Klarinet Archive - Posting 000718.txt from 2000/07

From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Single v. Double (2 parts)
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2000 23:03:20 -0400

--- HatNYC62@-----.com wrote:

> I have not been following this thread very closely, but it seems to me that
> not everyone is meant to play the clarinet. Dental surgery seems pretty
> drastic. Afterward, the person in question would have to start all over
> anyway. Perhaps a string instrument or the piano is the answer.

Oral surgery is expensive, yes, but I don't agree with the idea that cost-
of-treatment alone is sufficient to discourage somebody from pursuing it,
especially if the procedure is likely to be successful. When somebody is
so impassioned about learning and playing the clarinet that they want to
spend money to correct an impediment (it happens), I think the degree of
passion itself is the necessary justification for doing so (all other tan-
gential issues notwithstanding). Am I being a little naive and idealistic?
Intentionally, yes, but I don't believe in reincarnation. Since we only get
one shot at a life on this planet, I'm of the opinion that people should do
whatever makes them happy, as long as it doesn't harm anybody else.

End of Neil's philosophy lesson for today. Next: Double-lip embouchure.

With respect to double-lip embouchure, I originally ferreted out and challenged
the notion that double-lip playing somehow inherently facilitates greater control
over tone quality. As is boilerplate knowledge on the list by now, cushioning
the upper lip against the upper teeth appreciably reduces bone conduction of
mouthpiece vibration into the skull. Naturally, this affects a player's per-
ception of their sound, but testimonials typically support the fact that lis-
teners are able to detect no immediate sonic difference. Over time, though,
it's another story, and it's this business of remedial utility that makes
double-lip playing so relevant.

I'll generalize here and say that most people are unaware of the band of power-
ful muscles which cradles the face and jaw. If you've never seen an anatomical
representation of these muscles, it provides a graphic education about the level
of force that the jaw is capable of generating...not necesssarily the grip of a
pit bull terrier, but enough to pinch the tone-producing life right out of a good
reed. Our continuous battle as players, relative to the embouchure, pertains to
the manner in which we use these muscles to regulate pressure from the jaw. Ul-
timately, use of the jaw in tone production should be eliminated altogether. The
intention is that the lips and their surrounding muscles develop sufficient firm-
ness and strength to support the mouthpiece sans any upward jaw pressure whatso-
ever. And as Karl Krelove points out in another post, there is the school of
playing where the lips are *entirely* responsible for supporting the mouthpiece
in the mouth, with no material involvement of either the lower *or* upper teeth.
That happens to be the school of thought and technique to which I subscribe.

No matter what school of playing you apply, it must be understood at all times
that only one thing is responsible for tone production: vibration of the reed.
If somebody were telekinetic and could make the reed vibrate consistently with
their mind instead of an air stream, they could play the clarinet as well as
anybody else. And while facilitating reed vibration is the one and only way
to properly get a sound, we have dozens of other frustrating ways to *prevent*
ourselves from doing so. Pinching the reed via pressure from the lower teeth,
via the power of the jaw muscle, is culprit #1. Even telekinesis won't produce
a nice tone if the jaw is choking the reed.

Remarkably, wrapping both the upper and lower lips around their respective sets
of teeth prevents us quite naturally from over-exerting that upward jaw pressure.
All of the other surrounding embouchure muscles -- from above the upper lip, and
from the sides -- are magically called into play, and the player comes closer to
approximating a drawstring configuration, instead of the "up & down" vice action
that typically characterizes under-developed single-lip playing. Single-lip play-
ing, when done with fully developed muscles on the top and sides of the embouchure,
generates the same drawstring effect as double-lip, and affords the same level of
sensitivity and flexibility in manipulating the reed's vibrational capacity. With
fully developed muscles all around, it becomes possible to drop the jaw free and
away from the reed *completely*, where the lower teeth are not even in direct con-
tact with the lower lip. This is what Karl Krelove was talking about with respect
to the lips having muscular strength. The lower lip, however, while firm and mus-
cular at this point, has nowhere near the brute strength or "crushing capacity" of
the jaw muscle, and the player runs absolutely no risk of inhibiting reed vibration.
The adjustments it makes in pressure against the reed are very fine and minute, and
are visually imperceptible to the onlooker.

One of the keys to effortless tone production, then, as well as nearly-limitless
flexibility in tone manipulation (not to mention endurance), resides in the sub-
stantial development of the surrounding embouchure musculature. Some players vol-
untarily cease conscious development of the embouchure at the point when they've
achieved a consistently flat chin, assuming that satisfaction of this pedagogical
dogma constitutes a final point of arrival. The dogma is accurate, but it doesn't
complete the training, young Jedi.

At this point, one can go no further in the lesson without discussing the critical
nature of a focused air stream. Talking on that level naturally brings into play
the "inner embouchure," which comprises the throat, tongue, and the shape of the
oral cavity. Short of delving into these areas, though, it is still possible to
make the statement: utilizing double-lip embouchure as a regular part of one's
practice routine -- if not using it exclusively -- has the potential to signifi-
cantly accelerate a player's overall development...and even spark a revolution
in how they approach the instrument. One magical "ah hah" moment often leads
intuitively to several others, and a disciplined player can improve their tech-
nical facility by an order of magnitude, paying close attention to their body
and physical sensations, while experimenting with the double-lip embouchure as
a remedial (and perhaps permanent) technical methodolgy.

Neil

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