if your student is, consciously
or otherwise, distorting her embouchure even a little to avoid any pain the
uneven teeth may cause her, that could (for me _did_ for a time) cause
exactly the problems you say she's having. Any kind of covering that will
smooth out any sharp edges along her bottom teeth may help. EZO pad
material, athletic mouth protectors, or any of several other materials have
been recommended by different members of the list. One problem is that, from
my own experience at least, the whistles and chirps may not go away
immediately because the unconscious distortions will have become habit.
This presupposes, of course, that there is no other obvious cause -
unbalanced reeds, an unresponsive mouthpiece or mouthpiece/reed combination,
leaks in the clarinet, obvious embouchure distortions that are unrelated to
the uneven teeth, etc... Anything that causes her to force a sound instead
of producing one easily can also cause much of the problem you've described.
Good luck.
Karl Krelove
----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Waller <cwaller@-----.au>
Subject: [kl] Uneven Teeth
Hello everyone,
I have a student who seems to be having difficulty with embouchure control,
particularly in the low register. The reed often 'whistles' on written
low-reg B and B flat. She has uneven teeth in the lower jaw- that is, uneven
in a vertical sense. There is a slight dip in the middle with higher teeth
either side. Could her teeth be causing this problem, and would it help to
build up the middle tooth so that they were all in the same plane? In other
respects she is a very good player. I would appreciate any help in this
matter.
Thanks in advance,
Chris Waller.
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