Klarinet Archive - Posting 000829.txt from 1999/10

From: Shouryu Nohe <jnohe@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] should the embouchure move?
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 13:03:13 -0400

On Wed, 27 Oct 1999 GrabnerWG@-----.com wrote:

> In a message dated 10/27/99 8:49:23 AM Central Daylight Time,
> daniel.paprocki@-----.edu writes:
>
> << Should the embouchure move with playing in different registers? I've heard
> arguments on both sides. If so, why? or if not, why not? >>

My vote is for no. (Keep in mind that I'm still a student, so don't weigh
my vote heavily.) I can pretty much play all clarinets and saxes with
unvarying pressure. What I mean by that is that I use the same pressure
on all four octaves of the clarinet, but a different pressure on bass.
But that amount of pressure on bass remains constant on all four octaves
(on good days ^_-) of the bass. Same for sax, except when I'm not playing
my Selmer SA80II - that's the only horn that I can use concrete embouchure
and get every note out in tune on, but that's because it's in perfect
shape and my marching inst.s aren't.

Basically, the chin stays set, absolutely. All articulation is done with
the tongue and tongue alone. Any actual movement in the lips is done by
drawing the corners of the mouth closer or farther from the mouthpiece
(often described as either in/out or forward/back), mainly to adjust pitch
(closer@-----.it actually allows you to control pressure without
conciously moving your chin. Other methods of adjusting pitch are by
moving the tongue higher or lower, or opening or constricting the throat -
keep in mind that constricting the throat too much, however, brightens a
tone quite noticably. (In my experience, at least.)

Walt Grabner replies:
> Good question. I've been having problems with tonguing speed and coordination
> with fingers in fast tongued 16 note passages, especially over registers. I
> noticed that if I conentrate on allowing NO embouchure change, the speed and
> coordination is much better. It seems as if a embouchure change, however
> slight, causes the reed to "hesitate".

A really easy way that I've been taught to remedy this problem (one I have
quite a bit, I might add) is to separate the elements - articulation then
tones. I play the passage on the first note alone, but with the proper
articulation. Say, like it's an E. So I play nothing but an E, but I
play it in time with the marked articulation. That way I can hear if it's
my tongue being sluggish, or uneven, etc. Then I play the passage with
all the notes, but slurred. Then you can hear if your fingers are being
are uneven, being sluggish, yadda yadda yadda. Which ever one is wrong,
adjust it (I find it's usually fingers more often then tongue), then put
the two back together.

At least, I find that's a workable solution as well. (In other words, I'm
just giving an additional solution the the problem/solution that Mr.
Grabner has presented.)

J. Shouryu Nohe
http://web.nmsu.edu/~jnohe
Professor of SCSM102, New Mexico State Univ.
"If I wanted a 'job,' I'd have gone music ED, thank you very much!"

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